Sāḥat al-Shuhadāʼ (Beirut, Lebanon)

found: Work cat.: Two squares : Martyrs Square, Beirut, and Sirkeci Square, Istanbul, c2006:p. 34 ("The Bourj always managed to remain a fairly open and homogenizing space ... the old souks and bazaars flanking the Bourj") p. 37 (in the late Middle Ages Beirut's "maidan" (open space) became "Sahat al-Sour"; in 1773 the imperial Russian fleet installed artillery on its fortifications, hence the appellation "Place de Canons"; during the Ottoman period, the Bourj acquired the label of "Sahat al Ittihad" or "al Hamidiyyah"; by May 1919, "Sahat al Hamidiyyah" became "Hadiqat-al Hurriyah" (meaning freedom from Turkish oppression))

found: Martyrs" Square Design Competition WWW site, October 8, 2006:A place whose identity has changed throughout history: Sahat el-Sour (City Wall Square), Sahat el-Bourj el-Kachef (Lookout Tower Square), Sahat el-Ittihad (Union Square), Sahat el-Hamidiyyeh (Hammidiyyeh Square), Place des Canons (Canons Square), Sahat el-Shohada (Place des Martyrs - Martyrs' Square) > historical background (At the heart of Beirut's city center lies Martyrs' Square; it orginated in the Middle Ages as the "Maidan of Beirut", a cleared area beyond the city walls to the north; a medieval tower named the "Bourj" (tower) guarded the Maidan; its name survives to today as one of the most commonly-used names for the square and surrounding district; at the height of the Ottoman period, the square was landscaped as a pleasure garden, the "Muntazah" (lit. "Promenade"); its current name, "Martyrs' Square" orginates from the 1918 execution there of national heroes striving for independence from Ottoman Turkey)

found: Witness to hope, 2005:p. 818 (Martyrs' Square had also been called "Freedom Square" and "Unity Square")