Lebanon

We hired a taxi to take us from Damascus to Beirut, stopping at Baalbek, the site of the tallest Roman ruins in the world. The border crossing was as hassle free as it can be. Tourists usually get free 3-day visas at the border. The officer welcomed us to Lebanon and gave us free one-month visas. The Lebanese government is trying pretty hard to promote tourism.

The civil war ended eight years ago. Nowadays, it's quite safe to visit all the tourist attractions in Lebanon.

Baalbek is absolutely amazing. If you only have time to visit one ancient site in the Middle East, make it Baalbek. The huge Roman temples and columns are one of the most impressive structures I've ever seen. See Baalbek photos.

From Baalbek to Beirut is about two hours. I read an article on Beirut in National Geographic 12 years ago and remembered the image of a city full of damaged and abandoned buildings, not much better than the Roman ruins we saw earlier. When we got to Beirut, we saw a bustling city with brand new buildings and well-planned streets. It took 16 years of civil war to destroy the city, and 10 years to rebuild it. If you want to see old buildings full of bullet holes, you'd better come soon. In three to five years, they will all be gone, replaced by shinny new buildings that are bigger and better.

Beirut is more like an European city with prices to match. Food is about 30% more expensive than the US. Parking downtown is about $20 a day, the cheapest room at the Crown Plaza Hotel is $125 a day in low season. US dollars are widely accepted even at places like coffee shops and fast food restaurants. Banks and department stores dominate the downtown district. About half of the private cars are either Mercedes or BMWs. Young couples (including gays) walk around holding hands. Unlike other ME countries, here the pants are tight, the heels are high and the skirts are short. I felt the overwhelming sense of freedom. Lebanon is small but with a lot to see. I give it two thumbs up and would like to return someday to spend at least a week here.

At the hotel, there are more than 50 TV channels from all over the world. There are the usual news channels in Arabic, French, German and English, plus MTV, CNBC, Showtime, USA, National Geographic in German, WWF wrestling, Jerry Springer show, Bay Watch, Curtis Court, and of course, porno channels from France. Definitely no censorship here.

---

«Syria | Main | Jordan »