Beirut: My Journey and Reflections

This is my first article in the Beirut series that I will be writing from today and into the near future. Beirut and Lebanon were going to be a main focus of my blog once a came back from my summer vacation, since I had visited Beirut and the surrounding area and gained a lot of interest in it. But since I hadn't been writing much in that time, I will start from today.

There are so many things to be said about Lebanon and Beirut in particular. It is a beautiful city, a prestigious one, and a very liberal one, as is Lebanon as a whole. It's religiously diverse, the scenery is absolutely breathtaking, the people are great, the food is delicious and unique, and everything seems to be flowing in perfect harmony, except for the many wars that have plagued the area, but that will be the focus of the articles to come.

I will describe how my trip was to Beirut, and how astounded and extremely excited I was. We emerged through the Lebanese border from Damascus, and found a vast valley ahead of us. The Anti-Lebanon mountains opened up to the Bekaa Valley. We drove through the scenic and lush valley for about half an hour. We were passing toy stores, clothing boutiques, restaraunts and cafes, but what grabbed my attention most was the banners of the political figures, in majority it was of Saad al Hariri. Cedars in between red strips were waving in every direction you looked, and then I realized that I was truly in Lebanon, and I was thrilled that I finally got to see this gorgeous and controversial state. We kept driving until we bisected the valley and arrived at the opposing valley. We climbed a little while and then stopped for breakfast in Chtoura at a place called Hashem's, I think, and we had the best Man'eish and tea! We countinued our journey, ascending the huge mountains until I felt that I was at a higher altitude than the anti-Lebanon mountains on the oppose side of the valley that bordered with Syria. Yet we still kept climbing.

Then we reached level elevation and rounding a corner, I saw the first evidence of any chaos: large, destroyed bridge. We took a detour and began driving until I saw what was the most amazing thing. Everything turned green at some sudden time, or it seemed to me, and we were descending down the opposite side of the mountain. Beyond I could see what I had for years been aspiring to see. I white city perched on a peninsula that jutted out into the vast yet tranquil Mediterranean Sea. That was my first glimpse of Beirut and I fell in love with it. Through the rest of our journey down the mountains, I was snapping photos on both my Nokia N73, and my Sony camera, like it was going out of style. The scenery was just astounding and no words can describe it. It was truly like heaven: green, green, green, green, green, the vast blue of the sea, and in between a strip of white.

We continued winding down the narrow street to the Paris of the East, and passed many significant landmarks, to me anyway, like the MBC studios. My first impression of Lebanon, even when we were still in the valley, of how extremely Americanised, and Westernized it was. Signs of McDonald's and all the American fast food chains were decorating the streets, as well as countless advertisements of everything prestigious and expensive. It was, in my opinion, a relatively wealthy country.

Wait for the next parts of my trip and the Beirut Series, they're coming soon, and I promise not to keep you waiting long!