Yesterday I headed out with J, her sister N, A and E. They have been incredibly hospitible towards me and I feel as though I am one of the family, its the sort of acceptance you would rarely find in the United States; I have only expereienced it within my own family and with my girlfriend.
I really feel at ease, unstressed and at peace here. Despite the random violence (nothing has hit Beirut so far), and, in some places uncleanliness there is a general relaxed feeling about the people. I honestly think most of them are more curious about me than I am of them, I've never been stared at quite so much, but its not a stare of disgust, it is one of interest.
J, N, A, and E (we can't forget E!), were kind enough to take me to the downtown area. Many Lebanese, especially those in the Christian community rarely go to the downtown area because of the Hizbollah tent city that sprouted up in the square. Also, because of the terrorism purpotrated by Fatah al Islam many of Lebanon's most famous sites look like ghost towns. I wasn't about to let this deter me, but then again, I must put my thanks out to my friends who were kind enough to drive me there, guide me and put up with their feelings of rage against Hizbollah, which they regard as a state within their state. Not to mention deal with a routy American who always sticks his nose in things.
The Garden(s) of the Shahid (Martyr)
Martyr's Square first attained its name from six Lebanese nationalists who were hanged by Ottoman authorities in World War One, following a revolt against the Turks. The Palace des Martyrs' (as its known in French) was also the place in 2005 that the March 14th rally was held. It was described to me by friends who attended the event as a remarkably huge sea of humanity; Sunnis, Druze, Christians, and even some Shia all comming together to protest Syria's murder of Rafik Hariri and to get Syria to pull out of Lebanon. This is one of the few squares I've been to that not only features "martyrs of the past" but of "martyrs of the present." If you look east you can see the Kataeb Party headquarters adorned with a poster of slain leader Pierre Amine Gemayel, to the center of the square there is the An Nahar Newspaper tower with a huge poster of murdered MP and writer Gebran Tueni, towards the new mosque built by Rafik Hariri is his tomb and that of his body guards, all killed by Syria. Even the statue commemorating the 6 executed nationalists is scared by war as there are bullet holes all over the bronze. In Lebanon death is always around the corner, or in this case in the square, but life is always so vibrant. I toured around Place de l'Étoile which features the famous Rolex clock tower, normally the square would be PACKED with people, but today, because of the high heat and the fear of terrorism, tourists and locals have just stayed home.
We continued on in central Beirut and I went into this stunning Greek Orthodox Cathedral called The Cathedral of Saint George. The churches and cathedrals here are simple on the outside, using heavy stone, mixing Byzantine, Western, and Arab architecture. On the inside they are incredibly ornate and stunning. In Saint George's there were murals of angels, gold leaf covering the columns, and 3 burning candles in the back. If you aren't religious like me, the building could definately cause you to reconsider.
Following the tour around City Centre, everyone took me to Club 43 in Achrafieh. The club is within (and excuse the pun here)a gunshot's distance from Martyrs' Square, has a French flag hanging from its 18/19th century window, and is up a darkened flight of steps. Our server was an Australian hippie who served us shots (ouzo) and then our other food and drinks. I must note that they have the best iced tea I've had in Lebanon, but the food was hit or miss.
"Wierd New Jersey" Doesn't Have ANYTHING on "Wierd Lebanon"
On another side note, Lebanon has always been a place of contradictions, a place where the militant Islamist group Hizbollah can launch katusyia rockets at Israel but at the same time where one can get drunk in a bar off absinthe, 500FT from a Hizbollah protest.
I've noticed that time isn't that important in Lebanon. In my dorms there are no clocks, just one clock on the bottom floor (I am up 4 flights of steps to my room). Appointments are made but I've noticed that they are rarely kept, for instance I was supposed to have lunch with a Hizbollah member, we made plans the night before and she was atleast 20 minutes late and wasn't hungry.
Modern Lebanese culture (and I am trying not to generalize here, because my friends are not like this) is incredibly materialistic. People may not be able to buy food in some cases but have a brand new Mercedes or BMW, Gucci clothing, or a Rolex watch.
In the United States much business and politics is preformed through connections people have but it is generally frowned upon to openly gloat about how one uses and makes connections. Here it is quite different and the word that is used is Wasta. I was talking to two people who go to LAU and one was trying to get her best friend to go out with a teachers assistant who proctors her class---why you may ask? Not so she could be a good friend, no, she wanted a good grade in class! In Lebanon even socially, the ends justify the means.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Martyrs' Square
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1 comment:
Maybe if you don't know how long you'll live for, you figure you might as well live life as happily (and well-clothed) as possible. Nothing to lose, everything to gain?
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