A few weeks late but I finally finished working on all of my Lebanon pictures. As I'm still traveling through the middle east it's quite tough transferring 100s of Gigabit's data around my different online cloud services. Unfortunately there wasn't always internet available and if, it was super slow. But hey, I got it, there we go :))
Traveling to Lebanon was always very high on my list as I'm super interested in this region around the middle east. When I was talking with some of my friends about my upcoming trip I got mixed feedbacks and some people still think that there is an ongoing war in Lebanon but little spoiler - It's not, since 1991 there was no war in the Country.
To be fair, I can't blame anyone for their concerns as Lebanon somehow only get's shown in the news or TV when bad things happen. For example, when I just google search "Lebanon Travel", sites like the following pop up on top of all searches (from official government websites):
Countries like the US and UK even tell people to reconsider traveling to Lebanon.
But you know what, I give you a second spoiler now - In my 10 days traveling through Beirut and outside regions I did not feel anything but welcome by some of the most warm hearted people I've ever met. I walked around alone at any day/night time and I had never any kind of bad experience. It honestly felt waaaaaaay more safe compared to any European country I've been to.
Beside all this crazy theories going through the internet we need to be fully transparent of course. Yes, Lebanon has currently massive problems with their economy. Banks can't pay out clients, the Lebanese Pound dropped by 97% only in 2023!!!!!! That's something unimaginable coming from an absolute privileged country.
It happens that there are protests on the streets as people obviously feel betrayed by their government and of course, as a traveler, just avoid them if they happen. I think that should be clear anyways but I just mention it in case anyone ever thinks that would be a good idea :))
Be careful - I tell you now how you get safe and cheap from the airport to the city. As in many countries you will experience the following - After you get your 30 day Visa stamp in your Passport and walk towards the exit you will meet a very common type of individual:
"Hey my friend, where are you from? Ohhh xx nice! I have taxi, very cheap, from government of course, I also change money and buy with you Simcard!" - Just say NO, you have a driver waiting.
Out of curiosity I asked how much the ride would be with his taxi and the answer was "Only 50$!!" - That's about 10x more expensive than the actual price is as I will tell you now:
After getting into your Uber you can also tell the driver to drop you off to an Wish Money store where you can exchange money and buy a sim card. I payed 1.200.000,00 Pounds which were roughly 12$ for 20 GB internet. That's definitely enough for a 1-2 week trip.
Oh, in case you wonder about the 1.2 Million Pounds for a sim card, yes, that's what happened with the currency.. And to not forget - Bring Cash to Lebanon, ideally USD or EUR as ATMs do not work well at all! Since the crisis ATMs are unusable!
And if you made it that far into the post - That were all struggles you will have during your trip through Lebanon :)) - I can also recommend you using AirBnBs, as they are a cheap and comfortable option to Hotels and Hostels.
For the transportation I don't need to make a different section this time as it's super easy: Either walk or/and use Uber. It is extremely cheap and every ride around the City will cost you 2-5$ at the max.
After arriving smoothly at my AirBnB I quickly dropped my Backpack and went full of excitement for my first walk around Beirut. I stayed south of Mar Mikhail which is an ideal location for your first stay in the city. Shops, restaurants, bars and everything you are looking for is in walkable distance.
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It took like 2 mins after leaving my flat until I got into a first conversation with a local. An elderly man was smiling at me and I smiled back and greeted him "Salam Alaikum". He asked me where I'm from and told me that he is very happy that people from the west visit his beautiful country. "Welcome to Libanon", a sentence which I've heard many many more times in the time I was there.
From the first seconds on I felt already welcomed and my mind was beyond positivty and excitement for the upcoming days.
You will pretty soon find out that the city has an equal amount of Mosques and Churches. The populations religions are pretty even split between 48% Muslims and 44% Christians. It sometimes depends in which area you are but mostly its a mix of many religions and cultures which makes this city incredible unique and interesting to explore.
The Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque is the largest Mosque in Lebanon. The Mosque itself is actually pretty new. They started building in 2002 and it was completed in 2008. The design reminded me very much on some of the Ottoman designed Mosques I've seen before in the middle east. Seeing it the first time I was blown away by the architecture as you can see in the following images.
It was suuuuper unfortunate that I never made it into this massive Mosque but I somehow wasn't lucky enough to be there at the opening time as the Mosque is only open during prayers. But either ways, I was already super happy seeing this stunning monument from the outside. I was also fascinated that the Mosque was surrounded by Churches. That's exactly how we should live together, just in peace no matter which religion we follow.
Just next to the Mohammed Al-Amin Mosque there is one of the historically most relevant locations in Beirut - The Martyrs Square formerly known as "Place des Cannons" (Regarding a Russian Canon which was placed on the square).
The name of the central public square changed in 1931 after executions around 1916 during World War I and the ending of the Ottoman rule took place.
Uff.. That was a way fancier area than I expected! The downtown area is a district full of great architecture, expensive shops and restaurants. Not really a place where I would stay but definitely great for some photography and a walk around.
Every District has some interesting things to see and discover. My post would probably be way to long to go through all of them but you surly can walk around everywhere. Beside the famous monuments you can also find a huge variety of different architecture around the city.
It's really fascinating to see all these beautiful old and renovated buildings in contrast to the newer and more modern buildings. But they do have one thing in common - They are all colorful! Especially for the vibe around the city that plays a huge impact and it just looks super friendly!
Not only houses but also some old colorful cars where definitely one of my highlights in Beirut
Before I end this post I of course have to mention the food of Lebanon and I'm not sure if I can find the right words to describe the taste of it. To be simple - It's AMAZING!
Some of my favorite dishes were definitely the salads such as the Fattoush and the Tabbouleh - I guarantee you - You never ate a more fresh tasting salad! Beside that there are also many variations of kebabs with meat or falafel.
Yeessss! That's the clearest yes I could give! Lebanon (especially Beirut) is safe, the people are extremely welcoming and friendly, the food is amazing. As I mentioned on the beginning of this post I had 0 bad experiences and I only wish to return one day to discover more of Lebanon. Sometimes we need to see things with our own eyes before we trust 100% what the media recommendations are. Just give it a go! :))
There will be 2 more parts where I will separately write about the National Museum of Lebanon and also the natural highlight of the city Raouche Rocks - Stay tuned! :))
Thanks for reading!
Best,
Chris
