In 1969, the Commodore Hotel in Beirut became the nerve center for hundreds of foreign correspondents covering the Middle East — from the Six-Day War aftermath to Black September and the Lebanese Civil War. This episode explores how a small hotel in Hamra district transformed into a legendary press hub, hosting figures like David Hirst, Robert Fisk, and Oriana Fallaci. We trace its rise from a modest guesthouse to a fortified bunker where journalists swapped stories, dodged bullets, and filed dispatches that shaped global perceptions of the region. The episode also covers the clandestine relationships between journalists and militia leaders, the hotel's role as a neutral ground in a divided city, and its decline as satellite phones made the press corps nomadic. A portrait of a place where history was both reported and lived, captured through the voices of those who were there.
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