Beirut (A Cultural Travel Guide): Filmed pre-explosion - but Beirut will be back (again)!

Forget what you think you know about Beirut. The Lebanese capital nowadays is a buzzing centre of culture, and fabulous food. Beirut now is probably not what you expect at all. Good news doesn't make it to the international news channels. Is Beirut safe to visit? Yes! Of course, there are some areas to avoid and one should stay clear of protests, but that's true of Paris and most major cities. Follow me as I spend 2 days exploring some of the sights and sounds of this famous city. Enjoy a stroll along the Corniche, take the cable car to Harissa, and browse the treasures of the Sursock Museum and the National Museum. There's falafel and ice cream along the way too. Filmed in April 2019 THE BEIRUT OF NOW - From the www.travelobscurer.com Blog Another cloud of aromatic apple tobacco smoke gently drifted across my table as I debated whether to tear off another piece of flatbread and finish the enormous bowl of creamy hummus sitting in front of me. But this was not a smoky “male only” backstreet cafe. I was in an upscale shopping mall in the Verdun district and my sheesh smoking neighbours were all expensively dressed middle aged women flicking through their mobile phones and chatting excitedly in Arabic with an occasional dose of French and English. Beirut was surprising me again. The city became synonymous with violence during the brutal civil war that lasted from 1975 to 1990. “I just picked myself up, dusted down and thought “I’m still here”” said Fouad, describing his survival of three car bombs. Fouad, a Maronite Christian, was driving me out to Harissa, where the statue of Our Lady of Lebanon peers down from its vantage point high above the city’s noise. By his own admission he had lost all the innocent years of his youth as a result of the deadly and senseless conflict, yet his gentle eyes showed no anger. “I want people to come back to my lovely country” he said with a smile as the cable car sailed up, almost knocking plant pots from balconies. Earlier in the day I had questioned my own previous trepidation as I mingled with joggers and fishermen on the famous Corniche. I had wandered past modern art galleries and boutiques in what was once the perilous Green Line and now I was now relaxing on the sun-drenched courtyard cafe at the Sursock museum indulging crunchy falafel and tabbouleh. I had just stocked up on small designer gifts at the museum shop and enjoyed a snapshot of Lebanon’s vibrant contemporary art scene. All the negative preconceptions were disappearing as fast as my glass of ice-cold zesty handmade lemonade. However, there are concerns in Beirut that too much of the past is disappearing. The imposing Mohammed Al-Amin mosque is now surrounded by Dubai style apartments and the bells of the Maronite cathedral of St George have to compete with the sound of relentless construction. The iconic shell of the Holiday Inn will surely be counting its days. Forget the over-used epithet of “Paris of the East”, it’s the Beirut of Now that commands your attention, and quickly. As we waited for the cable car to whisk us down again Fouad had another twinkle in his eye. “I’m going to take you to try the best ice cream, not just in Lebanon, but in the whole world!” It looked as if this city was going to surprise me again! J Wheeler Travel Obscurer Landscapes, Culture and Cafes www.travelobscurer.com