Home Middle East Lebanon Lebanon – My Thoughts

Lebanon – My Thoughts

November 18, 2017

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I guess I have a thing for the Middle East. There really is something fascinating about this part of the world. I like the sense of history, the proud attitude of the people, and the lessons we could learn from them… if we are open to it. After all, this used to be part of the “first world” long before most of the current first world countries existed. History favors those who heed her. I hope we are listening.

Upon arrival at my hotel (Gefinor Rotana) I asked about the relative safety of walking around alone at night (something I typically always do) and was told that it was “more than safe”. I’m not sure what could be *more* than safe, but I took that as a good sign and ventured out. My hotel is only several blocks away from the popular Hamra Street. A shopping and restaurant area supposedly popular with both tourists and locals. It was abuzz with both pedestrians and cars, and left me no impression of danger. Young adults, family’s and (very few) westerners mulled around, window shopping, chatting and eating in establishments which included Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Nike. The behavior of the people seemed so incongruous to the headlines of news sites I had been monitoring that I wondered how to explain it. Either they weren’t aware, or they didn’t put any value in it, or perhaps these events just didn’t surmount the many day-to-day realities that they were surely facing. After all, the residents of this area have faced military aggression from all sides so many times over the course of this country’s current incarnation, that a few talking heads from neighboring power houses with political agendas may not even make them take notice.

Comfort: As many of you know, my trips are often challenging. I typically pack in as much as I can since it is very unlikely that I will return to countries I visit. This trip has provided the unusual comfort of staying in the same hotel for the entire trip. I didn’t think about this much as I making the arrangements, but it is making things easier.

Growing up, I used to lump all of the Middle Eastern countries together, but the history of this area is incredibly complex and the countries therefore remarkable different. The more I hear about Lebanon, the more it seems that time after time they have ended up with the short end of the stick. Given their extreme diversity (religion: Christian/Sunni/Shiite/Druz; divided government; ties to both the East and the West) size and unfortunate location they seem to be a convenient battleground for their more powerful neighbors’ squabbles.

After returning from a tour to Baalbek, I went back to Hamra Street and noticed that someone has hung up many signs with the Prime Minister’s picture and the message “# We are with you”. This must be the Sunni part of town.

The next tour was to the Jeito Grotto. It’s a cave system north of Beirut with stalactites and stalagmites. It’s nice, but not really different from others around the world, including Luray Caverns back home. Perhaps the only remarkable difference is that the bottom cave system is flooded and you take a boat to get around. After that, we went to the city of Byblos to see the crusader castle, and then up a cable car to see Our Lady of Lebanon, a 8.5 meter high, 15-ton bronze statue (painted white) of the Virgin Mary.

The following day I took a walking tour of Beirut from the Alternative Tour group. They bill themselves as alternative because their main focus is to show Beirut from the perspective of a local. It touches on the historical aspects, but its more about visiting local establishments, learning about the struggles inherent in living in Beirut, and how difficult it is to make ends meet if you are not a part of the government/big business machine. It was interesting and a welcome break from my “regular” tours, but I have to admit it was more than a bit one sided: all of the poor and working classes are heroes and all government and big businesses are corrupt and soulless. If you would like to visit a couple of local food and drink establishments (and be treated like a local), and wander through a second hand goods (junk) shop, then this is the tour for you. I enjoyed it.

After a few more tours through Viator tour, I flew home through Frankfurt.

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