A Beirut Urban Adventure

I woke up Thursday (my “Saturday”) planning on a low key day around the hotel. I headed out for a late lunch at a place a friend recommended and quickly abandoned those plans. Brimming with confidence over how quickly I found the restaurant, I decided to take on the city on foot. So I set out armed with only a tourist map from the hotel (think map of a theme park…complete with cartoons), a camera and a bottle of water. Here is how it went:

Things started well with a spin around the American University of Beirut. It’s a beautiful campus with kind of a California feel to it. It made me really wish I was an undergrad again…

I then headed toward downtown, aka: Beirut Central District, or Solidere. The problem was, streets aren’t really marked in Beirut and none of the cartoon characters from my map were where they were supposed to be.

I got lost here…

And here...

Saw a creative restaurant name here…


I then dropped my camera, which added insult to injury. There is no damage to the camera but the lens is jammed. Disappointing, but these things happen and it’s my first casualty of travel so far. Also, I quickly realized I now have a built in excuse for taking bad pictures like this one:

I kept walking…and walking…until I was stopped by an armed guard (they were all over the city) for taking pictures of something I wasn't supposed too. He was friendly and he pointed me in the right direction (I was pretty close, btw) and a few minutes later….I arrived in Beirut Central District.

I had an Almaza (great local beer) at a street side bar here:

Just across from the Al-Omari Mosque, which was beautiful (even more stunning at night but I didn’t have my camera with me):

…I then headed to the opposite side of town to see the Manara Lighthouse and Pigeon’s Rocks. This walk went according to plan. There aren’t many historical sites in Beirut proper, but there are a number of buildings that still show the wear and tear of the 15 year civil war that took place from 1975 - 1990. However, there are also a lot of buildings that are just run down. Sometimes it was difficult to distinguish the cause of dilapidation. But I am pretty sure this was from the war…

I then went swimming with these guys

(I wish)

And bought a purse...

(that is actually bread)

I saw the lighthouse…

…and the rocks (which actually were really impressive)

Finally I found my way back to the hotel - somehow. All and all, it was a great day and I felt very accomplished for navigating the city for 5 hours on foot by myself. The hotel staff seemed shocked, which was also gratifying.

I capped the night by going to dinner on Germayza Street, which is Beirut’s bar and restaurant hub. I hung out for a while and had a few drinks. It seemed like a place where you could have a great time with the right crew.

Transcontinential Insomnia

I have been slacking on the blog a bit so I'll try to get caught up quickly. More to come this weekend:

- I had a great few days in NYC but going halfway around the world and back in four days takes it's toll. Pair that with the fact that tomorrow we deliver the biggest piece of this project and I am about as exhausted as I have ever been in my life. Plus, my body is so confused it doesn't know when to sleep

- On a related note, while I plan to continue searching for a city that compares, NYC is in a class of its own

- Tomorrow night I am heading to Beirut. I have a lot of work to do and doubt I'll do much site seeing, but it's supposed to be a really hip city with a lively restaurant and bar scene. Not a bad place to unwind for a few days...

- Israel's actions yesterday may just have ruined my chances of going to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv next weekend. I'll continue to follow it but trying to talk my way around a passport stamp was going to be hard enough...now it might be near impossible. Bar Refaeli is going to be crushed if I don't come. We'll see what happens this week, but she might just have to get over it. Perhaps Syria or Dubai on next weekend?

- I meant to post this yesterday...but after having the drastic contrast of a few days in the States and then right back to Saudi this seemed particularly pertinent to me. Few - if any - days mean more to our country than Memorial Day. So, on the day after Memorial Day, click through this article...

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/07/02/the_least_free_places_on_earth

...and feel a) lucky that you are from the freest place on earth, and b) blessed that there are men and women who have given - and continue to risk - their lives to keep it that way.