Beirut storyteller

Reporter Alex Atack tells us about Ronnie Chatah, who started giving his walking tours of Beirut in 2008, during a period of stability for the city. He would guide tourists through the city, telling stories of Phoenician ruins, French architecture and Ottoman houses. He’d also talk about Lebanon’s civil war and the political unrest that followed. But these were stories about other people, other eras and other lives — until December 2013, when Ronnie’s personal life became part of the tapestry of Beirut’s history. This story originally appeared on Kerning Cultures, a podcast featuring Middle East radio documentaries.UPDATE: A previous version of this story included an incorrect title for Ronnie Chatah. We regret the error.