November 12, 2009

Beirut is back… and it's beautiful

How the Lebanese capital went from warzone to 2010's most glamorous tourist destination . . .

From the Observer. Read the rest here.

As it turns out, the lights are a mixed success: some people stop, some people don't. A very Lebanese solution. You can do what you want, but you may have a super-charged Lebanese yuppie ram you in the back. Ah, yes, the memories come flooding back. It's that signature Beirut cocktail of adventure and excitement ? with just a hint of sudden death.
(...)the hotelier behind Le Gray, tells me about going out for dinner and being offered bluefin tuna. "I said, 'Isn't that an endangered species?' And the host leaned over and whispered, 'Not here'."
"In Lebanon," says Khaled, leaning back and spreading his arms out in an expansive fashion, "we have everything. We have the Mediterranean. We have classical ruins. We have..."
"Religious extremists," I say. "Armed militiamen."
"Exactly. If you want religious extremists, we have religious extremists. If you want mountains, we have mountains. If you want lingerie shows on the ski slopes of Mount Lebanon, we have lingerie shows. We have everything. Everything."
And the New York Times is right: it should be your number one destination.

Hey, I've been telling you guys this for some 4 years now.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You even have C & A now at ABC Ashrafieh.

Unknown said...

Should tell Agnes B. to complete the Dutch ABC.

Unknown said...

Quote: And in lovely Jbeil – or Byblos – just up the coast, with its Crusader castle and Phoenician fishing port, they've bulldozed the beach! A flashy private "beach club" has been built right on top of it. (...) It's a beautiful country, blessed by the gods, yet cursed by them too."

Cursed by men, Lebanese to be precise.