Probably not unlike many of you, when I thought of Beirut, I thought of a poor/bombed out city that often came across our US news broadcasts in the 1980’s. Then I traveled there for the first time in February of this year & again in July. Although Beirut was a focal point of the bloody Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), resulting in the estimated 130,000 to 250,000 civilian fatalities, today’s Beirut is a city still under a massive rebuilding & modernization effort.
In my limited foot & bicycle travels around the downtown / waterfront area, I found that although there are definitely still remains of bombed out / gunned down buildings, some 80-90% of the area is beautifully reconstructed & full of life.
It was however quite haunting to see buildings covered with bullet / mortar holes & no windows, left standing among the shiny new high rise structures just around the corner. Just seeing the evidence & knowing that many lives were lost within my lifetime, right where I stand, left me speechless!
The view outside my 11th floor hotel room.
View out the other side of the hotel :)
Just down the street is the old Holiday Inn building, where some of the major battles of the Lebanese Civil War took place. Left standing today to remind everyone of the cost the wars have inflicted.
Along the waterfront.
The architecture & location of this building jumped out at me. I’m sure it was once a prized location, as it’s on a bluff that overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the west.
Rouche Sea Rock.
The Rouche Sea Rock behind me is so big that people were riding wave runners through the arch at the base!
Beirut was named the top place to visit in 2009 by The New York Time. It was also listed as one of the ten liveliest cities in the world by Lonely Planet in 2009.
If you are interested in reading more on the Lebanese Civil War, visit
Wikipedia.com
