Rafael Moneo

In the early 1990s, Solidere reconstructed the city center, focusing on revitalizing the souks. The Souks project blended traditional souk characteristics with modern shopping needs, including a department store, supermarket, vehicular access, offices, and restaurants. The layout preserves the Hellenic grid and Ottoman access gates, incorporating archaeological finds like a Phoenico-Persian wall and moat, ruins of a harbor settlement, and structures like the Mamluk school and Ottoman mosque. The core features 240 shops, 20 food outlets, 6000 sqm of offices, a children’s center, an underground car park for 3,400 cars, and additional services.