by mirroring a Mamluk-era shrine on the right. Some of the squares features are curved white marble planters surrounding Ibn Iraq monument, white marble circular planters with trees and shrubs; white marble circular steps guiding to Bab Idriss and the Souks upper floors; seating spaces facing the shop fronts, providing shade and emphasizing the entrance towards Souk Tawileh. The square also offers passages to Souk Sayyour and the Gold Souks. Zeytouneh Square Situated at the southernmost point of the Shoreline Walk, Zeytouneh Square forms a key link connecting the different sectors of the central district. Designed by Gustafson-Porter, the company of renowned American landscape architect and artist Kathryn Gustafson, the 600-sq-meters square was inaugurated in 2011, after eight years of designing, planning and construction works. Described by the square's architects as a "celebration of modern Beirut and place for cultural events", the square's terraces were made to utilize the existing slope to provide an informal amphitheater space from which concerts, festivals and films can be viewed. The surface of the Zeytouneh Square extends across the roads to the surrounding buildings, unifying the square as one large space. The bold paving patterns were inspired from the Black and White patterning found in traditional Lebanese houses, with the paving stripes changing with the topography of the landscape. Provided with free wireless internet access, the square's design was complemented with stone benches and Albizia trees, to gradually help the square become a popular hangout place. Samir Kassir Square A square on Rue Weygand street in the Beirut Central District commemorating the late journalist and political activist Samir Kassir. The square is located behind the An-Nahar building, the renowned newspaper headquarters where Kassir used to work. The garden boasts a bronze statue of Kassir done by the French sculptor Louis Derbré. Two historic ficus trees provide shade at the centre of the space, and a reflecting pool with water cascading over its edges marks the border with the street. The pool is flanked by a rectangular timber deck that encircles the two trees, and has at its western side a long bench of solid stone. The edges of the site have a ground cover of dwarf Natal plum (carissa macrocarpa), a water-conserving plant known for its dark evergreen leaves and its white, star-shaped flowers and red berries which grow throughout the year. In 2007, the garden won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, an