Verdun through the eyes of Mr. Raymond Nahas, owner of Fabriano, former President of the Committee of Verdun Traders and current President of the "Association Culturelle Italo-Libanaise".
"I started Fabriano about 50 years ago when Vedun was a street with no name, just a sector with a few buildings, no more than 20 small markets, and some homes with gardens. It was a quiet residential area.
Back then Verdun had a string Italian presence. There were 2 Italian schools, one for girls and one for boys, and the Italians who worked at Banka di Roma and other Italian establishments all had homes in Verdun. The area didn't only have Italian schools though; it also had many others such as the Lycée Franco-Libanais, and Carmel Saint Joseph.
The area slowly started to build up. The Assaf building was one of the first large buildings. The Goodies building was called the Tabet building, and in fact Camille Chamoun used to have a place where Goodies is now. Bristol, being the only luxury hotel in the area was the social heart of Verdun.
Verdun has really grown quickly in the past few years. All the new big commercial buildings appeared on the main roads along with nice residential buildings found along the small side streets.
The mosaic fountain in the front of dunes was put up when I was still President of the Committee of Verdun Traders (I held this post for 5 years). The fountain was created by Marco Bravura who spent one and a half years working on it. I am currently setting up a mosaic school with the collaboration of the Italians.
This is very special place. I've always had a soft spot for the area. It's very cosmopolitan and you feel there's no difference between religions (the committee for instance brings all different sects together). I'm now 74 years old and have seen enough to know that Verdun has big future and know this future will happen through people working and cooperating together".
