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Beirut's hotel war

When Lebanon's civil war came to Beirut's luxury hotel district. Plus inventing the ventilator and how women in Turkey overhauled decades-old laws on rape and assault.

At the start of the Lebanese civil war in 1975, Beirut鈥檚 luxury hotel district was turned into a battlefield, with rival groups of gunmen holed up in some of the most expensive accommodation in the Middle East. We hear from two former employees of the Holiday Inn about what came to be known as the Battle of the Hotels. Also in today's programme, the first radar, the invention of the ventilator, and how women in Turkey overhauled decades-old laws on rape and sexual assault.

Photo: The ruins of the Holiday Inn. (Credit: Getty Images)

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53 minutes

Last on

Mon 17 Aug 2020 23:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Sat 15 Aug 2020 14:06GMT
  • Mon 17 Aug 2020 23:06GMT

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