What You Need to Know . . .

. . . when you visit Beirut.

There are so many facets to a country. Especially this one. And when you come as a tourist, you only get the big picture. 

You visit the National Museum (I wonder why, not that interesting), you run around Martyr’s Square (pretty bleak, if I may say so), go downtown (not Lebanon at all), visit a mosque (now that’s something  I do when I visit a real Arab country) , look at Rauche Rock ( if anything is ONLY visited by tourists, it is this one)  or tramp around the Corniche (Okay, that one counts as a real Lebanese experience).

But all the finer nuances escape you. And those are the ones that make this country so intricately interesting (as far as I am concerned). This little red light, for instance. (Sorry for the all the other lights, but that’s what you get when the little red light is one.)

Why would there be a little red light with switches on the electricity pole? 

Well, when the light is on, it means there is government electricity (Hence the street lights). If it is off, you’re on the neighborhood generator. Which means for many that you cannot blow-dry your hair and turn on the microwave at the same time. If you do, that means a trip down stairs, to the electricity pole, where you must flip your ‘digenteur’ (circuit breaker) back up again (or stay in the dark).  

 And if that doesn't work, you call the number. I like it how that one 0 is a smaller than the rest. They didn't have zeroes anymore, so they used an o. Very professional. 

Personally, I think that’s more interesting than what’s laying around in the National Museum. But that’s me.