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The Friends of the City Churches are offering a rare chance to see inside all 38 surviving City of London churches this week, including the complete canon of Sir Christopher Wren, Hawksmoor's magical St Mary Woolnoth and the eight pre-Fire churches. Bevis Marks, London's finest historic synagogue is also included in a special two-day walk on Thursday and Friday, starting at 10am on both days, at St Mary Aldermary, Bow Lane (Underground: Mansion House), where a map and expert information will be available. The walk can be spread across both days - an early start is recommended, as some City incumbents want to lock up their secret treasures as quickly as possible. The walk, however, is not the London Marathon and there are no prizes for getting to see inside all 38 churches (and one synagogue) in record time. Among the rarely seen interiors opening especially for the walk are Wren's red-brick St Benet, Paul's Wharf (the Welsh church in the City), the exquisite Neo-Classical All Hallows, London Wall (by George Dance, the man who taught Sir John Soane) and St Andrew Undershaft, London's most stately medieval church according to the gospel of St John Betjeman.
For further information, call: Richard Pollard, Friends of City Churches, 0171-228 3336
Just when peace and the chance to rebuild seemed possible, the people of Lebanon are, again, under attack. Tomorrow, John Julius Norwich, founding member and patron of the British Lebanese Association, and Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, former UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Islamic scholar and art expert, will discuss recent reconstruction development and plans (rehabilitation as well as renovation) for the future of Beirut, the city that, sadly, everyone has learnt to prefix with the words "war-torn". The lecture (6.30pm, Royal Geographical Society, Exhibition Road entrance, London SW7), will be accompanied by a short documentary film, Beirut through the Ages made by Viscount Norwich; the film looks at the latest archaeological excavations in the city.
Tickets are available from the British Lebanese Association: 0171-370 2572
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