First days in Beirut
After a very long trip, I made it to Beirut. My classes don't start until Wednesday, so I have a few days where I can just look around and get to know the area. The university is in a district called Hamra, which wasn't damaged very much during the war - apperently, artists and intellectuals hung out around here. The university itself is very beautiful, as it sits on the side of a hill and has a view of the Mediterranean. The weather is pretty warm, and the humidity only makes it feel warmer than it is. It seems like people wait until the evening to go out very much. During the day on Sunday the streets were virtually empty, but at night the traffic was terrible and people were out walking about. The drivers here are insane: there are lanes on the road, but they don't follow them at all (at times the taxis will just drive in the middle of the road), pedestrians barely have right of way on the sidewalk, and honking your horn is required every few minutes.
Mostly I have just walked around the city a bit, and I haven't felt uncomfortable doing so. Beirut is full of stark contrasts - revealing western style clothing is worn just as often as very conservative Islamic dress. Many of the buildings are either old and rundown (or still show war scars) while several are brand new and very high tech.
This is a picture of the Intercontinental Hotel, with the (former) Holiday Inn behind it. Before the war, both were very nice hotels, but during the war, the Holiday Inn became a favorite spot for snipers (and a target for those wanting to bomb the sniper positions), while the Intercontinental only had minimal damage. Obviously, the Intercontinental has been renovated, but there is some controversy around renovating the Holiday Inn because of the memories associated with the building. These buildings are only a 15-20 minute walk from the AUB campus, which gives you an idea how close and concentrated the fighting was, if only a few blocks made a difference.
There is a lot of work being done to revive the downtown. Basically, massive investments have been made to attrack restaurants, businesses, and tourists. They appear to be successful so far, and an effort has been made to replicate the Ottoman and French Mandate-era architecture in the area. This picture shows several of the sidewalk cafes, and though most of them are Lebanese-owned, there is a Starbucks and a Dunkin' Donuts downtown as well!
This next picture is a little fuzzy, but you can see that the city is pretty big and commercial, not quite the image we all have of the Middle East.
The Coriniche is the walkway along the sea, and during the evening it is the popular place to hang out. The weather is much cooler, and people show up with the entire family to sit and watch the people walk by, drink coffee or eat ice cream, and just chat.
When Italy beat Australia in the World Cup, several cars full of Italy-supporters cruised along the Coriniche honking their horns and waving their flags, even stopping and setting off fireworks. I have seen several flags up representing favorites in the world cup: Italy and Brazil are by far the most popular, though there are a few German flags and some Saudi flags up as well. It will be interesting to see the reaction as the tournament progresses, though it is kind of funny watching people celebrate so much for a completely different country!
Mostly I have just walked around the city a bit, and I haven't felt uncomfortable doing so. Beirut is full of stark contrasts - revealing western style clothing is worn just as often as very conservative Islamic dress. Many of the buildings are either old and rundown (or still show war scars) while several are brand new and very high tech.
This is a picture of the Intercontinental Hotel, with the (former) Holiday Inn behind it. Before the war, both were very nice hotels, but during the war, the Holiday Inn became a favorite spot for snipers (and a target for those wanting to bomb the sniper positions), while the Intercontinental only had minimal damage. Obviously, the Intercontinental has been renovated, but there is some controversy around renovating the Holiday Inn because of the memories associated with the building. These buildings are only a 15-20 minute walk from the AUB campus, which gives you an idea how close and concentrated the fighting was, if only a few blocks made a difference.
There is a lot of work being done to revive the downtown. Basically, massive investments have been made to attrack restaurants, businesses, and tourists. They appear to be successful so far, and an effort has been made to replicate the Ottoman and French Mandate-era architecture in the area. This picture shows several of the sidewalk cafes, and though most of them are Lebanese-owned, there is a Starbucks and a Dunkin' Donuts downtown as well!
This next picture is a little fuzzy, but you can see that the city is pretty big and commercial, not quite the image we all have of the Middle East.
The Coriniche is the walkway along the sea, and during the evening it is the popular place to hang out. The weather is much cooler, and people show up with the entire family to sit and watch the people walk by, drink coffee or eat ice cream, and just chat.
When Italy beat Australia in the World Cup, several cars full of Italy-supporters cruised along the Coriniche honking their horns and waving their flags, even stopping and setting off fireworks. I have seen several flags up representing favorites in the world cup: Italy and Brazil are by far the most popular, though there are a few German flags and some Saudi flags up as well. It will be interesting to see the reaction as the tournament progresses, though it is kind of funny watching people celebrate so much for a completely different country!
posted by Courtney at 5:09 AM
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