We did a day trip to Beirut from Cyprus. The plane wasn't permitted to overnight in Lebanon, but they could fly us in and out the same day, so we had what Debb calls a "taste" of Beirut. It's a large city on the Mediterranean Sea, once called the Paris of the Middle East. What we saw was a city that had been absolutely devastated by their civil war and is rebuilding.
Older buildings that haven't been razed are bombed out and are just hollow shells. In fact their central sculpture in the Plaza of the Martyrs has bullet holes riddling it, and has purposefully been left that way.
Most of the buildings are brand new and look it. They've developed a thriving downtown district with stores you would find in Paris, London, New York or Beverly Hills.
The other thing you can't miss is the soldiers on every street corner. Our guide was evasive about the reason for so much "security" so I'm left to imagine.
Nonetheless, there's a miles-long pedestrian promenade along the Mediterranean and lots of people out enjoying the beautiful day. It's a place we would come back and visit, in less unsettling times.
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