Cheers to Lebanon...Part 1/3
Trip Start
Jan 18, 2008
1
44
58
Trip End
Ongoing
Beirut, Lebanon
Monday, July 14, 2008
The first leg of my vacation was definitely the worst: I left my friend Andrew's apartment where I was staying at around 6:30 AM and left Amman, Jordan at about 7:00 by service taxi. I arrived at the Syrian border probably by around 8:30, my taxi cab driver and the other passengers left me rideless at around 10, and I left the border with another taxi driver (after sadly telling the Syrian border guards about my dire situation and them graciously helping me find a cheap ride to Damascus) at around 12:30.
[Note to travelers: The first time I went to the Syrian border I only had to wait around 2 hours, this time it took 4. Syria has to fax all American passports to headquarters to be checked (no other nationality has to deal with this; except Israelis who aren't even let in) and then they give the border guards a decision on whether to let the American in or not. I know two guy friends who got denied but I know many more Americans that were let in. I think the reason it took so long for me this time around was because it was a Thursday and everybody was leaving for the weekend, whereas last time I went on a Tuesday which was not busy.]
I arrived in Damascus around 2, got a cheap bus ride to Beirut at 3, had to wait at the border for over an hour because of some Palestinian passengers (Syria and Lebanon give Palestinians a really hard time because anybody with an Israeli stamp on their passport is not allowed in; however being Palestinian is obviously different but they still have to do a lot of checking-not as much as an American in Syria though! The Lebanon border is fine for Americans.) After the border we probably made around 5 stops before we actually got to Beirut, so we arrived at 7:30 PM. All-in-all, I spent 13 hours traveling from Amman to Beirut when it is only a 45-minute plane ride or a 5-6 hour drive if you're not an American; but hey, I saved money!
When I got to Beirut I took a taxi to my friend Amy's apartment. She had just moved in a few days ago and was graciously allowing me to sleep in her spare bedroom. I knew her from GW. We met at a conference the first weekend of my freshman year and kept in touch because we are both interested in Middle Eastern issues. She was a senior then and just recently got her masters and is now working on her dissertation. We talked for awhile as I relaxed and finally breathed in Beirut air. Then I got a text from my friend Laith who lives in Amman but was also visiting Beirut, asking if I wanted to chill with him and some of his friends for the night. I was tired but ready to get started in Beirut so Amy and I met up with them and went over to one of their apartments. All of them were either photographers, fashion experts, or dancers and very artistic so we ended up hanging out until about 2 AM.
The next day I met up with my friend Fahad, who I also met at GW, and his friends who had come to Beirut for the weekend from Kuwait. We went to La Plage, a restaurant on the sea that jets out as a long dock, has sunbathing beds and couches, a beautiful main pool and also private smaller pools. The scenery was perfect and the place was very nice. The sun felt good as I hadn't been to a pool or beach for about 2 weeks and the food and drinks were delicious.
On the way there to meet them I had some trouble with taxi cab drivers; this is another note to travelers. In Lebanon there are service taxis and taxis. The service taxis are only 2000-4000 Lebanese Lira because the driver picks up people on the way and eventually you get to where you wanted to go. The taxis are more expensive but you don't have to wait for others. I obviously got in a service taxi (save money wherever you can!).
First the drivers didn't know where it was I wanted to go...I don't think a lot of people take service taxis to the place I was going to; more like Hummers. Finally one driver knew and so he first dropped off a woman somewhere and a man somewhere and then after about a half an hour he said, ok, I will bring you there now but it is a taxi ride, not a service. I asked him how much and he said 10,000. I said that was too much but didn't put up a fit and let him take me there. Once we got close and I knew where to go I told him thank you, here's 2000 pounds and got out of the taxi while he screamed and yelled at me to give him 10,000 pounds. I was surprised he tried to rip me off because you would have had to be stupid to pay that much-especially after he drove around others for so long and then it took just a short trip for where I wanted to go. Watch out for taxi cab drivers!!
Friday night I went out with my Jordanian friends Najib and Rajai who were in Beirut for the weekend. We went to a club that is underground called BO18. The place actually used to store some sort of military equipment so the roof was randomly closed and opened every couple hours throughout the night. I thoroughly enjoyed the place since the music was good (if you like techno) and the people were very open and didn't care what anybody else was doing-unlike most posh clubs in big cities where everybody is watching and judging everybody else.
The next day we hung out at Najib's apartment complex for awhile. It's on the sea and has some nice pools and a great view. His family's apartment is in the north (north of Beirut, not northern Lebanon), which is a predominantly Christian area. It takes forever to get there and back though because there is only one main road that is probably about 5 lanes. Traffic in and around Beirut has been extremely annoying. The roads in Beirut are typically small and only one-lane (such as in Hamra where I have mainly been), yet the number of people trying to get places is large so there are numerous traffic jams and it takes forever to get from one place to the other even though the distance is not that far. Traffic rules also do not apply in Beirut. Sometimes there are traffic lights, but electricity is known to go out at random times all over the city and throughout Lebanon, so the lights are not always working. And even when they are people do not regularly abide by their sign. Even traffic policemen standing in the road who try to create some sort of order on occasion are not always respected.
That night Najib, Rajai, and I started off the night by going out to dinner. We walked through downtown which is a very nice area of Beirut. It has restaurants and shops and that night there was a lot of activity because of some cultural festival going on. Rap groups, dancers, musicians, and all were there so it gave the area a very young, energetic feel. We decided to go to "Down Town" for dinner where I had a delicious pasta dish and then we left for Sky Bar.
Sky Bar is a really nice club, but definitely poshy. It's located on the top of some building and fits I believe around 2-4,000 people. We met up with some friends who had a table there and danced the night away again. During the night there were fireworks and also a semi-famous singer so the night kept bouncing until we left.
The next day Najib, Rajai, Mona, Tareq, and I went to a really good restaurant north of Beirut...forgot its name. We had tons of Arabic food along with araq and argeeleh and it was amazing-some of the best Arabic food I've ever had. Following lunch we headed to a well-known place up north called Edde Sands Beach. It was huge and had beautiful views, great décor, but most importantly was relaxing.
That night Najib, Rajai and I went to an area of Beirut called Jamayzeh that is similar (but doesn't compare) to an "Adams Morgan" in DC, in the sense that it's a long strip of bars and restaurants. We started off at Gem trying out different kinds of drinks and appetizers and then hopped to another bar that was smaller and reminded me of one that would be in NYC. After that we went and sat by the sea for a couple hours which is very relaxing after a busy weekend.
On Monday I met up with Laith again at a place in Hamra called "Le Prague". It was a really nice café, with internet, coffee, drinks, and good healthy food. I had a huge delicious plate of rice, lentils, and tomato sauce that took me about 2 hours to eat and a cup of coffee. Laith's friend Jackson was also there who I had met Thursday night so we hung out for a couple hours chatting and eating. Eventually, Laith's friend Hany came. Hany is the producer of "Paradise Now," a film I watched around two years ago with my girlfriends at GWU. It's about two young men who are told it is their time to carry out a suicide mission. The film takes you through their lives before the mission and during it. It is an excellent film that I highly recommend; therefore I was very excited to meet Hany!
Hany turned out to be extremely cool and down to earth. He and I actually talked about politics and the world for probably an hour. We discussed power and money and politicians screwing over their countries and materialism screwing over the world. After the café Laith and I went over to the house we went to on Thursday night and then after about an hour I left because I was still tired from the long weekend!
Tuesday I woke up and headed to Baalbak at around 10 AM. I first took a taxi to the bus station, then a service bus that annoyingly stopped almost every minute, then I had to get in another bus, and then finally I arrived in Baalbak. Baalbak is known for its ruins and in my guidebook it says it has the most impressive Roman ruins out of all Middle Eastern countries (see pictures). I thought it was very impressive, but Jerash in Jordan can definitely compete.
I took a bus back to Beirut and when we got there I asked the girl sitting next to me if we were going anywhere near Hamra (so I could just walk to Amy's apartment) or to Kola (the bus station). She said neither so to exit with her and then just get a taxi. But as I gave the driver my money I asked if he was going to drive anywhere near Hamra and he said he was so I stayed inside. After driving on a bit it was just me and another guy so I said, should I get off here with him and he said, no I'll take you to Hamra. I guess I should have just gotten off anyways and paid for a taxi but I didn't. So we started driving and I had no clue where we were since I obviously am not too familiar with Beirut, but I thought we were en route because we were near the sea.
We talked to each other about different things, such as what I was doing in the Middle East. I was happy to practice my Arabic and get a free ride until he started to become a creeper. He asked the common question of if I had a husband. I said no, but I have a boyfriend. He said, ana habibatik (I am your darling). I said no, you are not. So he replied, inta habibati (you are my darling). I said no, I am not. We got off that subject and everything seemed fine (although I still had no clue where in Beirut we were).
Then we started driving on a road that looked like a souq because of all the little stores with knick-knacks and food. I could tell we were in a poorer area of Beirut (whereas Hamra is not) and I started to see Hassan Nasrallah photos, whereas near Hamra there are none. So I became suspicious and started questioning him: where is Hamra, where are we going, where are we, etc. He said, Hamra is over there (as he pointed in a different direction than where we were going), I am showing you Beirut and the sea, ahlan wa sahlan (welcome), don't worry, I am a good man.
Well I wasn't in the mood to be shown Beirut by a bus driver I didn't know in a place I didn't know so I started flipping out on him. I told him, in my angry broken Arabic, all I want is to go to Hamra, I told you this from the beginning, I just want to go to Hamra, I don't want to see Beirut, where are we, what are you doing, take me to Hamra now. He sensed my frustration, anger, and fright, so he said, all I want to do is welcome you to Beirut and show you around, don't be scared or angry at me, I'm a good man (which I believe, but he was stupid to think that a young foreign woman flying solo would not feel frightened by his overwhelming hospitality). I kept yelling at him, saying all I could think of in Arabic because he just didn't get it and I threatened to get out of the car right then (even though I really didn't want to because we were in a poorer area of town where my lack of clothing would cause an unwanted scene) so he finally turned around, frustrated, and drove me out of that area. Then I got a taxi and at last set foot in Hamra. Lesson for the day: Get out of the bus when the last person gets out.
As I was walking I ran into one of Laith's friends and he asked if I would like to go to one of his Brazilian dance classes that he was teaching that night. I was interested in seeing it so I told him I would pick up some food and go watch. So I found a take-away Chinese restaurant, settled on noodles and veggies, and watched the class for about an hour before heading home. The class was surprisingly full and instruction was sometimes in Arabic, English, or French, but mostly in English. This experience reinforced my belief that Beirut truly is and is becoming a diverse, well-rounded city that supports the arts and intercultural learning. A lot of people in Lebanon speak all three languages. What I gathered from my time spent in Lebanon is that the older generation is more likely to speak French whereas the younger generation English. Lebanon was under French mandate until 1943 when it gained independence and I actually learned that all Lebanese who were born before that can gain French citizenship!
