Beirut was definitely a worthwhile trip. It was refreshing to get out of Dubai, which is a place quite at odds with itself (shiny buildings vs. dust and sand everywhere; oppressive heat vs. hypothermia-inducing air conditioning; westerners wearing minimal clothing vs. Arabs covered head to toe--you get the idea).
Beirut smells like gasoline, and dust, and the city, with a hint of salt from the ocean, which frames its western and northern borders. It's got gorgeous buildings full of classic french architecture that are crumbling, or riddled with bullet holes. It's also got dull 70s-style cement block type buildings that look as if they were built in a hurry to withstand the turmoil that has transpired there.
Meanwhile, the American University of Beirut campus is gorgeous, full of cyprus and palm trees, right on the water. Below is a picture of their graduation ceremony set-up which was happening this past weekend.
The people were vibrant--happy to be back in their home country after a recent skirmish that shut down Beirut's airport and made people retreat into their homes and away from Lebanon--nothing new in the last few years. There are 10 million people living outside of Lebanon and only 4 million living inside, but people have been flooding back into the country for their summer holidays and to see their family members who have stayed.
There is a heavy french influence--gorgeous architecture, good food, sophisticated and well-dressed Lebanese people. A large percentage of the country is French-educated and Christian. It was amazing to see of tons of churches and mosques, even on the same block sometimes.
Of course, there were reminders of the latent tension--tanks in the streets anyone?:
But right down the street was this main square, with gorgeous cafés and great people watching:
But, bullet holes and partially abandoned buildings are reminders of what has happened in Beirut in recent times:
But with sights like this, it evens out really quickly:
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