Episode 2 My City

around the globe report on life where they live. From Turkish books

to Cape Town's baboons. Here's My City, presented by Carrie Gracie.

Cities are rarely out of the news, not always for the best reasons.

Over the past year, the BBC has reported from across the world on

the people and events that have shaped 2013. But when the headlines

are over and the cameras have gone, life returns to normal. The BBC has

journalists in more cities than any other international broadcaster, and

over the next half-hour, they will be showing what life is like in some

of the cities that have been in the news. Giving us an insight into the

beautiful, frantic and often surprising cities that they called

home. In a moment, we find out why Hitch is in the best way to get to

work and have Anna, -- in have Anna. Beirut, a city of high society and

finance. A city of fast cars and flashy people. A city of statues

tomatoes and monuments to leaders. Beirut is my city, a city that after

15 years of civil war is less a building site than a template for

urban design. This is a ruined building that

stands on what used to be the Green line dividing the city between East

Beirut and West a route during the war. This bullet riddled former

luxury villa became the home for snipers who terrorised the

surrounding streets and killed hundreds of civilians. Now it is to

become a museum called memory of Beirut, after a long campaign by the

architect. For me, it encompasses the recent history of Beirut. It

talks about what the city was like in the golden days. It talks about

the war, the interruption that happen to the Lebanese life in

1975, and then it talks about the fight to preserve identity and

memory and history after the war. Definitely, Beirut is becoming a

modern, luxurious, glamorous city again. All these new constructions,

all these expensive apartments. But it is at the expense of the city

changing its ways. Is it my city question mark is it the way my city

wants to look like? Beirut is a city above all else of

great style, one of the great fashion centres of the region. Its

shops display the finest in contemporary design. We are in the

centre. I think the location of Beirut makes

Beirut more open to the outside, to Europe and other countries. Lebanese

women are very elegant and educated. They love to travel and they love

fashion and they love to be beautiful all the time. All this

inspires me. We are now in a different area, not

one of the flashiest areas of the city but an area that is becoming

more and more a model for different committees living side-by-side. --

communities. Causation macro it was an area

tailored for a specific unity but has embraced different cultures.

This was a district founded by a vibrant Armenian community.

Thousands were given sanctuary here thousands of years ago -- hundreds

of years ago. It is a mix of Artisans and markets and one leading

musicians has a studio here. I introduced this to the whole

world. They now have it in orchestras and symphonies. This is

where it originated. Beirut is an extrovert city but a

city that is almost daily and predictable, a city now undergoing

rapid change, a city that is healing the wounds of war and a city that

also contemplates the fruits of peace.

Everyone is going somewhere here. It is a city of motor scooters, an

industrial city of giant markets, and economic experiment of common is

and capitalism. It lies in the shade of HSBC. This is my city, once the

Saigon French to collapse, and American soldiers, now in its own

role as the powerhouse of Vietnam. I am in the wholesale market. It is

the biggest in Vietnam for agricultural produce. This alone

produces 75% of fish for the whole of the surrounding area. It is a

magical world of fish and seafood of infinite variety. Thousands of

people working the market. The fish section alone has a daily turnover

of 2 million US dollars. I wish that we could introduce new technology

allowing us to do business transactions online. And then we can

grow into a more modern and civilised market.

On the road, but this is not about freedom or individuality, there are

literally millions of motor scooters in this city. Public transport is

poor. Few people can afford a car. Everyone has a scooter. For some

people, it is also about style and cult status. Meet the members of the

motor scooter club. This is not just about a shared love of one of the

trendiest scooters on the market. It is a group of professionals who

raise money for charity and travel to rallies all over the country.

Nowadays, people use motor scooters to get from place to place quickly.

If they use bigger vehicles, they would get stuck in traffic jams and

be late for work. Sunday morning in the park. This is

the 30th of April Parker, marking the date in 1975 when Saigon fell to

the North Vietnamese forces. But today, it has been taken over by the

city 's youth, young musicians, dancers and students from all over

the country, generations with a vision of the future. Students from

the nearby University of architecture, this group is here

every Sunday to discuss the surrounding buildings. Today, it is

the modern plaza department store. I can imagine that any future, my city

will have lots of fast lane so vehicles can go up there, leaving

pedestrians walking underneath. People can feel more peaceful and

when travelling around. -- uncomfortable.

The energy of the people spills onto the street. My city was once one of

the bright economic lights of Southeast Asia. As I look at it

today, I wonder when it might shine again.

Still to come, baboons cause havoc in Cape Town and why Barcelona

became the skateboard capital of Europe. But first theatre companies

are springing up all over Istanbul. Istanbul, a city that has always

been at a crossroads. Between Asia and Europe, between history and

modern itty, between the Conservatives and the freedom rests.

A city of memories, of old poets and dusty box. -- books. I am a the old

book bazaar. Its most glorious days are over and the emphasis is now

more on paperbacks and university texts but all the book shops still

play a very important role in the cultural life of Istanbul. Visitors

to Istanbul have been able to browse the book stores since the 15th

century. Not everyone could be a book seller. An apprenticeship had

to be served. But it produced a city devoted to literature.

Istanbul is a very important city. Literature has not been slow to pay

its respects, especially travel writers. You come across all the

colours of the Middle East in our book shops.

But it is now theatre that has seen the boom time in Istanbul. More and

more drama schools are being established and fringe theatres are

spreading across the city. People are trying to express

themselves do to the changes around the country. People who are bored

with the Conservative traditions and structures. They have established

new theatres and new perspectives on drama. A design for living. This is

an area of Istanbul on the Asian side. It is a traditional local

community and its heritage is protected from development. This is

the happy face of the city. Tree-lined streets and tea shops

where everyone knows each other. A mosque stands side-by-side with a

local church. People have chosen to live here. The culture is a

commitment to good relationships. Solidarity and helping one another

with their responsibilities. Istanbul, a city with a thousand

years of history, once considered the centre of the world. A city

littered with the wounds of an empire. It is My City.

Cape Town. The people who live here proclaim it is the most beautiful

city in the world but cynical outsiders dismiss it as an outpost.

Cape Town is my city, the mother city, the Cape of Storms. For more

than 400 years, it has attracted people from far and wide and it is

now a which mix of diverse cultures and stark contrasts. -- a rich mix.

This is an historic area. It is a microcosm of the changing face of

this city since the end of apartheid in 1994. The first house in the area

was built in the 1860s. The first of the ten mosques was built in 1794.

It is distinctive and vibrantly painted and epitomises the rich

colours of the East. You still find a community that stayed here for 200

years. People from the East like things right. -- right.

Cape Town is the richest city in the world with its floral Kingdom. Its

natural beauty stems from its location in the peninsular,

surrounded by ocean and rugged mountains, but in the West, you can

find spots to settle and humans have encroached on those who have laid

claim to have been there first. I am in Scarborough. Here, a battle has

developed between local residents and baboons. This is the nub of the

problem. Baboons run onto the streets and roads. They can be

mischievous, they can be dangerous. Rangers have two monitor them and,

when necessary, chased them off with paintball guns and firecrackers. I

found this out myself when a cheeky adult male tried to get into the

car. Campaigners say it has gone too far. The effort has been on managing

baboons and not on managing people. They are butchered hedonistic. --

opportunistic. Humans need to work out how to stop reaching them. Cape

Town is a city of hidden talents. Gems within its own Mick go

unnoticed, only to find fame outside the country. This is the innovative

public company that produces puppets for the internationally acclaimed

drama, Waw Horse. They still receive commissions for the show. -- War

Horse. People come here to see the work happened. They see how

beautiful the city is. The reputation spreads through the work

that we do here. Cape Town has always had a reputation of being

more Eurocentric than African. Lack people were kept out by apartheid

but since 1994, I have seen my city slowly shed its tag as it becomes a

more cosmopolitan city. From a Roman colony to eight trading

powerhouse. From the Civil War to the euphoria of the 1992 Olympics,

Barcelona has been able to transform itself and it is the proud capital

of Catalonia. Barcelona is my city, Spain's most cosmopolitan and one of

your's most dynamic metropolises. Here we are in the old town of

Barcelona, a few metres away from Lasse Ramblas. This is one of the

most diverse parts of the city. It was once a red light district but a

programme of regeneration started in the 1980s was established. Today

cause , skaters ruled the city. TRANSLATION: Barcelona is a

worldwide landmark because of the locations for skating. The weather

is also important because we have lots of sunshine and very little

rain. We have the whole scene around skating, the art scene, the

nightlife. Barcelona is a magic place for skaters.

Much of the wealth that built contemporary Barcelona at the end of

the 19th century came from the former industrial district. Now the

empty factories have become a playground for artistic dwellers.

One former factory offers 30 artists space at a knock-down price.

TRANSLATION: Because of the rise in property prices, many spaces where

artist worked have been closed down. This is an oasis, one of the few

places that survives in Barcelona for artists. I hope it lasts for

ever. It is important to preserve it.

Barcelona has always had a reputation for its gastronomy. Now

the city is famous for its avant-garde locations. They mix

traditional ingredients with cutting edge techniques. Even if the

revolution seems impossible, Barcelona and is returning to

traditional places. -- Barcelona residents. It is in wine cellars

that fortified wines are accompanied by tap us, made from local produce.

Once considered old-fashioned, places like this now attract a young

generation. TRANSLATION: A few years ago, fashionable places started

popping up all over the city. They all look the same. People are coming

back here because they want something different.

Barcelona has a unique architectural heritage. The Mediterranean

lifestyle has been a magnet for people from all over the world. What

really lies behind the beautiful facade, my city, is the constant

search for change. It is always looking for transformation. That is

all for this special programme. With more reporters in more cities around

the world, the BBC brings the stories, the local knowledge, and

our cities, to you. Good morning. Low pressure remains

firmly in charge of our weather. That means spells of wind and rain.

You can see the radar from earlier. The rain across large swathes of the

UK. As you can see, for the South, across Wales and southern