Aug 23-28
Visiting Lebanon had always been in the back of our minds, but increasing turmoil between pro-Assad and Syrian Free Army supporters in the northern city of Tripoli, made that decision a complicated one. We asked countless people their opinion on visiting, but their answers were usually split right down the middle. Gus had already planned to visit with a work colleague of his, and Chris wanted to go anyways. Josh and I decided that we would be a larger group, and if worse came to worst, we could always just take the earliest flight out.
We were going to Lebanon!
The flight from Amman to Beirut was a mere 45 minutes. I had arranged a driver to meet us at the airport. As we left the airport, it was rather surprising to see the military presence at nearly every turn: countless soldiers, APCs with mini-guns and even a few small tanks. Rather than being startled by this, I found it rather reassuring that if things were to go down, the response could be immediate.
The driver dropped us off at our hotel, Talal's New Hotel (www.talalhotel.com), in the Gemmayzeh district. Gemmayzeh centers around Rue Gouraud and encompasses scores of bars, clubs and restaurants. We had hit the jackpot!
Once we dropped off our bags, we decided to scope out the downtown area. Dominated by the Mohammed al-Amin Mosque, downtown Beirut looks more like a pristine, upscale European city than the typical Arab capitals we had grown used to.
Beirutis made us look like hobos: everyone very well-groomed, impeccably dressed and nearly all contributing to the German economy by driving BMWs, Mercedes or Audis.
As for the women: Oh My God! Beirut is the only place on earth that can rival Montreal in terms of beautiful women per capital, at least in my opinion.
The one caveat being that plastic surgery is a very prevalent and lucrative industry in Beirut, with many people having work done: nose jobs a-plenty, tummy tucks, and it seemed as though most young women strived to emulate the mountainous landscape of Lebanon on their chests using silicone as their foundation. However, after having spent a month-and-a-half in conservative Muslim countries during Ramadan no less, dominated by women wearing Hijabs, Niqabs or no women in sight at all, we were definitely not complaining!
After having spent just a few hours in Beirut, I was convinced we were no longer in Arabia, and Beirutis should be called Eurabs, a cross between Europeans and Arabs. A far more fitting desciption.
In Beirut, our first order of business was finding a travel agency to arrange our Visa for Dubai. For most western nationals, a free Visa is issued upon arrival, but because the Canadian government does not believe in bilateral accessibility to Canada for the Emerati, Canadians now have to get a Visa in advance, have an onward ticket prior to entry, and pay a whopping 110$ for even our short stay of 4 days!
Well, what're you gonna do?
Over the next few days, we visited various areas of Beirut: we walked through the bustling student district of Hamra, the campus of the American University of Beirut, the uber upscale port area and the trendy Achrafiye neighborhood.
After a long night of partying at the Sporting Club along Beirut's corniche, we decided to visit one of Beirut's fabled 'beach clubs'. Although Senses was situated on the Mediterranean, there was not a grain of sand in sight. Instead there was a massive pool, a swim-up bar and many bronzed Lebanese gods and goddesses.
After the weekend, when Josh and I had finalized our Visas for the Emirates; Gus, Chris and I decided to do some good old fashioned sightseeing!
We hired a car to take us to a candidate for the New 7 Wonders of Nature: the Jeita Grotto. The Jeita Grotto is situated 20km outside Beirut and comprises two levels of some of the largest and most impressive stalactites and stalagmites in the world. The upper level is traversed via raised platforms and the lower level is visited by boat because it is channeled by an underground river. The two levels span a total length of 9 kilometers.
The grotto was incredibly impressive, but a power-failure midway through spoiled our visibility in the cave for the final portion, although not completely.
The only criticism I have of the experience is that if the Lebanese government is pushing to increase tourism to the site and wants to validate its candidacy for a New Wonder of the natural world, they should at least let you take pictures in it! I had to check in my camera upon entering and the only explanation I received was that by eliminating photography inside, people wouldn't stay as long and it would decrease congestion inside the grotto. As a consolation, here are photos I found on Google images.
Inhabited as early as 7000 years ago, Byblos contains ancient relics, artifacts and architecture showing ties to the Egyptian Empire, the Greeks, the Mesopotamians, the Phoenicians and the Romans.
The archeological site is now dominated by a crusader castle built in 1104 A.D.
Chris, Gus and I spent a few hours exploring this beautiful sea-side wonder, a little in awe of the wealth of human history it encompasses.
After taking it all in and enjoying the views of the rolling hills and turquoise seas, we headed back to our hotel to join up with Josh and resume our nightly ritual of partying in Gemmayzeh!
I love Lebanon.
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