Lebanon: Beyond Belief (Part 1)

Sati Boyajyan
Sep 2, 2018 · 6 min read

Lebanon for me has always been associated with my paternal grandfather — Gabriel Boyajyan (Gaboyan). Like many Armenians, having escaped the Genocide in 1915, my granddad’s family found new home in Beirut. With the wave of post World War II patriotism, Boyajyans moved to Soviet Armenia in 1946, but the warm stories of “Paris of the Middle East” stayed within our family for decades.

When I (finally) decided to travel to Beirut, my plan was to embark on the journey of finding our ancestral home somewhere in Bourj Hammoud, find that paint shop that our family owned and what made us change our surname from Gaboyan to Boyajyan. Basically, I was planning to have a very Labenese-Armenian experience.

BUT plans are made to be broken, or so I have learnt during this trip.

What I got instead was a complete LEBANESE experience, and I must say I loved it. Before I go on to tell you what are the best places to eat to suffer the food coma, party until you can’t feel your legs and just enjoy gorgeous views that are around the corner throughout the country, I want to say HUGE thanks to my friends, who made this trip absolutely unforgettable — but especially to my dearest Tarek Sadaka, the drill sergeant, stress maniac and the most gracious host ever.

Views from Iris Club

Tarek had planned a week long journey for us — from south to north, up the mountains and down to the beaches. Here is a snapshot of 1 day from the meticulous travel plan that Tarek had designed, which I personally think can be sold/franchised to tour agencies for a good sum of money, think about it Tarek :)

Lebanon — a melting pot of cultures, religions and people.

The first thing that strikes about Lebanon is the diversity. A vast diversity of religions, cultures, ethnicities, nationalities, political views and philisophies.

Lebanese are descended from many different people who have occupied, invaded, or settled in this corner of the world — making Lebanon a mosaic of closely interrelated cultures. For much of Lebanon’s history this multitudinous diversity of religious communities have coexisted with little conflict, moreover the country’s constitution itself states that each of 18 religious groups need to be recognized within the government.

A country that has struggled through severe hardships…

A civil war, Syrian occupation, murders of governtmental officials, political unrest and various protests — all those had their acute consequences on the country.

One of the afternoons, I was walking alone in the well preserved downtown of Beirut, and I realized that I am probably one of very people who are actually walking here. On most corners, especially when you get closer to the parliament building, there are military guards and barricades. All those reminders of past unrests in the country and the need for security.

Downtown Beirut
My favourite building: Beirut Terraces

However, the downtown of Beirut and surrounding neighbourhoods, such as Zeitunay Bay and Hamra are also an accumulation of luxury resindential buildings, glamorous restaurants, international high-end brands, and of course those areas are spiced up with local designer shops such as Zouheir Murad and Elie Saab who are now world acclaimed.

Zeitunay Bay

While we are on the topic of Famous Lebanese, I was told that Shakira and Mika have Lebanese roots, and Salma Hayek is Lebanese too. So, I had to do some googling and fact checking, and I am sorry Marc that I did not believe you straight away.

Yaatik el aafye: It is a safe country

A lot of people asked me whether it is safe to travel there. Some were even surprised why I choose Lebanon as a place for a holiday :) Throughout the country, especially on the roads entering towns and villages, there are a lot of checkpoints with military. The cars stop and the military quickly glances through, while the driver usually says Yaatik el aafye, which means “thank you for your service”.

In my head, seeing military meant that we are closer to “dangerous” areas and we need to be more beware. But apparently, in Lebanon its the other way around, if you see military that means its safe there. So, what I am trying to say, basically, it is safe people, Lebanon is safe for travel!

Few “shocking” things

  1. Everyone owns a car, because there is no public transport.

I mean, there is a some sort of public transportation but the majority of the population, especially in Beirut don’t use it. This also hinders the traffic that goes into the capital and sometimes makes commute from neibouring towns to city center unbearably long. On another note, if you have been in Armenia, you know that there are speed cameras all over the country and a lot of police driving around looking to catch you if you violate traffic laws. In Lebanon, I didn’t see any police and I didn’t see any cameras. But here is what I saw, a lot of crazy driving. Check out the video below :D

2. Water Shortage

Despite the availability of relatively abundant water resources, there is intermittent water supply that persists throughout the country. It can be explained by “destroyed water tanks, springs and pipelines, leaving most of southern Lebanon totally cut off from mains water supply in the immediate aftermath of the Israeli — Lebanese war of 2006”, as well as the fact that “Syrian refugees have expanded Lebanon’s population by a quarter”. All of the households in Lebanon have water tanks that need refilling and there are several private companies depending on the area of residence that can provide such service.

3. Electricity Cuts

Power outages are still a thing in Lebanon. Daily outages in the country depend on where you reside, can reach up to 12 hours in some villages in Southern Lebanon.

Actually, there are several apps that people here use to know when the cuts will happens, so they don’t get into an elevator at a wrong minute and get stuck for 3 hours.

However, let’s look at a bright side for a moment here — most of the developed world is so used to having “unlimited”supply of electricty and water, that sometimes we forget about usage abuse. This way, maybe Lebanon can actually control consumption of those resources within the country and nurture environmentally conscious citizens?

Oh wow, I haven’t even started on writing about best places to eat and drink, dance and chill. I guess a second post is on its way…stay tuned!

P.S. Clearly, I did not stick to my previous plan where I promised to write 1 post every week. But you should see the gazillion drafts that I started and need to finish. Fingers crossed, I will get better at this whole blogging thing…

Sati Boyajyan

Written by

Juggling a life of a globe trotter, but staying proud Armenian at heart. Workaholic by fate, dreamer by night. #Marketing #entrepreneurship #education

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade