Galleria Hotel Beirut

... people as cars it is just seems odd. This part of the city at least is like no other city we have ever seen.<br>In Beirut at least the Downtown area is not the only part to explore you can walk along the promenade to the American University or you can bar hop in Gemmayzeh.<br><br>For the first time in weeks we have to sadly admit that we were unbelievably happy to have hot dogs and beer. Beirut surely makes a change from Syria, for better or worse we are still to decide.

... so many churches and mosques clustered in the city center, side by side. This arrangement symbolized an idea that excited me a great deal. Only if Lebanon could put this idea into practice by minimizing the friction between the Muslim and the Christian leaders... Visited late PM Rafiq Hariri's tomb. Most believe that he was assassinated by the Syrians, because he was planning to break ties with the Syrian army that had been in Lebanon for ...

... ruin the natural wonder. The stalagmites look in some places like mushrooms, corals, a cityscape, etc.... It also shine like snow in some spots and looks magical. The ceiling is very high and it is also very deep in parts and you can see some water at the bottom... How can nature create something like that??? I don't know if it's gonna make it as a natural wonder of the world, but it's definetely worth seeing! Baalbeck

... serve you good hearty meals without all the grease, therefore, it is annoying especially when you are traveling and don't normally have the opportunity to go to the grocery store and cook up a healthy meal. As I was walking I ran into one of Laith's friends and he asked if I would like to go to one of his Brazilian dance classes that he was teaching that night. I was interested in seeing it so I told him I would pick up some food and go watch. So I found a ...

... much, but didn't have the English to tell me any different. That should really have been a hint that the day would not go to plan. Also, he was very busy spruiking his tour services on the side... Amman airport is a close second to Melbourne in terms of security. I was passport checked, x-rayed, patted down then allowed to the Emirates desk to check in. They have two sets of machines, so the men and women queue separately and are patted down by a person of their own gender ...

... with Danielle's George father there to give us a few pointers and show us how it was done, we survived it and perhaps even ended up looking like professional Beirutis. The locals, George included, seem to take a fatalistic approach to crossing the street by simply stepping out in front of the cars without looking and trusting that they will not want to hit you. In fact George told me "Never make eye contact with the driver of a car, just start crossing". Apparently the act of ...

Before I arrived in Lebanon, I always had images of civil war and bombs exploding whenever thinking about a place like Beirut. Having seen it, many of my preconceived notions have changed, but some have not. After a long flight delay in Cyprus, I arrived in Beirut late and had to take a taxi into the city. The taxi drivers were demanding 30 dollars for the trip. I found one that claimed he had a meter -- he didn't. Upon arrival at my hotel, we got into a huge argument ...

... cafes a bit too fast and jump out of their cars only to throw the keys at the valet. Obnoxious. Then they sit outside without talking and glance at themselves in the windows. I know I'm generalizing, but sheeesh! Perhaps this is my response to a more western culture after being in the real Middle East for several weeks? Naaa. <br><br>In any case, it was the right decision to take the free 48-hour visa and head back to Damascus, which I'll do ...

Our hotel was in Hamra by the American University. With all the students roaming around, the area is less conservative, and more colourful, than other parts of town. Gaggles of teenagers cruise the sandwich joints and coffee houses, the boys in regulation jeans, sweatshirt, jacket and cigarette packet and the girls in every variation from black all covering outer gown and tightly wrapped head scarf to skin tight jeans. Women, generally, don't show much skin but, as often ...

... sorts of things and that I should hear everything with a grain of salt. Still, what a colourful part of the world. As a serious and most important disclaimer, there is a lot more than guns in Lebanon. I had a conversation with a fellow Edmontonian, Jon, who has worked in the Middle East for a few years. We discussed western perceptions of the M E as portrayed by the news media, and we are both well aware that the local level of danger is seriously overexaggerated by ...