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'Jihadist Hub' Molenbeek A New, Unlikely Tourist Destination

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Molenbeek has become an unlikely tourist draw. The Brussels borough gained unwanted notoriety last year when Islamic State militants from the area attacked Paris. Tour guides report growing interest from those keen to see the long-blighted district for themselves. Tours offer a chance to view an industrial heritage that once earned Molenbeek the nickname, "Little Manchester". The uptick in interest in the area comes as the broader city's visitor numbers dropped after the French bloodshed and the March bombings in Brussels itself. The borough is comprised of 95,000 people, up to 40 percent of them Muslim and mainly of Moroccan origin. It sits just across a once warehouse-lined canal from the old heart of Brussels, whose Renaissance Grand-Place, beer bars, chocolate shops and art galleries are the more typical destinations for tourist throngs.

Added on the 23/08/2016 13:42:17 - Copyright : Wochit

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