I have really fallen in love with Beirut. The people are as sweet as sugar and as hospitable as can be. The politics are enthralling, interesting, all with a slice of danger. I truly love Beirut and love Lebanon, they will maintain a special place in my heart. The culture, is a mix between the ancient East and the worst parts of the West, nevertheless it makes for a great time, and an interesting study. Many bad things happened, but so did many good things. I met a wide range of people, some radicals, others mainstream, while others were apathetic to what went on around them.Many Americans look at me as if I had 10 eyes when I say, "I love Beirut," to them Beirut is something out of a 1980s action film with crazed bomb makers running around decapitating Westerners. Of course, Lebanon does have a small minority of such people, but I have honestly felt safer here than anywhere I have ever lived.
Politics and violence aside, the architecture, natural wonders, religious heritage, and general melee that is Lebanon is something only the best story book writer could come up with. While "I love life" has become a popular political expression here in Lebanon, the people do truly LOVE life, it is evident in the food they eat, how they dance, the clothing they wear, the way they
drive, and how they act.A Jewish prayer that ends the Passover Seder dinner goes, "L’shana ha’ba-ah b’Yerushalayim." meaning "next year in Jerusalem." While I am not a Jew, I can relate to Jewish urning to visit a place they feel close to their roots. The place I feel close to is also in the Middle East, and oddly enough just north of Jerusalem, I have been thinking "next year in Beirut."
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2 comments:
It really touches me to see you describe my Beirut in such beautiful terms. Your love for Lebanon and your words make me doubt mine. I really hope you visit next year. Beirut deserves people, like you, who love it.
Thanks Poshlemon, its funny, most Lebanese think I am insane for enjoying Lebanon so much, but no matter where I went I was always shown hospitality and always treated well, it wasn't a vacation, it was life..and life was good :)
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