Beiruit was the eighth stop on the 1963 Around-The-World trip. The Pan American flight from New Delhi arrived at 6:15 in the morning. Our hotel in Beirut was the Hotel Phoenicia InterContinental. In 1963 Beirut was a very modern and cosmopolitan city, with a decidedly French air. (French was the commonly understood language, rather than English.) Followers of Christianity and Islam mingled freely and daily activity focused on the Corniche. The famous Cedars of Lebanon were shown by motorcoach. But the highlight in Lebanon was the trip up to the ruins of ancient Byblos. Byblos has been continuously inhabited for 7,000 years. (The contemporary town, adjacent to the ruins, is called Jibail.) Excavations of the ancient cities, one on top of the other, began in 1925. Byblos is the word for Papyrus in Greek as it
... read more
