Mayssa Jallad

In the early 1970s, Beirut was a vibrant city with modern architecture and a lively art and music scene. But then it descended into civil war. The first battles of 1975 took place in the hotel district, the beginning of the religious segregation that still characterises Beirut today. On her album Marjaa: The Battle of the Hotels, singer and architect Mayssa Jallad tells the story of this conflict. As she wanders the long-destroyed alleys of the past, her folk and jazz-inspired songs keep the memory alive that things were different once and one day could be different again.