'Smile! You're in Beirut, not in Abidjan!'

My weekend tripping in the Middle East had to include Beirut of course. I was there for work twice, but had some time to get the flair of the city as well as Jounieh, where I stayed during my second job assignment in Lebanon.

Lebanon is amazing. Coming from Amman, it appeared to be really liberal and very Western. Also, the fact that Beirut lies on the Mediterranean sea just makes this city a delightful place. I particularly liked the welcome greeting from a tea-selling gentleman: “Smile! You're in Beirut, not in Abidjan!” (At the time, post-civil war Ivory Coast was making the headlines.)

Sunset on the road to Jbeil

We walked from Hamra, where we were staying, to Downtown, along the beautiful streets. A few destroyed buildings, vestiges from the civil war, had caught our eye on the way from the airport, but what struck us in the city itself was the presence of so much military: they were everywhere! (just like cedar trees!) Also we couldn't access part of the pedestrian area because demonstrations were announced. Afterwards an AUB professor explained to me that they tend to close up that part even if only ten people end up demonstrating.

Beirut is beautiful. One cannot deny it. The first time I was not sure if I would abandon my Amman for it. Somehow Amman had grown on me, in the one month I had lived there, but now, with a little more perspective, I start considering Beirut as a possible future home!

For now it is an opportunity to to get away from a quite conservative society and show a little bit of skin! My first thought when I saw a young Lebanese woman wearing a tank top was “Girl, you're practically naked!” Also to see people kissing on the streets made me feel slightly uncomfortable at first. What has Jordan done to me? :)

Other places, that I can really recommend are Jbeil (or Byblos) and the Jeita Grotto. Jbeil is a very cute sea port, where you can visit the castle ruins, which look amazing, especially at sunset. There are plenty of bars and restaurants along the Souq and the atmosphere is generally relaxed. In Jeita, we visited a stalactite cave, which was really impressive, even before we entered the actual cave. Indeed, Jeita Grotto is located in the mountains, not too far from the coast though, and the hills are covered in Green! It looks like paradise, because two and a half months in the desert make you miss green nature: pastures, fields, the grass chewing cows of Normandy, a little stream and... I should stop, because even if I have a little home sickness, my appreciation for the Middle East hasn't waned !

Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen treeeeeeeeeeeeeees

In Lebanon, we stayed in a Christian area, which is distinctive by certain religious pictures (including photos of the pope), frequent statues of Holy Mary, no muezzin who wakes you up in the morning and also skin: hot pants and bare shoulders! It really feels like Europe and the easiness of life felt good.

When I boarded the plane back to Amman, I could already feel the melancholy. I don't know when I will return to Lebanon, but I know I will come back and I dearly hope that it will be soon!