Reconstruction began in 1991 after the historic central area of Beirut (Lebanon), known as Beirut souq was destroyed in the Lebanese Civil War (1973-1990). Part of the project which Spanish architect Rafael Moneo put forward for the Hellenistic commercial hub involved keeping the network of streets and their original names. And so was born South Souks in 2009, an achievement which earned Moneo the Pritzker prize. Given the scale of the souks, and their central function, interweaving as they do different quarters of the city, they are much more than a number of buildings and streets. They were always the beating heart of Beirut and have become so once again thanks to this project, healing in the process the deep wounds inflicted by the war. The full value of what has been done will be fully appreciated in the future.