The first time in my life I traveled to a foreign country which is in the eastern part of world except Turkey. Even though Lebanon is an eastern country, I heard about it is very different from the other eastern countries. I especially visited the capital and the largest city of Lebaon, Beirut.
Beirut is called "Paris of the East". One of the reason of this phrase is the remained effects of French Mandate on Beirut. I think it is not correct to define a city over an another city. Beirut and Paris are both beatiful, unique cities and they are one of their kinds. On the other hand it is true that they have similarities. They both are insipiring cities thus they got attention of the most talented artist along history. When I visited 12th İstanbul Biennial, I realized once again that Beirut has became a distinct district for artists from all over the world.
It is a shame that such a beatiful city had been mostly demolished during the Lebanese Civil War. Beatiful buildings are desolated and about to fall to pieces. As usual big construction firms are taking an advantage from this situation. They are paying under it's value for the damaged buildings and building hotels in place of them. The people are trying to fight againts this company and hanging posters which is written on " Stop Solidere".
We started to our city tour from the historical part of Beirut. I loved the architecture of buildings. They are made from yellow stone and rectangular shaped. They have big balconies. The historical district of the city is like a seperated island and it is protected by guards with guns in many spots. Maybe because of this there was only a few person from locals and the cafes are considerably empty.
In our first night we went to the famous restaurant of Beirut "Karam" in downtown. I fell in love with Lebanese cuisine. Actually it is very similar with Turkish cuisine but they use much more spices than us. Houmus, tabbouleh, fattoush has been my favorites. These are side dishes made by vegetables but when you eat these, you would be full already. During our three day long trip everyday I ate these. I also tried their special drink, "Arak". It is very much alike Turkish rakı but it is easier to drink arak.
Tabbouleh, Houmus, Fattousch (Clockwise)
Our second day of trip was very intensive. After breakfast first we went to Jeita cave which is outside of the city. We had a small boat tour in the cave. Jeita is popular with being a canditate for "New 7 Wonders of Nature" competion. It is really amazing and beautiful nature wonder even though it couldn't be in 7 wonders of nature.
Our second stop was Byblos, which is a small historical village on the seaside of Lebanon. There are small touristic shops where you can buy souveniers like postcards, magnets, special soaps, spices. There is castle or remains of a castle that you should see. We did not have time to visit the seaside of the village but if you have time, definetely you should.
After Byblos, we stopped over a seaside restaurant to have lunch. When we were full again, we continued to our last stop, Harissa from where Holy Mary looks aftes Lebanon.
On our third day in Beirut, I preffered to make a city tour instead of going Baalbeck. I like exploring the city more than ancient ruins.What a pity my sister became ill and couldn't get out of the hotel room so I was all alone in Beirut. First I was a bit irritated from glance of local guys but then I got used to it. Even so it is different from its neighbours, it is still an eastern city and you feel it if you are alone woman who is wandering around. My first destination in the city was Saifi Village. It is a modern, well designed district which looks like a movie decoration. You can say from the people around that it is an expensive fashionable neighbourhood. There are fancy cafes and boutique stores.
Gemmayzeh is two street next to Saifi Village. It is a long street where too many bars, restaurants, cafes are located in. I recommend you to come by Gemmayzeh at night when people hang out.
My final destination in the city was Hamra. I got lost a bit when I was trying to find it but I managed to get there and finally found the place where the local people are. It was like the heart of the city. It was the most crowded place I had seen in Beirut. There are modern shopping stores, fast-food restaurants and also local ones. I found a nice bookshop and bougth a lebanese cuisine book for myself. Beside book, I bougth a pretty wristband from a guy who has a interesting little shop called "Henry's Handmade". Then I realized I had been walking for three or four hours. I sat at a small, pretty cafe called "Bread Republic" for a long time.
I finished my Beirut city tour by drawing a circle and went to seaside from Hamra. On the seaside of Beirut there is a wide walking way where you can walk or bike, watch beatiful view and breath in the air of sea. On our last day we rent a bike and enjoyed beatiful weather. It was a lot fun!
Being alone in another city and exploring it made me feel free and happy again. I enjoyed very much wandering around Beirut. I think Beirut has a different energy. Surprising things are hidden in the streets of Beirut. I will definetely come to explore Beirut again!
What I liked most about Beirut:
- Delicious dishes
- Architecture
- Places
- People
What I don't like about Beirut:
- Traffic
- Taxi drivers who are calling for customer all the time
- Policemen with big guns
What I regret about Beirut:
- not to explore night life
- not to try watermelon water pipe
- not to stay for a long time
What a beatiful song from Roger Waters! He is telling the story of what he experinced in Beirut when he was 17.
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