anyone been to Beirut recently?
Discussion
Last year i had a really great trip to Syria. My girlfriend is a big fan of touring the Middle East (she spent two years living in Kuwait and has been around jordan, bahrain, and other states) but Beirut has always been the most fascinating destination. Plus it has the most famous food...which is generally what interests me most 
Are any PHers regional experts? We would look at spending 5 days in Beirut, doing some basic sightseeing and chilling out in cafes....possibly one day trip to Anjar or Baalbek.
I prefer my tourism a bit off the beaten track, but taking sensible precautions.
So has anyone been in the last year?
Are any PHers regional experts? We would look at spending 5 days in Beirut, doing some basic sightseeing and chilling out in cafes....possibly one day trip to Anjar or Baalbek.
I prefer my tourism a bit off the beaten track, but taking sensible precautions.
So has anyone been in the last year?
My own experience was probably not that helpful. We were in Syria a couple of years ago and Beirut was definitely no-go at the time. We met up with one Swedish traveller in Palmyra (amazing place) who was later heading off to Beirut. We later heard on FB that he had been killed when there. Not sure how or why, but still...
I went to Beirut and Lenanon in November for a week. Lovely country and very friendly people.
In general it seemed very safe to me, I would be more worried walking round London at night than Beirut. There are a few things to be careful with:
Be very careful crossing road or driving in - no one pays any attention to any road rules!
If you do go down to the south of the country, there are issues with unexploded bombs and mines, so you would be careful where you do go.
It's worth avoiding any refugee camp aswell.
The only place that I did feel uncomfortable was in Baalbek. Not in the ruins, but walking round the town, very different people to Beriut.
The main thing that I was worried, and still would be if I did go back, is another conflict with Israel kicking off whilst I was there.
Carl
In general it seemed very safe to me, I would be more worried walking round London at night than Beirut. There are a few things to be careful with:
Be very careful crossing road or driving in - no one pays any attention to any road rules!
If you do go down to the south of the country, there are issues with unexploded bombs and mines, so you would be careful where you do go.
It's worth avoiding any refugee camp aswell.
The only place that I did feel uncomfortable was in Baalbek. Not in the ruins, but walking round the town, very different people to Beriut.
The main thing that I was worried, and still would be if I did go back, is another conflict with Israel kicking off whilst I was there.
Carl
Been loads of times, my best mate lives there. Only time it's been really hairy is when the Isrealis bombed the airport a few years back and also the spate of car bombings in the wake of the Hariri assasination. It's largely quietened down now.
Other than the 'regional' tensions, it's safe as houses as a place to visit. Street crime virtually unheard of, really friendly people, everyone speaks great English and the place is very Westernised. The Lebanese are very 'francophile' and this is reflected in the fashions, the food and the general ambience of the place. I love it. Beautiful women, lovely local wine, great weather, some of the best dining in the world, fab nightlife and the best thing is there is not a footie shirted hooligan in sight! It's a well kept secret for my late summer holiday and I'm happy to keep it that way.
Other than the 'regional' tensions, it's safe as houses as a place to visit. Street crime virtually unheard of, really friendly people, everyone speaks great English and the place is very Westernised. The Lebanese are very 'francophile' and this is reflected in the fashions, the food and the general ambience of the place. I love it. Beautiful women, lovely local wine, great weather, some of the best dining in the world, fab nightlife and the best thing is there is not a footie shirted hooligan in sight! It's a well kept secret for my late summer holiday and I'm happy to keep it that way.
We did this in 2008 after Rally Jordan but we went to Baalbek and not Beirut, the border closed about a week after we were there.
Baalbek was different but there were political tensions there at the time, hence the border closing, but the people were friendly (except for 1 person) and the old Palmyria Hotel was good fun.
We are going back to Rally Jordan in early April, then up to Damascus, hopefully over to Beirut and up the coast, back into Syria then Aleppo. Was going to go to Rally Turkey as well, but may not have enough time.
P.S. If anyone is interested at all in the WRC I can highly recommend Rally Jordan!!!! Stay in Madaba and not Amman though.
Baalbek was different but there were political tensions there at the time, hence the border closing, but the people were friendly (except for 1 person) and the old Palmyria Hotel was good fun.
We are going back to Rally Jordan in early April, then up to Damascus, hopefully over to Beirut and up the coast, back into Syria then Aleppo. Was going to go to Rally Turkey as well, but may not have enough time.
P.S. If anyone is interested at all in the WRC I can highly recommend Rally Jordan!!!! Stay in Madaba and not Amman though.
Edited by byrrul on Sunday 7th March 11:54
I did indeed survive! Though picked up a tummy bug while out there 
not sure I can blame Beirut necessarily for that however.
The weather was strange while out there - the locals said it was very unusual - it was 32 degs, with a very hot wind blowing, so was dusty and fairly unpleasant at times. Didn't get outside the city itself. Would I go there on holiday as a city break - no tbh.
The downtown bit which everyone talks of was very small - and whilst nice with some lovely restored buildings and restaurants, it was really a tiny area - it wouldn't take very long to walk round and explore it. Once you've done that, Beirut itself is very run down and exactly what you'd expect from a city that has been a war zone for so long. There really isn't anything particularly attractive on the eye - it's just a series of wrecked buildings - the traffic has to be seen to be believed, apart from in the downtown area no traffic lights work - the driving standards are unreal, as are many of the cars on the road.
The locals I met were lovely - but they were professionals and business people - but I wouldn't have been keen to just walk around outside of the downtown bit alone.
As I say - I didn't go outside of the city, so I'm sure the beach area and mountains are lovely - thing is there are many other parts of the world with lovely beaches and mountains, and no unexploded ordnance waiting to catch you out, so I'm still not convinced of it's viability.
If you do go - take US dollars - no one uses Lebanese currency. The flights aren't the best timings - and keep an eye on BMI - there is talk of them dropping the route, which only leaves Middle East Airlines flying out there a quick search of google suggested they don't have the finest of safety records......
In summary - I've been to nicer places
not sure I can blame Beirut necessarily for that however.The weather was strange while out there - the locals said it was very unusual - it was 32 degs, with a very hot wind blowing, so was dusty and fairly unpleasant at times. Didn't get outside the city itself. Would I go there on holiday as a city break - no tbh.
The downtown bit which everyone talks of was very small - and whilst nice with some lovely restored buildings and restaurants, it was really a tiny area - it wouldn't take very long to walk round and explore it. Once you've done that, Beirut itself is very run down and exactly what you'd expect from a city that has been a war zone for so long. There really isn't anything particularly attractive on the eye - it's just a series of wrecked buildings - the traffic has to be seen to be believed, apart from in the downtown area no traffic lights work - the driving standards are unreal, as are many of the cars on the road.
The locals I met were lovely - but they were professionals and business people - but I wouldn't have been keen to just walk around outside of the downtown bit alone.
As I say - I didn't go outside of the city, so I'm sure the beach area and mountains are lovely - thing is there are many other parts of the world with lovely beaches and mountains, and no unexploded ordnance waiting to catch you out, so I'm still not convinced of it's viability.
If you do go - take US dollars - no one uses Lebanese currency. The flights aren't the best timings - and keep an eye on BMI - there is talk of them dropping the route, which only leaves Middle East Airlines flying out there a quick search of google suggested they don't have the finest of safety records......
In summary - I've been to nicer places
I think Stephanie's experience mirrors my first impression of the place but having been there plenty more times since I've come to love the place. Having skied in Feraya and drank wine in the Bekaa Valley as well as sunbathed in Byblos, I can see why my best pal is is no hurry to rush back to drizzly old Blighty!
Wadeski said:
ah thats a shame. I adored Syria, and I was hoping Beirut would have kept its life and charm. I'll keep it "on the list"...
Syria is a real gem, spent a few days there last year and also a couple of days in Beirut. Given a choice, I may spend a couple of more days in Lebanon but could easiy spend a week in Syria.If you go to Damascus, make sure you visit Narenj, an amazing restaurant.
Wadeski said:
Didnt make it to Narenj, but had very good food in the old city of Damascus. Best mezze was, wierdly, in a nightclub/bar type place.
It was their first night open and they went fairly mental that we had turned up, and laid on pretty much the whole menu for us.
Another interesting Damascus restaurant.It was their first night open and they went fairly mental that we had turned up, and laid on pretty much the whole menu for us.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7435424.stm
Had 3 days in Lebanon recently, 1 night in Byblos, 2 nights in Beirut. You could do day trips to quite a few sites from Beirut, as it really is a small country! Byblos was excellent, good food, beer/wine, hotels and ruins, just make sure you go mid week.
Excellent restuarants and cafes in Beirut, Lebanese pound is linked to the US dollar which is accepted every where, in fact you mix and match currencies.
The amount of traffic has to be seen to be believed and the amount of building work going on is the same. Variety of cars and newness there of was quite a suprise given that the average speed in Beirut is barely faster than walking pace.
No shortage of decent hotels in different parts of the city. We stayed in Hamra but did a lot of walking. I would return as there is more of the country that I want to see.
A word of warning, the word on the street is that israel is getting stroppy with Lebanon again and some people we were talking to said they expected israeli action in June or July. Whilst we were in Beirut I did see fighter jets doing low level sorties,I presumed that they were Lebanese planes but were told that they were israeli and this was a very common occurance.
When we got back to Damascus some people had been in Baalbek the previous night and heard lots of gunfire, locals said it was a wedding, but I read in The Daily Star that there had been a firefight between the Lebanese army and one of the local clans, 10 people were injured, 3,000 rounds of ammunition and 20 RPGs had been fired in a 90 minute period.
In some ways Beirut was surreal, most cafes have wifi, however I needed an internet cafe and I asked in a computer shop about one, the reply was one of suprise, in fact the comment was "you mean you don't own a laptop?" (I did but it was back n the hotel room).
At breakfast there were 4 young girls and 2 young boys (16 or 17 yo) next to us all talking about their recent plastic surgery experiences, in fact one of the girls still had the signs of a very recent nose job. They all spoke in American English, were still at high school (I asked) and most were smoking cigarettes.
In fact this in my opinion is the only down side to this part of the world, every smokes, be it water pipes or cigarettes!
Excellent restuarants and cafes in Beirut, Lebanese pound is linked to the US dollar which is accepted every where, in fact you mix and match currencies.
The amount of traffic has to be seen to be believed and the amount of building work going on is the same. Variety of cars and newness there of was quite a suprise given that the average speed in Beirut is barely faster than walking pace.
No shortage of decent hotels in different parts of the city. We stayed in Hamra but did a lot of walking. I would return as there is more of the country that I want to see.
A word of warning, the word on the street is that israel is getting stroppy with Lebanon again and some people we were talking to said they expected israeli action in June or July. Whilst we were in Beirut I did see fighter jets doing low level sorties,I presumed that they were Lebanese planes but were told that they were israeli and this was a very common occurance.
When we got back to Damascus some people had been in Baalbek the previous night and heard lots of gunfire, locals said it was a wedding, but I read in The Daily Star that there had been a firefight between the Lebanese army and one of the local clans, 10 people were injured, 3,000 rounds of ammunition and 20 RPGs had been fired in a 90 minute period.
In some ways Beirut was surreal, most cafes have wifi, however I needed an internet cafe and I asked in a computer shop about one, the reply was one of suprise, in fact the comment was "you mean you don't own a laptop?" (I did but it was back n the hotel room).
At breakfast there were 4 young girls and 2 young boys (16 or 17 yo) next to us all talking about their recent plastic surgery experiences, in fact one of the girls still had the signs of a very recent nose job. They all spoke in American English, were still at high school (I asked) and most were smoking cigarettes.
In fact this in my opinion is the only down side to this part of the world, every smokes, be it water pipes or cigarettes!
Edited by byrrul on Friday 30th April 05:26
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