BEIRUT -- The bombs are dropping on Beirut with Snoop Doggy Dogg!" said rap music fan Nick Haddad, as he left the Snoop Dogg show in the Lebanese capital this month.

The 18-year-old Lebanese Canadian was, of course, referring to the "bombs" in the lyrics of Snoop Dogg's raps -- not the other bombs that some people may associate with Beirut.

At 1 a.m., Mr. Haddad and his 16-year-old British friend of Lebanese descent were looking to find the Snoop Dogg after-party, by no means the first A-List gathering seen in Beirut this summer.

The American rapper has followed in the footsteps of Paris Hilton and Charles Aznavour as the international "name" on everyone's lips in this newly calm city. He entertained several thousand people at a convention center near downtown Beirut on Aug. 20. The visits, coming after three years of war and security problems, are just the latest sign that Lebanon is quickly regaining its title as the party and cultural headquarters of the Middle East.

From visits by glitzy heiress Ms. Hilton in early July to film festivals, gallery openings and rock bands old and new -- Keane and Deep Purple recently performed -- Lebanon's summer season is being called the most successful since the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in February 2005.

Snoop Dogg's show reminded many in Lebanon of the last visit by a major American rap artist in June 2006. That's when 50 Cent performed to a similarly enthusiastic audience of teenagers and rap aficionados. But a month after 50 Cent's performance -- and amid a summer tourist season that was billed as the biggest in Lebanon's history -- a war erupted between Lebanon and Israel, causing billions in damage and leaving more than 1,000 Lebanese dead.

The tourists and Lebanese expatriates fled. Three years of political turmoil ensued, canceling festivals and cultural events and ruining the Lebanese tourism sector, which accounts for 15 percent to 20 percent of Lebanon's economy. As dark clouds gathered over Lebanon after the 2006 war, the faded 50 Cent posters still clung to concrete walls and signs, reminding passersby of the summer that never was.

But the summer of 2009 marked a return to the optimism that was so quickly snuffed out in those dark days of 2006. And as the country regained its footing after bombings, assassinations, street clashes and near-civil war, the Lebanese expatriates and tourists came back.

"This summer is what it was like before the July war, and maybe even better," Karim Traboulsi, 25, said after the Snoop Dogg concert.

According to the Tourism Ministry, Lebanon can expect more than 2 million visitors this year, making it the best year ever for tourism. "We have never seen this many tourists. You can feel the tourists," says Nada Sardouk, the ministry's director general. "Three-hundred twenty-four thousand people came in July alone, so it's a figure we've never seen -- ever."

Some, like Ms. Hilton, come for Lebanon's bling culture. High-end nightclubs and restaurants market to customers who can drop thousands of dollars on bottles of champagne.

At these exclusive clubs, Lebanon's well-heeled mingle with oil money from the Arabian Gulf countries.

For the less-glitzy crowd in search of culture, three annual summer arts festivals went off this season without a hitch, bringing international performers and artists to Lebanon's historic villages and Roman ruins.

The Beiteddine Festival, held at an 18th-century stone palace, was canceled three years ago due to the July war. At the time, aid convoys and journalists jammed the narrow mountain road that leads to the festival site.

But this summer, the winding roads were packed with tourists going to see Arabic pop stars, French crooner Charles Aznavour and a Balkan rock orchestra led by the Serbian director Emir Kusturica, among others.

The Baalbek International Festival, held in the town that gave birth to Hezbollah in the early 1980s and remains one of the group's strongholds, hosts its events in Baalbak's incredible Roman ruins. Deep Purple took the stage in early August, exactly three years after the town had been rocked more by Israeli air strikes than aging baby-boomer musicians.

The Byblos International Festival in late July hosted an alternative night, which included Arabic electro-pop duo Y.A.S. and New York-based band CocoRosie.

The return of the festivals -- and Lebanon's local music, art and cultural events as well -- were cause for relief to many Lebanese who ached for normal life over the last three years.

But the peace and success has come with a price. Two million extra people in Lebanon is equivalent to a 50 percent increase in its population.

Lebanon already suffers from serious public infrastructure problems. For example, its roads are now clogged with cars.

But compared with the challenges Lebanon has faced in the past three years, solving traffic snarls should be a breeze.