Beirut: Crash Course on Lebanese History
After meeting up with Jake’s older brother Robert in the Beirut airport, the three of us immediately found some falafel for dinner. And it was in fact the best falafel any of us had ever had in our lives. This first meal was a good omen for our week in Lebanon. What followed was a seven day crash course on Lebanese history, Jake’s family history, and local cuisine. Stay tuned for our Amioun and Food of Lebanon posts.
For context: late into the planning stage Jake recommended we add Lebanon to our itinerary so he could visit some of his extended family on his mother’s side. Approximately four days before we were supposed to touch down his older brother Robert decided to fly from New York and join us. Lebanon is the best itinerary decision we have made yet. Armed with recommendations from their cousin once removed (shoutout Joseph) we set out to show Robert what we do best: wander, take photos of things, and eat a ton of food.
The Christian influence in Lebanon was immediately obvious. This country is a melting pot of religion and history. Mosques next to churches. Next to Roman ruins. Next to parking lots?
Slowly we started to pick up on some of Lebanon’s “quirks”. In 2019 the country underwent a dramatic banking collapse that devalued the currency by around 98%. Hence the ATMs only giving out the equivalent of one dollar bills.
Editor's note: Jake's broad smile is before we learned about the banking crisis.
We then visited the site of Beirut’s tragic 2020 port explosion, which was one of the largest non nuclear explosions ever recorded. The shockwave was felt over 100 miles away and damaged large parts of Beirut.
We decided to wander towards what Google Maps deemed 'Downtown Beirut'. What we found was a beautiful assortment of eerily quiet and abandoned buildings. We later learned that Lebanon’s lengthy civil war destroyed much of the area and unfortunately subsequent wars coupled with the banking collapse and port explosion have prevented full reconstruction.
On our second day we struck up a conversation with three local university students. They told us about their firsthand experience with the recent war with Israel. One of them had lost their home from an airstrike. Their mixture of candor and levity while discussing such sensitive topics was admirable and eye opening.
One of the best ways to describe Beirut is that it is a city of contradictions. After visiting the abandoned downtown area we stopped by the modern and bustling yacht club.
The next day Joseph (Jake and Robert's cousin) pointed out these train tracks that fell out of use so long ago a full tree has grown in the middle:
On the same street corner we saw:
For context: late into the planning stage Jake recommended we add Lebanon to our itinerary so he could visit some of his extended family on his mother’s side. Approximately four days before we were supposed to touch down his older brother Robert decided to fly from New York and join us. Lebanon is the best itinerary decision we have made yet. Armed with recommendations from their cousin once removed (shoutout Joseph) we set out to show Robert what we do best: wander, take photos of things, and eat a ton of food.
The Christian influence in Lebanon was immediately obvious. This country is a melting pot of religion and history. Mosques next to churches. Next to Roman ruins. Next to parking lots?
Slowly we started to pick up on some of Lebanon’s “quirks”. In 2019 the country underwent a dramatic banking collapse that devalued the currency by around 98%. Hence the ATMs only giving out the equivalent of one dollar bills.
We then visited the site of Beirut’s tragic 2020 port explosion, which was one of the largest non nuclear explosions ever recorded. The shockwave was felt over 100 miles away and damaged large parts of Beirut.
On our second day we struck up a conversation with three local university students. They told us about their firsthand experience with the recent war with Israel. One of them had lost their home from an airstrike. Their mixture of candor and levity while discussing such sensitive topics was admirable and eye opening.
One of the best ways to describe Beirut is that it is a city of contradictions. After visiting the abandoned downtown area we stopped by the modern and bustling yacht club.
The next day Joseph (Jake and Robert's cousin) pointed out these train tracks that fell out of use so long ago a full tree has grown in the middle:
On the same street corner we saw:
A $200,000 Mercedes G Wagon (the city was full of them)
We were constantly impressed by the resilience of the Lebanese people. The war is over and there are signs of progress throughout the city with new construction and rehabilitation underway. The pride of Lebanon is palpable.
And lastly an assortment of some funny photos from our three days in the city:
A similarly priced Lamborghini
We were constantly impressed by the resilience of the Lebanese people. The war is over and there are signs of progress throughout the city with new construction and rehabilitation underway. The pride of Lebanon is palpable.
And lastly an assortment of some funny photos from our three days in the city:
The abandoned Ministry of Tourism Building.
Our next stop is Amioun, a small town north of Beirut where much of Jake and Robert’s extended family live. Stay tuned!
Robert getting harassed by this juvenile rose salesman.
A slightly less attentive salesman.
Police intervention with our Uber.
Our taxi with 706,000 kilometers (~440,000 miles) on the odometer.
Our next stop is Amioun, a small town north of Beirut where much of Jake and Robert’s extended family live. Stay tuned!
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