Beirut was the ‘Paris of the Middle East’. Now it’s in the midst of one of the world’s worst economic collapses in 150 years

Each morning before dawn, Mohamad Kreiydye bids silent farewell to his sleeping family and begins the day’s hunt for fuel.

From his neighbourhood in central Beirut, he weaves his taxi through the city’s deserted streets to a local petrol station where a queue of cars has been forming overnight.