A Blog from Beirut ‘You should know, there is only one rule in Beirut, there are no rules.’ This slogan was more or less the first thing my taxi driver said to me as he picked me up from Rafik Hariri International airport on my arrival into Lebanon and the Middle East. At the time I thought little of this rather dramatic cliche as the conversation moved to more trivial matters such as why was it that I hadn’t taken my National Service yet and why exactly had I come to Lebanon to study politics! However, during my first week here in Beyrouth I have heard this slogan on several occasions, from University professors to street venders. This made me wonder, why is this expression so common and what exactly does it mean? After all, 40
... read more