Lebanon 06
Day 1
Travelling to Beirut can give some headache, especially if you finalize your travel arrangements only one week before your actual departure date. Due to very scarce overhaul flights to and from North America, passengers from the US and Canada (where a sizable Lebanese diaspora live) have to connect somewhere in Europe. Milan seems to be a particularly popular choice, maybe because the fares to and from Lebanon are cheaper or maybe because the connection timetables are more attracting. In any case, it is advisable to plan well in advance in order to avoid unlikely travel routes through some Eastern European airports or to pay hair-raising fares. All these remarks, of course, will be valid until the blessed day when a benevolent deity from above persuades a "no frills" carrier like AirArabia or RyanAir to inaugurate a low-cost link between Southern Europe and Lebanon.
In the meanwhile, I had to enjoy the "frills" provided by the Lebanese national carrier Middle East Airlines. These frills included a personal screen on my economy seat with twelve video channels (I ended up watching some 1950s Donald Duck cartoons, go figure how exciting were the other movies) and an airline meal which I found out to be exactly the same as of July 2005. Well, maybe it's the same all over the year. When my tastebuds were starting to be titillated by the idea of tucking into the same plastic-textured chicken Marengo sauce that I had tried twelve months earlier, a hostess came to apologize as the chicken was finished and we would have to indulge in a "fantasia of ravioli". Of course, they couldn't nearly be as bad as the awful "ravioli" that I was forced to eat at the school canteen when I was a kid. They were so disgusting that we had renamed Wednesdays (when typically we would be served such a treat) as "the ordeal". I used the excuse of not being able to pick the (plastic-textured) chicken to ask a couple of extra glasses of Château Ksara Blanc de Blancs (basically a blend of Sauvignon and Chardonnay) and, after a cup of coffee, I was ready for a royal nap that apparently covered the whole span between Southern Italy and Cyprus. I woke up just in time to admire the view from above and congratulated myself for having asked a window seating on the left half of the plane: that gave me the opportunity to take some scenic pictures of Ras Beirut on landing.
Beirut International Airport is as clean and passenger-friendly as I remembered and I discovered that tourist visas aren't any more needed in summertime (at least not requested for EU nationals). The cab drivers in the arrival hall are usually ready to rip off the unaware Western tourist but my dear friend M suggested to call a minor taxi company that can pick you up at a secondary exit and charges one third of the price usually requested by the official taxi drivers. We drove through downtown and my first impression was a huge step up of security measures around official buildings and at the edges of the pedestrian area.
I checked in at Mayfair Residence, a furnished apartments building which is just a couple of blocks from the AUB main gate. I stayed in this same place last year. This time I asked for a "renovated room". For a minor extra charge, I can now enjoy a tremendous sea view from the 8th floor and, above all, a very silent air conditioning system, whereas last year I felt like sleeping on tarmac next to a jet engine in ignition. The rates are a real bargain at 33 USD per night, especially when you consider the very convenient location near AUB and Hamra.
I visited my friend M and between a couple of drinks we had a very interesting conversation. She confirmed my impression that even the World Cup in Lebanon is a manifestation of 'asabiyyah (a concept that can be very poorly translated in English as "factionalism"), with the Kurds massively supporting Germany, many Shi'a supporting Brazil and most Maronites supporting al-umm al-hanun ("the tender loving mother") France. The others supported Italy, as you can imagine from the flags waving here and there.
At night I visited the Virgin Megastore, which is situated in the old Opera House building.
I finally got my tickets for the concert of Fairouz at the Baalbeck International Festival and I indulged in CDs and books before I realized that I was starving despite all that flattering of ravioli on the plane.
I walked through the central district and called at Karamna where I merrily plunged myself into grape leaves and fattoush salad while watching hundreds of people cruising up and down Rue Maarad.
In the meanwhile, I had to enjoy the "frills" provided by the Lebanese national carrier Middle East Airlines. These frills included a personal screen on my economy seat with twelve video channels (I ended up watching some 1950s Donald Duck cartoons, go figure how exciting were the other movies) and an airline meal which I found out to be exactly the same as of July 2005. Well, maybe it's the same all over the year. When my tastebuds were starting to be titillated by the idea of tucking into the same plastic-textured chicken Marengo sauce that I had tried twelve months earlier, a hostess came to apologize as the chicken was finished and we would have to indulge in a "fantasia of ravioli". Of course, they couldn't nearly be as bad as the awful "ravioli" that I was forced to eat at the school canteen when I was a kid. They were so disgusting that we had renamed Wednesdays (when typically we would be served such a treat) as "the ordeal". I used the excuse of not being able to pick the (plastic-textured) chicken to ask a couple of extra glasses of Château Ksara Blanc de Blancs (basically a blend of Sauvignon and Chardonnay) and, after a cup of coffee, I was ready for a royal nap that apparently covered the whole span between Southern Italy and Cyprus. I woke up just in time to admire the view from above and congratulated myself for having asked a window seating on the left half of the plane: that gave me the opportunity to take some scenic pictures of Ras Beirut on landing.
Beirut International Airport is as clean and passenger-friendly as I remembered and I discovered that tourist visas aren't any more needed in summertime (at least not requested for EU nationals). The cab drivers in the arrival hall are usually ready to rip off the unaware Western tourist but my dear friend M suggested to call a minor taxi company that can pick you up at a secondary exit and charges one third of the price usually requested by the official taxi drivers. We drove through downtown and my first impression was a huge step up of security measures around official buildings and at the edges of the pedestrian area.
I checked in at Mayfair Residence, a furnished apartments building which is just a couple of blocks from the AUB main gate. I stayed in this same place last year. This time I asked for a "renovated room". For a minor extra charge, I can now enjoy a tremendous sea view from the 8th floor and, above all, a very silent air conditioning system, whereas last year I felt like sleeping on tarmac next to a jet engine in ignition. The rates are a real bargain at 33 USD per night, especially when you consider the very convenient location near AUB and Hamra.
I visited my friend M and between a couple of drinks we had a very interesting conversation. She confirmed my impression that even the World Cup in Lebanon is a manifestation of 'asabiyyah (a concept that can be very poorly translated in English as "factionalism"), with the Kurds massively supporting Germany, many Shi'a supporting Brazil and most Maronites supporting al-umm al-hanun ("the tender loving mother") France. The others supported Italy, as you can imagine from the flags waving here and there.
At night I visited the Virgin Megastore, which is situated in the old Opera House building.
I finally got my tickets for the concert of Fairouz at the Baalbeck International Festival and I indulged in CDs and books before I realized that I was starving despite all that flattering of ravioli on the plane.
I walked through the central district and called at Karamna where I merrily plunged myself into grape leaves and fattoush salad while watching hundreds of people cruising up and down Rue Maarad.
posted by Skylark at 11:58 PM
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