(CNN) -- In 1984, in the midst of Lebanon's civil war, Naji Gebran started hosting regular gatherings at his Beirut beachfront apartment for the purpose of "musical therapy." 

Weary and traumatized from the conflict that had divided their city -- and would claim some 150,000 lives over its 15 years -- people would come to his apartment to lose themselves in a night of jazz, blues, funk, soul, classical and Arabic music. 

"They used to come because of the music, to forget the war," said Gebran. "We used to do this for peace." 

The party nights were an important outlet, he said, as during the war years there were few other options. 

"My friends had nowhere to go," he said. There were two or three clubs in Christian east Beirut, the same in the city's Muslim west. 

"But they were very constipated. Very good dress, the same music all the time," he said. "It was very commercial, easy listening, everywhere you go." 

Beirut has come a long way since then. 

After dark, the city comes alive: A balmy playground of chic nightclubs, rough and ready dives, stylish rooftop bars. 

The hip, hedonistic scenes in the fashionable neighborhoods of Gemmayze or Hamra are unlike anything to be found elsewhere in the Arab world -- and can be an unexpected find in a country in which austere Islamic militant group Hezbollah forms part of the government. 

"It is the nightlife capital of the region," said Naomi Sargeant, managing director of city guide Time Out Beirut. "It's cosmopolitan and has this East-meets-West feel. I don't think there's anything on par." 
were there other clubs?
two or three