This weekend I spent Friday to Sunday in Beirut. It was a nice break from Jerusalem. I get somewhat exhausted if I stay to long periods at a time in Jerusalem. When you live in Jerusalem, you inevitably feel the tension there. Religious, racial, territorial and most importantly, the tension of the ongoing occupation. Segregation there is quite apparent, it reminds me so much of South Africa. Even though I was young then, I felt the divide.
This is Beirut coastline. A photo I took on Sunday while we walked along the Corniche.
In Beirut, suprisingly to most people, that tension is not present. There is of course another kind of tension, which is felt more by local Lebanese rather than us internationals. For me, Beirut is very special and every time I step out of the plane on the tarmac of Hariri International Airport, I get a rush of well-being. Despite the years of civil war and the ongoing political stalemate, Beirut beats like a heart.
The weather was so warm on Sunday, we decided to walk around the city. After a breakfast downtown, we continued along the Marina to reach the Corniche.
Downtown Beirut. Hariri's Solidere reconstruction project
Another mosque also downtown Beirut
We walked further to what is known as "Bank Street". Actually, Riad el Solh Street where most of the big banks are located. During the Lebanese civil war all factions agreed on never fighting in this street.
The street is now completely cealed off because it is just parallel to the Prime Minister's office which has been under siege by Hezbollah protestors now living in tents for nearly a year. Some of the tents are visible at the end of the street.
Here one can get a glimpse of the Prime Minister's Office, known as Grand Serail, blocked by barbed wire... UNDP has now moved in this street in one of the buildings. They were working from two small apartments in another location of town after having to evacuate UN House due to the security threat from the Hezbollah protestors there.
Another usual scene in Beirut: road blocks
Still in Bank Street, some directions in Downtown Beirut just next to an old Mosque, showing the multi-relgious nature of Lebanon.
This is the entrance of the mosque
We then walked past the Marina to reach the Corniche....
....and saw a cargo boat which had just left Beirut port.
Beirutis enjoying the sun on Sunday...That was a short winter
On our way back home, we came across an old house abandoned and bombed out from the years of civil war. Even the vegetation has taken over. This is something one sees quite often in Beirut. This house must have been particularly lovely in its early days...
At home, we have a fire place which we currently managed to unblock. Actually, Mr. Fouad, our versatile handy-man fixed the problem. We bought wood from a dealer on one of the mountains around Beirut, so we were keen on experiencing it. During this period, Beirut can be cold once the sun sets and therefore a fireplace is definitely appropriate and useful. It is also still the season of chestnuts in Lebanon so we planned to cook some on the fire.
This would not have been possible without a special pan with holes used to cook chestnuts. We resolved the problem by drilling one of our old pans....We made use of our cheap Chinese-made drill....
