It's funny to think that I've been in Beirut for an entire week and still won't start classes until Wednesday. In the meantime, I've been able to explore Hamra, the district of Beirut where AUB is. It's very much like a college town. There are many tiny, fast food restaurants, clothing stores, and bars. After searching around for a few days I found a great little restaurant that serves home-cooked Lebanese food. The woman who runs it promised to speak Arabic to me if I came back!
I've been to downtown Beirut as well. My guidebook warned me that downtown lacked a certain character, so I was aware of this when I ventured down there, but it is definitely true. Downtown was split between east and west Beirut during the Civil War, and Beirut has also suffered from an Israeli attack in 2006, so all of downtown is brand new. There is a clock tower with streets full of restaurants extending out. Nearby is a shopping mall that is the equivalent of Fifth Ave in New York. Everything is too clean and there really isn't any charm. I did find a very nice art gallery just outside of downtown that is currently housing an exhibit of a Lebanese artist's work from after the Civil War. The influence of the Civil War is very apparent in his work, especially one concrete piece that is the remnants of a sitting room with body parts strewn about. I mentioned this earlier, but it is very interesting to see the influence of the Civil War in Beirut. Whether it's through new building projects, art exhibits, or restaurants that have signs like "Around since 1983," it is hard to avoid noticing the impact of the war.
The streets of Beirut are lawless. I'm going to have a hard time adjusting back to crossing in the crosswalk or not beeping when I return to the States. People drive in a frantic, bipolar manner, all the while honking their horns. I haven't decided whether it's to let another car know that they're plowing down the road because they don't intend to stop or if it's a sort of friendly salutation. To cross the street you just have to step out onto the road, take a deep breath, and plunge. Hopefully the cars stop for you. Apart from cars, there are little motorcycles that follow rules of their own. They drive the wrong way down one-way streets, weave through traffic, and never seem to stop for pedestrians. Also, you don't hail cabs here, cabs hail you. They slow down and beep whenever they see someone looking just a tiny bit hesitant on the road. Most cabs act as "services" (pronounced like you're French) and will take you pretty much anywhere in the city for only 2000 LL (roughly $1.35). While it's pretty convenient, it also means that the streets are regularly swamped with cabs slowing down, pedestrians cutting off cars, and motorcycles disregarding all rules.
Yesterday, the AUB Ambassadors took the new international students on a trip to Baalbek. First, however, we stopped at one of the two wineries in Lebanon (note, it was 10 am when we did the tasting). The winery has been around since the 1850s and was founded by Jesuits and sits atop caves where the wine is now stored. Production of wine continued during the Civil War. After the winery, we toured around Baalbek, a Roman ruin of colossal size in the Bekaa Valley. It was truly fantastic. Although the ruins have been damaged by numerous earthquakes, there are still several columns standing and the remains of most of one temple. Baalbek is Lebanon's finest Roman ruin and was one of the biggest cities in the Roman Empire. It was neat to stand there, with snow covered mountains on either side of me, and reflect on the different people to move through the region. My history of the area is shaky, but over the course of several millennia, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Turks, Germans, and French controlled the area. Now it is one of the places where Hezbollah has significant following. Both in the Bekaa Valley and in Palestine I noticed that large billboards of various Arab and Muslim leaders are very popular. I saw pictures of Nesrallah, Abbas, Ahmadinejad, Arafat, and many people I didn't recognize.
In Beirut there are posters of Rafik Hariri everywhere, many of them saying "Remember 14 February," which is tomorrow. Tomorrow is the anniversary of the assassination of Rafik Hariri in downtown Beirut. There is a rally scheduled for tomorrow, and I have heard mixed opinions of how things will unfold. Many people think that nothing will happen and few will attend, but there is always the fear that those opposed to the recent change of power will come out in large numbers. I think I'll either stay on campus or observe from afar.
I'm going to try to go skiing later this week, so look for pictures of that as well!
Finally, I noticed that AUB has censored several websites, whether they be political or just TV show streaming. Although I'm not quite bothered by it, it's an interesting thing to keep in mind as I go about my daily activities here.
I've been to downtown Beirut as well. My guidebook warned me that downtown lacked a certain character, so I was aware of this when I ventured down there, but it is definitely true. Downtown was split between east and west Beirut during the Civil War, and Beirut has also suffered from an Israeli attack in 2006, so all of downtown is brand new. There is a clock tower with streets full of restaurants extending out. Nearby is a shopping mall that is the equivalent of Fifth Ave in New York. Everything is too clean and there really isn't any charm. I did find a very nice art gallery just outside of downtown that is currently housing an exhibit of a Lebanese artist's work from after the Civil War. The influence of the Civil War is very apparent in his work, especially one concrete piece that is the remnants of a sitting room with body parts strewn about. I mentioned this earlier, but it is very interesting to see the influence of the Civil War in Beirut. Whether it's through new building projects, art exhibits, or restaurants that have signs like "Around since 1983," it is hard to avoid noticing the impact of the war.
The streets of Beirut are lawless. I'm going to have a hard time adjusting back to crossing in the crosswalk or not beeping when I return to the States. People drive in a frantic, bipolar manner, all the while honking their horns. I haven't decided whether it's to let another car know that they're plowing down the road because they don't intend to stop or if it's a sort of friendly salutation. To cross the street you just have to step out onto the road, take a deep breath, and plunge. Hopefully the cars stop for you. Apart from cars, there are little motorcycles that follow rules of their own. They drive the wrong way down one-way streets, weave through traffic, and never seem to stop for pedestrians. Also, you don't hail cabs here, cabs hail you. They slow down and beep whenever they see someone looking just a tiny bit hesitant on the road. Most cabs act as "services" (pronounced like you're French) and will take you pretty much anywhere in the city for only 2000 LL (roughly $1.35). While it's pretty convenient, it also means that the streets are regularly swamped with cabs slowing down, pedestrians cutting off cars, and motorcycles disregarding all rules.
View from my room
Yesterday, the AUB Ambassadors took the new international students on a trip to Baalbek. First, however, we stopped at one of the two wineries in Lebanon (note, it was 10 am when we did the tasting). The winery has been around since the 1850s and was founded by Jesuits and sits atop caves where the wine is now stored. Production of wine continued during the Civil War. After the winery, we toured around Baalbek, a Roman ruin of colossal size in the Bekaa Valley. It was truly fantastic. Although the ruins have been damaged by numerous earthquakes, there are still several columns standing and the remains of most of one temple. Baalbek is Lebanon's finest Roman ruin and was one of the biggest cities in the Roman Empire. It was neat to stand there, with snow covered mountains on either side of me, and reflect on the different people to move through the region. My history of the area is shaky, but over the course of several millennia, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Turks, Germans, and French controlled the area. Now it is one of the places where Hezbollah has significant following. Both in the Bekaa Valley and in Palestine I noticed that large billboards of various Arab and Muslim leaders are very popular. I saw pictures of Nesrallah, Abbas, Ahmadinejad, Arafat, and many people I didn't recognize.
In Beirut there are posters of Rafik Hariri everywhere, many of them saying "Remember 14 February," which is tomorrow. Tomorrow is the anniversary of the assassination of Rafik Hariri in downtown Beirut. There is a rally scheduled for tomorrow, and I have heard mixed opinions of how things will unfold. Many people think that nothing will happen and few will attend, but there is always the fear that those opposed to the recent change of power will come out in large numbers. I think I'll either stay on campus or observe from afar.
I'm going to try to go skiing later this week, so look for pictures of that as well!
Finally, I noticed that AUB has censored several websites, whether they be political or just TV show streaming. Although I'm not quite bothered by it, it's an interesting thing to keep in mind as I go about my daily activities here.
Rachel! I love reading you blog. Can't help but wish that I was in Beirut! The pictures are fantastic. Keep posting! Miss you!
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