When we told friends and family we were going to Beirut, we got a mix of concern, raised eyebrows and that look of “why? are you actually paying to go there?” Some probably eyed up our £260 flat screen TV and wondered if this would come their way when we were officially declared gone for good.
Beirut is a city of sharp contrasts. OK, there are many buildings bearing the scars of many years of war. Tanks, barbed wire and military checkpoints are located around the city. But once you look beyond that, you see a beautiful city, rich with a unique multi-cultural heritage, and with a very modern downtown. Walking along the Corniche (the waterfront promenade), I could have easily been in Nice or even Santa Monica. The Lebanese people meanwhile were so warm and welcoming that it was hard to imagine the turmoil the city and its people had recently suffered.
(April 2009)
