Beirut, Lebanon

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Beirut, Lebanon - Nov.17th -21st, 2009

We entered Lebanon without any problems after almost 4 hours on a bus from Damascus. Instead of being told "welcome to Lebanon" at the border, everyone told us "good luck"... a bit of an ominous welcome. Driving into Beirut was quite different from any other city with perhaps the exception of Pristina, Kosovo. Beirut was devastated by a long civil war starting in the mid 70's, and the scars of this conflict are still visible as you drive through the city today. Many of the buildings are covered with bullet and shrapnel holes, while others are almost completely destroyed.
The other thing that was a first for us was the security that is ever present in the city and on the roads. I personally have never seen anything like it. At most major intersections, there are soldiers posted. They sit either in sandbag bunkers, or in the shade of an armored personnel carrier. On top of that, almost every street corner has a few soldiers with AK-47's or M-16's just standing around. If you go into the the downtown or government district, you must walk as they are closed off to vehicular traffic, you must pass a checkpoint complete with blast shelters, get your bags searched and then go in. But once you get past all crazy security, Beirut is an awesome city.

It is almost like it has two sides, the one being a war ravaged past, while the other the new city trying to take its place. The construction and development on the waterfront is ongoing and shaping a new city that could rival any tourist destination... as long as it remains peaceful. The waterfront promenade is very similar to many of the ones we have seen in Europe. Sitting there amongst the palm trees and crashing waves, you could imagine yourself in Cannes. When in the downtown area, you could almost mistake it for Paris, it is that beautiful. Even the street signs are in French (a remnant of the French occupation). The nickname of "Paris of the East" is perhaps the most well deserved of any city. The people here, although not as quick to approach you on the street, turned out to be just as friendly and nice as in Syria once you started talking to them. Perhaps years of war have left them a little more cautious and reserved, especially about foreigners.
We stayed in a little hotel in the Gemeyze district of Beirut, right near the water and spent two days there just exploring the city, and one day sitting on the beach. The water was surprisingly warm for a late November day.

Although we would have liked to, we opted not to go anywhere else in Lebanon as we wanted to make our way to Jordan. We still got many places to see, so unfortunately we need to be quite selective with our destinations.

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Photos

Downtown Beirut
You can still see the remnants of battle's through out the city.

Martyrs Sqare
Bullet holes remain in the statue.