Paris of the Middle East
Lying on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea is the vibrant city of Beirut, Lebanon
I have had a chance of visiting over half a dozen Middle Eastern countries and the place that impressed me the most was Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. It edged out its two main competitors in the Arab world; the westernized Dubai and historical Cairo, with its scenic beauty, besides an impressively laid out modern city. This was before the onset of the fifteen year long civil war that ravaged the country. It was then known as the Paris of the Middle East and after seeing Paris years later I could not agree more with the title bestowed upon it. It is a beautiful city sprawling over the green hills on one side and bordered by the blue Mediterranean on the other. Dubai, Cairo and Amman in Jordan, are no match to its natural beauty though the later seems to be sharing the services of same weather gods with Beirut.
We visited Beirut in the month of December and everything about it was mesmerizing; the scenic beauty, somewhat nippy but pleasant weather and above all very handsome people. The place was immaculately clean and organized like any European city, the qualities not collectively present in any other single Arab country. Our flight landed at Beirut International airport after sunset and the view of the twinkling city lights spread around the graceful slopes of Lebanon Mountain and below the snow capped Mount Sannie was captivating. These mountains surround much of Beirut giving it shape of a bowl. Christmas Eve was only a couple of days away and the place was tastefully, rather exuberantly, decorated. The city’s main shopping artery, the Alhamra Street, was overflowing with shoppers and visitors. The stores were affluently brimming with goods. Pavement cafes were as heavily occupied as other food outlets. It was a treat to watch the Christmas crowd flooding the markets.
Beirut, the largest city and chief sea port of Lebanon, is a possible candidate for 2024 Summer Olympics and claims to be a strong contender for its natural beauty, friendly weather and five thousand years old rich heritage. Excavations have revealed traces of Phoenician, Hellenistic, Roman, Arab and Ottoman civilizations. For the history buffs there is a lot to see in and around this city. The Roman baths in Downtown Beirut and Souk Tawile that still follows the lines of ancient Hellenistic-Roman culture are favourite tourist attractions. Souk Tawile is a mixture of modern and old cultures. Mediterranean climate characterized by hot and dry summers, pleasant fall and spring and cool rainy winters is an adorable weather for the visitors. The sea goers have a number of virgin beaches to relax where they can bask under the bright Mediterranean sun. The rainy season starts after December and we were lucky to be there before its onset. The well over thirty inches of annual rainfall is responsible for the lush green cityscape and surrounding mountain slopes. Like other Mediterranean fruit Lebanese apples are very popular in the world market.
The sea coast, or Corniche as they call it locally, gives a dramatic view of the sea and the city. A beautiful road winds along the coast with high rise buildings on one side and blue Mediterranean Sea down below on the other. The Lebanese coast line is rather diverse with rocky beaches, sandy shores and steep cliffs situated besides one another. This picturesque promenade is the best place for a sunset stroll in Beirut and the view of the coast is wonderful with Pigeon Rocks jetting out of the water. These rocks are a group of stone formations set in a cove, backed by Mount Lebanon. We noticed a strange phenomenon near these rocks; two huge waves moved towards each other with very high velocity and clashed thunderously to form a magnificent water wall. This was not a random happening but a constant feature recurring every fifteen minutes or so. I was able to capture this magical view with my Asahi Pentax.
As against the ‘self styled’ city state of Dubai, Beirut is a city of captivating contrasts between western values and Arab culture. It is a mix of peoples, religions and cultures giving the city a dynamic edge. There is a long history of political strife in Lebanon courtesy its religious divisions which has split the Lebanese society decisively; evident from its long civil war. There are predominantly separate Christian and Muslim districts and whenever Israel attacked Lebanon it somehow made sure that only the Muslim areas came under fire and Christian localities went unscathed. Resultantly the Muslim districts were reduced to rubble while the Christian areas stayed intact. Even now when the US is shopping for another war in the Middle East it tested Lebanon’s mettle and resistance capabilities through its front man Israel and it were again the Muslims who bore the brunt. Thanks Almighty! Hezbollah rebutted the attack successfully and Israel and the US had to eat a humble pie.
Beirutis are handsome people and the chauffeur of the Mercedes car that we had engaged for the city tour was a typical reflection of his country in this respect. He was a Lebanese Christian and had a reasonable command over English language. The accent was typical Arabic though. He showed us around the town, the Corniche and American University of Beirut besides other places of historical significance. The ivy covered American University is a splendid structure and a seat of learning of international fame. One can have an excellent view of the sea from the University. Alhamra Street was another place that we enjoyed surfing the most. The approaching Christmas enhanced its glamour many fold. Lebanese cuisine is world famous and its night life is as good as in any other European capital. As one walks past the narrow meandering city streets the club agents invite the prospective customers to the ‘show’ calling their attention loudly in English, French and Arabic languages. Damascus and Cairo are also famous for night clubs attracting most of their clients from the conservative Arab states who get a short reprieve from their repressive society. Beirut housed the regional head quarters of many multinationals which have shifted to Dubai and other places after the civil war.
Downtown Beirut, destroyed by war, is almost back to its glamorous past with life virtually returning to normal. The former ‘Pearl of the Middle East’ with a bewildering composition of cultures and faiths, perched on the breath taking coastline of the Mediterranean, should once again offer an exquisite experience to the foreign travelers but the vagaries of a long drawn civil war is taking its toll and the number of tourists has dropped significantly compared to the good old days. Shifting of the multinationals from Beirut to Dubai, Cyprus and other countries also distracts Europeans from visiting the place. Being a stronghold of Hezbollah, Lebanon is in the perpetual line of fire of the police man of the area, that is Israel, and the ever looming clouds of a likely Middle East war make people reluctant to travel to this beautiful land. Beirut, the most populous city in Lebanon and once home to the first ever law school in the world dating back to the Phoenician era, has itself been a big victim of cruel lawlessness for decades, leaving an indelible scar on the otherwise beautiful land. In spite of all this Beirut still attracts tourists who are daring and brave the threats of war and civil unrest to explore its scenic beauty, night life and other hang-outs where people of all ages can go and have a wild time with music. I am sure things will improve with every passing day.
Written by Dr. Shahid Qayyum
Published by Alisha Khuram
