The music stops at Beirut's fabled nightclubs

The music has stopped for Lebanon's famed clubs

(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF MARKETING AT FACTORY PEOPLE THAT OWNS AHM AND THE GRAND FACTORY NIGHTCLUBS, SAMER MAKAREM, SAYING:

"At midnight on Saturdays, the club would be full, our Saturday parties used to end at around seven or eight in the morning when you would still have the last people. It would be lights out, the staff waiting, and people would still be dancing at around 8 a.m.."

Many aren't set to open this summer

Beirut's nightlife used to cater to the Middle East's jet set

Now disco balls are gathering dust in gutted buildings

(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF MARKETING AT FACTORY PEOPLE THAT OWNS AHM AND THE GRAND FACTORY NIGHTCLUBS, SAMER MAKAREM, SAYING:"We are now standing at AHM or what is left of AHM after August 4. AHM was our summer venue, it used to open from May till around November every single year. Nightlife in Lebanon was famous, Beirut is known as the party city and one of the best party cities in the world. For the past 10 years, our group consistently never skipped any weekend because for us, it was part of the way of life in Beirut, when it is the weekend, you know that between Thursday, Friday, Saturday, you have many options, many places to go to, the best DJs in the world used to come to Beirut consistently every single weekend."