Day 5. Thursday, 14 July 2011. Sidon, Moussa Castle and Deir Al Qamar are our today’s destination. They are all in southern Lebanon. If Sidon is by the sea, Deir Al Qamar is in the mountain.
Sea Castle and Musee Du Savon become our highlights in Sidon. Other interesting objects such as Khan Al Franj, Grand Mosque, and Debbane Palace were skipped and just passed by.
Sidon is also known as Saida in Arabic, and it is the birthplace of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
Approaching Sidon - 40km south of BeirutSidon's Corniche. Sea Castle can be seen at the far background
Sidon's Sea Castle just got served!
The castle was built in 1228 on top of the ruins of Phoenician temple
Sidon has been a major coastal city for at least six millenia
Musee du Savon
This is where soap production started. The huge vat where the basic ingredients of soap are mixed
The guide demonstrated how to make cutting marks on soap layer
Musee du Savon is managed by Foundation Audi
Sidon Souk, on the way to Musee du Savon
Khan Al Franj - the main center of economic activity of Sidon until 19th century
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Moussa Castle. Moussa is a Lebanese businessman who as a schoolboy was influenced by the medieval period and dreamed of building a castle of that era with his own hands. Caught daydreaming or drawing castles in class, he was beaten by his teacher, mocked by his classmates and by Saideh, the love of his life. He leftschool and worked. In 1962 the foundation stone firstly laid. The castle now complete, every stone having been cut and laid by Moussa himself (source: Globe Trotter).
Moussa Castle - no photography allowed inside
Moussa in school being trashed by his teacher (photography is not allowed this the only picture I've got)
Moussa Castle
Auuuu...!
Deir Al Qamar or the Monastery of the Moon, short distance from Beiteddine. This is Midan, the public square which was once the jousting area. The Mosque of Fakhr ad-Din I stands onthe side of the square. To the right of mosque are souq and Palace of Younes Maan
Deir Al Qamar
Midan Square - Deir Al Qamar
Midan Square, another angle
Back to Beirut, our last night in Lebanon was spent tasting another Lebanese cuisine such as Falafel sandwich. It turned out that the street parallel to Hamra St, Baalbek St., hosts many eateries not to be missed.
Falafel Barbar at Baalbek St, is worth tried
This sumptous falafel sandwich can be had for only 2$
Day 6. Our last day in Lebanon :(. Our flight is at 11.45am and therefore not much we can do in the morning other than preparing for take off to Doha. Nonetheless, I managed to have a short morning walk to Rue Bliss, American University of Beirut.
Day 4. We were heading north to Tripoli, then to Bscharre and Cedars Forest. On the way back to Beirut we stopped by at Jeita Grotto.
Tripoli is the second largest city in Lebanon, yet it is demure and humble, or forgotten? Highlights here include Citadel, Grand Mosque, Souk, and old cities.
The Al-Tell Clock Tower
Tripoli needs revamp! In the other hand, Mercedez still country favorite, including in here
Citadel of Raymond de Saint-Gilles
Citadel of Raymond De Saint-Gilles
Military present is obvious. Tripoli has recently experienced a sectarian clash (Sunni - Shiah), few weeks before our arrival. Green domes seen here is Grand Mosque
Lost to souq!
Actually there were a lot to cover in Tripoli, but we decided to skip them, owing to traffic, parking problems and limited time. We then drove out of Tripoli to go to Bscharre, via Amioun. Arrived at Tourza we have options to go via northern route (Ehden) or southern road. Southern road is faster but northern road has unparralleled view. We chose north for going to Bscharre and south for driving back to Beirut.
Qadisha Valley, near Ehden
Bscharre
Maison Gibran - the birthhouse of Khalil Gibran
Road to Cedars Forest from Bscharre
Cedars Forest
In front of one of the olderst Cedars tree
During winter, The Cedars is a ski resort destination. This road leads out into the wilds of the Bekaa Valley and eventually on to Baalbek. From roughly Dec to Aprol, the road is closed due to snow
Leaving Bscharre through southern route
Jeita. From Wikipedia: ” a compound two separate but interconnected karsticlimestonecaves spanning an overall length of nearly 9 kilometres (5.6 mi). The caves are situated in the Nahr al-Kalb valley within the locality of Jeita, 18 kilometres (11 mi) north of the Lebanese capital Beirut. Though inhabited in prehistoric times, the lower cave was not rediscovered until 1836 by Reverend William Thomson; it can only be visited by boat since it channels an underground river that provides fresh drinking water to more than a million Lebanese.
A complete visit to Jeita will consist of transfer to Upper Grotto by cable car, Upper Grotto, transfer to Lower Grotto by land train, or walk down passing sculpture garden, Lower Grotto, boat tour in Lower Grotto. Unfortunately, photography is prohibited inside Grotto.
Jeita Grotto - parking and ticket area
Jeita Grotto - Upper (Source: Wikipedia)
Jeita Grotto - Lower (Source: Discover Lebanon - use without permission 🙂 )
Day 3. Now, we were driving out of Beirut to north-east Lebanon, Bekaa Valley area. Bekaa Valley is a high plateau between Mount Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountain. Today, the area is still Lebanon’s most important farming region.
First, Baalbek. Located about 85km north-east of Beirut, Baalbek is famous for its magnificent temple and as headquarters for Hezboullah.
Baalbek Temple
Six standing columns part of Temple of Jupiter
Temple of Bacchus
An area within Baalbek Temple Complex
We also visited the largest hewn stone in the world, just few hundred meters from the temple complex. Look at the size in compare to my body size 🙂
The Largest Stone in the World (Stone of the pregnant woman)
Before heading to Zahle, we drove around city of Baalbek.
Baalbek town center
A mosque in Baalbek boulevard
Zahle is the capital of Beqaa Governorate of Lebanon. All of its inhabitans are Christians from many sects (Catholic, Maronite, Orthodox).
Fertile Bekaa Valley(on the way from Baalbek to Zahle)
Zahle's Cafe Berdouni - famous for its Lebanese cuisines. Crowded during winter
Monte Alberto - a hotel in Zahle, perched on the rocky cliff, overlooking Wadi Zahle and Berdouni River
After a brief lunch stop in Zahle, we continued to Ksara to visit Lebanon’s most famous vineyard Chateau Ksara.
Ksara Winery, after attending free tour
Part of the Ksara Winery is this extremely spacious underground caves, where the wine matures. There are now nearly 2km of tunnels where temperature stays between 11 C and 13 C throughout the year - the ideal temperature for the wine
Anjar is our next destination. From Ksara, Anjar can be accessed through inter-country road that connect Lebanon to Damascus of Syria. Instead of going this way, we used a smaller road that connect Ksara to northern Anjar. The road is one-line double carriageway passing through vineyard, rural villages, and several military checkpoints. On the way back, however, we used normal primary road.
Road to Anjar from Ksara (alternative northern road)
Complex of Umayyad ruins, probably dating back to the rule of the sixth Umayyad Caliph Walid I in AD 705-715
The Anjar complex includes ruins of public bath, residential quarters, great palace, shops and mosque
With that, we completed our visit to Beqaa Valley. On the way back to Beirut, we (to be precise, I) decided to detour to Beiteddine via Barouk.
Barouk cedars forest - on the way to Beiteddine
Beiteddine Palace just got served!
Beiteddine Palace's Mosaics Garden
Beiteddine Palace - Mosaics Room
That was a long day. Back to Beirut, we took a bit longer evening rest before strolling Hamra nearby. It was almost 10 PM yet Hamra still bustling. People flocked coffee shop at roadsides, while to-be-seen young Beirutis dressed to kill.
Beirut's Pigeon Rock and Rouche Area as we're about to landing
Day 1. Touched down Rafiq Hariri International Airport in Beirut, and secured a car rent, we hurried to drive to Beirut. First stop is Beirut National Museum.
Beirut National Museum
From here, we were driving down Rue de Damas that once was a part of Green Line that separating Muslim and Christians. Along the way, bullet-ridden buildings stood still – wars left its marks.
Rue de Damas (once a part of Green Line)
After several detours, diversions, reroutes (passing Downtown area, those military tanks, and got used to traffic behavior) we reached Lavender Home Apartment in Hamra to check in. The apartment is located about one minute walk from Hamra Street on the one-way narrow street. Finding a parking spot was a nightmare as the apartment only has 2-car spot at the back and 3-car spot at front. Nevertheless, check-in was seamless, staff very helpful and our room was upgraded to Studio Room.
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Hard Rock Cafe is located at the end of corniche road, at ground floor of Bayview Hotel, opposite to McD where we had our first lunch in Beirut. My 17th Hard Rock Cafe shot glass collection is from here! It was summer and though Beirut doesn’t have good flat sandy beaches, Corniche saw young people throngs short seaside pedestrian strip opposite American University of Beirut.
Beirut's Corniche in front of American University of Beirut (AUB)Hard Rock Cafe Beirut
Downtown is our next stop. Starting from a parking lot near Martyr Square we walked to Le Gray Hotel/Virgin Megastore, Al Omari Mosque and end at Place D’Etoile (Nejmeh Square).
Martyrs Square
Martyrs Square
Al Omari MosquePlace D'Etoile or Nejmeh Square
Cardo Maximus - old Roman LineSt. George's Cathedral and Mohammed al-Amin mosque
Mohammed al-Amin Mosque
Our first visit to Place D’Etoile and Downtown area was so brief that we need to come back in another visit. Since we had to go out of city tomorrow we decided to stock some food and beverages for our trip and stay. For that we visited ABC Mall and Spinney Supermarket. End of Day 1 in Lebanon was closed by visit to Pigeon Rock and tasting Lebanese cuisine at Kababji, Hamra.
Watching sunset at Pigeon Rock would be an amazing experience
The Pigeon Rock area is always crowded with Beirutis and visitors enjoying sunset
Tasting Lebanese cuisine is a must do
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Day 2
Our Day 2 saw us heading north to Byblos, Jounieh, Harissa, and Nahr El Kalb. First, Byblos. Byblos or commonly known as Jbeil is located about 38km north of Beirut, accessed through coastal highway. Our highlights in Byblos include visiting Byblos complex, souk, and Memory of Time. We didn’t pay a visit to wax museum, church, and Byblos Port.
Byblos ComplexByblos Crusader Citadel just got served!
Byblos Souk
Byblos's Memory of Time - free "lecture" on how to find fossils. Some fossils are for sale starting at as low as $5
From Byblos, we’re heading back to Beirut but stopping at Jounieh to take thrilling ride to Harissa by Telepherique (cable car). The ride took us through private apartment blocks and then steeply inclining ride to Harissa where we’re transferred by Fenicular to the base of Our Lady of Lebanon statue.
Telepherique to Harissa
From Harissa, view to Jounieh and as far as north Beirut is fantastic
Our Lady of Lebanon
Funicular at Harissa
Roman Bridge at Nahr El Kalb
Rio Lento Water Park
Another Downtown visit. We’re back to Downtown and now we headed to Roman Bath and took some time to enjoy the pulse of Beirut in Downtown.
Roman Bath
Grand Serail - the headquarters of the Prime Minister of Lebanon
Place D'Etoile or Nejmeh Square
Though military presence is obvious, the life of Beirutis is unaffected
One of the mosques in Downtown area
Nejmeh Square has many pedestrian-only roads radiating from its clock tower
Downtown area is under massive redevelopment since wars, solely managed by government-established Solidere. New building/commercial complex has been built and more in pipeline
Lebanon was far away in my destination-to-visit list until I stepped on my feet in Qatar. Even if it touched my memory during my childhood it was because of war – Beirut was synonym to war as was Kabul at that time. Living in Qatar, Lebanon is no longer stranger for me. (No hurt feeling but) Pointy shoes, gel on their head that combed very neatly, dressed to kill, Khan Al Saboun, old Mercedes Benz are among Lebanese attribute associations I get exposed to in Qatar.
So, when we decided to travel to Lebanon on 10-15 July 2011, I’ve got unusual responses, but expected, is it safe? what can you do there? I wish I can have them read Lonely Planet book. Lebanon is in fact rich in culture, history, sights, and activities. I won’t be sorry travelling to Lebanon. If there is one thing I admire Lebanese about, particularly Beirutis, is that their passionate pursuit of the finer thing in life never undimmed – despite its frequent volatility.
I copy the following depiction from Lonely Planet:
Coolly combining the ancient with the ultramodern, Lebanon is one of the most captivating countries in the Middle East. From the Phoenician findings of Tyre (Sour) and Roman Baalbek‘s tremendous temple to Beirut‘s BO18 and Bernard Khoury’s modern movement, the span of Lebanon’s history leaves many visitors spinning. Tripoli (Trablous) is considered to have the best souk in the country and is famous for its Mamluk architecture. It’s well equipped with a taste of modernity as well; Jounieh, formerly a sleepy fishing village, is a town alive with nightclubs and glitz on summer weekends.
With all of the Middle East‘s best bits – warm and welcoming people, mind-blowing history and considerable culture, Lebanon is also the antithesis of many people’s imaginings of the Middle East: mostly mountainous with skiing to boot, it’s also laid-back, liberal and fun. While Beirut is fast becoming the region’s party place, Lebanon is working hard to recapture its crown as the ‘Paris of the Orient’.
The rejuvenation of the Beirut Central District is one of the largest, most ambitious urban redevelopment projects ever undertaken. Travellers will find the excitement surrounding this and other developments and designs palpable – and very infectious.
Finally, Lebanon’s cuisine is considered the richest of the region. From hummus to hommard (lobster), you’ll dine like a king. With legendary sights, hospitality, food and nightlife, what more could a traveller want?
But first,
Visa
In a step to bolster tourism amidst regional unrest, the Lebanese government is now issuing visas on arrival for all nationalities residing in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries as long as they have a valid residence visa belonging to particular categories. The earlier practice required certain nationalities to obtain entry permits in advance of their travel. According to a circular published on the Lebanese General Security Department (GSD) website (http://www.general-security.gov.lb/English/Entrance%20Visas/visa8/Pages/evisa7.aspx), entry visas are being granted to those who fall under the categories of businessmen, directors/general managers, employers, physicians, engineers and lawyers who are legal residents of the GCC.
The validity of the visa will not exceed the validity of the person’s passport and residence. It further states that to enter Lebanon, a valid visa for up to 11 months is granted at the airport, district or frontier office to GCC residents of certain categories.
Nevertheless, I pre-obtained Lebanese visa prior to my departure, through Lebanese embassy in Doha, as the move came into effect later. It only took one day and cost me QR130 per passport for single trip.
Lebanon in Wikipedia and Wikitravel can be consulted for quick orientation, but I’ll summarize here. Lebanon is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the west along a 225-kilometre (140 mi) coastline, by Syria to the east and north, and by Israel to the south. The Lebanon-Syria border stretches for 375 kilometres (233 mi) and the Lebanon-Israel border for 79 kilometres (49 mi).
Lebanon in 2002 CIA Map
With such compact area, 10,452km2 (almost the size of Qatar, 11,521km2), it is possible to make several day trips from Beirut for the length of your stay: you can have skiing or snowboarding at noon and back to Beirut in the evening to enjoy beaches. Most large cities are accessible between 1-2 hours for the distance of around 100km.
Beirut – Baalbek 87km, 1h40m (mountainous road then flat highway)
Beirut – Anjar 59km, 1h20m (mountainous road then flat road)
Beirut – Beiteddine 42km, 1h (coastal highway then mountainous road for the last 18km)
Beirut – Sidon 42km, 50m (coastal highway)
Beirut – Tyre 73km (not travelled)
*Distance and travel duration is approximate. Self-drive. Relax driving. Within speed limit. Subject to traffic condition
Most of Lebanon’s area is mountainous terrain, except for the narrow coastline (1-5km before rising into hills and mountains) and the Beqaa Valley (i.e. Baalbek), which is high plateau between the Mt Lebanon Range and the Anti-Lebanon Range.
Sights, Activities and Itinerary
Lebanon’s location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland has dictated its rich history, and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity (There are 18 state-recognized religious sects – 4 Muslim, 12 Christian, 1 Druze, and 1 Jewish). So, ancient sites, palaces, museums, religious towns are among top sights. To add to this list are beautiful sceneries along the way, seasonal activities (summer beach, summer festival, skiing, winter sports), and culinary adventures. Did I mention shopping?
We didn’t use tour operator at all at this trip instead we hired a car and drove all the time. For reasons: Lebanon is a compact country and all cities are connected by quite good road infrastructure, we always start earlier (7.40am we already hit the road) to cover as many sights as possible and to compensate many photo stops, we can pace the trip to suit ourselves, and lastly one-day trip cost by tour operator for our family equal to car rental fee for 5 days!
Consequently, however, we need to do our homework carefully. Digesting travel guides, browsing travel websites, delving into maps, and compiling coordinates from Google Earth and Wikimapia to input to my GPS. I was so soaked in pre-departure research that I knew before departed where I should park my car in here and there, where to find entrance to the sites, where to walk from parking area to certain location, how many km from here to there, and what is in left and right as we drive or walk.
If you do opt for tour, prepare to spend about 65$-85$ per person per day trip tour (normally include lunch). Nakhal, one of the oldest Lebanese travel agencies, offers many day trip tour options.
Day 1 – Doha – Beirut. Beirut National Museum. Green Line. Check-in Hotel. Downtown. ABC Mall. Spinneys Supermarket. Pigeon Rock.
Day 2 – Byblos. Jounieh. Telepherique. Harissa. Aqua Park (Rio Lento). Gemmayzeh. Sursock & St Nicholas Stairs. Downtown
Day 3 – Baalbek. Zahle. Ksara Winery. Anjar. Beiteddine. Deir Al Qamar. Hamra
Day 4 – Tripoli. Bscharre. Cedars Forest. Jeita Grotto.
Day 5 – Sidon. Moussa Castle. Hamra
As you can clearly see from our itinerary, you can cover each Lebanon region in one day trip. Beirut itself actually deserves one full day exploration to properly appreciate the sights.
Sights:
Beirut – the capital and largest city. Beirut National Museum, Downtown, Corniche and Pigeon Rock are among the top sights. Beirut also has a vast array of nightclubs, restaurants and other entertaining places.
Beirut for Children: Planet Discovery (science center), Water Parks (Waves Aqua Park, Rio Lento, Splash Mountain), Museum, Luna Park, Theme Park (Rainbow Island, Habtoor Land), Downtown area
Baalbek – a Phoenician and Roman archaeological site. Roman Temples in the city of Baalbeck are among the largest and most beautiful Roman ruins. Other highlights include: the largest stone in the world, ruins of Ummayad mosque.
Zahle – capital of Bekaa Valley. Ideal for lunch stop when visiting Baalbek
Ksara – Lebanon’s most famous vineyard. Grab free tour and visit their cave
Anjar is a city in the Beqaa Valley home to the unique ruins of an 8th century Omayyad city. The city has tens of local restaurants where you can enjoy the unique Lebanese cuisine.
Byblos (Joubeil) – another city with plenty of remains, castles and museums . It is a must-see ancient Phoenician city that had been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other highlights include: memory of Time fossil shop, wax museums, souk, port, and church.
Jezzine – main summer resort and tourist destination of South Lebanon
Jounieh – known for its seaside resorts and nightclubs. Starting point for Telepherique to Harissa.
Sidon (Saida) – plenty of medieval remains. Sea Castle, Musee du Savon, Debbane Palace, Old City and Souk, Temple of Echmoun, and Khan Al Franj are among highlights.
Tripoli (Trablus) – still unspoilt by mass-tourism. Point of interests include: Citadel, Grand Mosque, Khan Al Saboun, Souk,
Tyre (Sour) – Al Bass Archaelogical Site is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the largest and best preserved Roman archeological sites in the world.
JeitaGrotto, 18km north of Beirut is a compound two separate but interconnected karstic limestone caves spanning an overall length of nearly 9 kilometres (5.6 mi). The cave contains a great concentration of a variety of crystallized formations such as stalactites, stalagmites, columns, mushrooms, ponds, curtains and draperies. It is nominated as one of the new 7 wonders of nature..
Beiteddin One of the most precious Arabic architectural jewels is the palace of Beiteddine. This historic monument comprises of two large courtyards: the “midane”, a vast rectangular place for visitors, and a smaller one for the royal private apartments, with a magnificent fountain in its centre.
Qadisha Valley , in north Lebanon, the “Holy Valley” spreads from Bcharreh to the coast. Classified under UNESCO’s world heritage, its countless caves, chapels and monasteries as well as its luxuriant vegetation transformed it into the most famous natural site of Lebanon. Highlights include: Bscharre (birthplace of Khalil Gibran), Cedars Forest, Ski Resorts, Ehden Nature Reserve.
Activities:
Hiking, Night-Life, Ski, Wine Tasting, Seasonal Acitivities (summer sports, skiing and winter sports), Festival
Budget and Currency
Lebanon is not a thin-wallet destination, but you can work out to maximize your budget and still get the most of it. I am not backpacker traveller so I don’t use many backpacker tips on saving budget (i.e. I don’t use shared taxi, staying in hostel) as I am travelling with family and children.
Indicative cost of travel in Lebanon:
Flight – Qatar Airways – $700 per person round trip
Hotel – Lavender Home, Studio Apartment with kitchenette, inclusive breakfast, in Hamra – $165
Car Rental – $341 for 5 days (Nissan Tiida, 1.6, Auto)
The Lebanese currency is the Lebanese pound, abbreviated “LBP” or “Lebanese Lira” abbreviated “LL”, which is the most common abbreviation. Its value is kept stable relative to the US dollar, with a value of about LL1,500 to US$1. US dollars however used side-by-side with LL and is widely accepted almost everywhere. Price tags will mostly show these two currencies. Nonetheless, large USD notes (more than $100) are normally not accepted, therefore you are advised to carry only small notes ($50 denomination max). You may pay in USD and get exchange in LL.
Flight, Car Rental, Transportation, Parking & Accommodation
Qatar Airways (codeshare with Middle East Airline MEA) has direct flight to Beirut. Other airlines also offer flights to Beirut with 1 or more stops: Gulf Air (Bahrain), Etihad (Abu Dhabi), Emirates (Dubai), Air Arabia, Iran Air, Royal Jordanian Airlines. Cost of return trip flight is starting from US$500 person for non-direct flight and starting from US$600 for direct flights, all depending on class and seasons.
Flight duration is 3 hour 5 minutes DOH-BEY and 2 hour 50 min BEY-DOH. There is only one international airport in Lebanon and that is Rafiq Hariri International Airport (RHIA), which is located at south of Beirut, about 5-7km from city.
Car rental offices are available on the arrival terminal where you can hire car there. Do keep in mind that some offices only provide services for pre-booked rental. Rental starts from 45$ for small car (from local rent office – City Car – I rented Nissan Tiida 1.6 Auto for 65$ per day – high season), normally rent covers unlimited mileage for rental more than 3 days (or limited to 150km for less than 3 days), insurance coverage (excess 880$). If you want to hire a driver, that will cost about 22$ per day. Additional baby seat, booster seat, GPS, or snow chain can also be requested with fee. They accept our Qatari driving license.
There is no safe, comfortable mass transportation in Beirut other than shared service taxi. Shared service means you have to share the same taxi with other persons travelling in the same direction. Taxis are plentiful in Beirut but they are usually not metered, and heard of ripping off. Hotel may have taxi service with fixed cost (i.e. 10$ from Hamra to Downtown, about 3km). Taxi and service taxi can be recognized by their red-colored license plates. There is however government-managed intercity buses that offer trip to cities all over Lebanon.
As an alternative you can join day-trip tour organized by travel agents. Day trip cost is around 65$ (Byblos, Jounieh, Jeita) to 95$ (Baalbek) per person including lunch.
Hotel for low budget travellers are not many in Beirut. For family traveller, I found that staying in full furnished apartment is a value stay. (Probably 3-4 star rated) Lavender Home’s studio apartment (with kitchenette) in Hamra costed us 165$ (or 600 QR), breakfast and 10% tax inclusive. As usual, low and high season affects price structure. Rouche, Downtown, and Hamra area are where most hotels located at.
Traffic and parking problems become synonymous to Beirut as this city was built and evolved from old cities and inherited small, narrow and short streets with so many intersections. Fortunately many streets in Beirut apply one-way traffic. If you think you have the most advanced pocket parking skills, then try driving in Beirut. The chaotic and unregulated on-street parking making driving in and through Beirut is difficult. Owing to limited off-street parking, one must park on-street in pocket parking style. Bumper to bumper parking is your challenge. If you hear honk then you must have been too long in pocket parking. Parking on the sidewalk is quite common, often forcing pedestrians to walk in the streets. Signals often ignored while hand signals will prevail. Don’t be surprise to see driver’s hand out of window to indicate signal. Lane discipline is almost non-existent with most drivers try to get the benefit of doubt by driving their car in the middle of lane line. There are few cameras installed in intersections. No speed camera observed during my stay. In small intersections crossing red light is quite common. Do anticipate.
Mountain driving is particularly hazardous, often involving 1-car roads in 2 way streets (mostly in non-main route, though for example, line to Cedars from Bscharre falls under this category).
Lebanon’s roads are generally in quite poor condition and there can be massive potholes on busy multi-lane roads.
Language
Arabic is the official language of Lebanon. However, French (second language) and English are widely spoken. Many Lebanese are bilingual or even trilingual. In tourist areas, you can expect people speak English very well. The further you venture out of non-touristic areas then Arabic will prevail as the main language. I usually ask them first “Speak English?” and with broken Arabic tell them that I can’t speak Arabic. Once in Anjar, near Syria border, we were surprised to know that ticketing officer to Ancient Ummayad Complex speaks English very well.
Speaking Arabic, however, put me sometimes in awkward situation especially when visiting non-Muslim cities. Pay greeting ‘Assalamu’alaikum’ without response, later knowing that they are in fact Maronite Christians or Greek Catholic. For these situations, I normally follow with French’s Bonjours. Understand basic French will also do some magic. I once visited Sidon, Musee du Savon (Soap Museum), the guide attended a group of French when I joined the free tour. The guide switched the tour in English, with group agreement after knowing we are from Indonesia. For that kind gesture, I replied in French how kind they are and say thank you. They were all stunned we can speak French.
Signage is written at least with Arabic first then followed by French or English. When we have a trip to Northern Lebanon, we found that signs and information are mostly written in Arabic and French. Bienvenue a Bscharre.
Safety and Security
Lebanon and Beirut is basically a safe country (theft is a minor problem but random crime is far lower than in most Western cities). Nevertheless basic safety precautions are to be exercised. Their people are very friendly, welcoming and helpful, and you’ll quickly feel safe and at home.
Travel advices always suggest avoiding areas with potential and historical conflicts such as Palestinian refugee camps, southern Lebanon close to Israel – south of Litani river (pointing out that land mines still remain), and certain area in Tripoli.
Taxi rip-off is on the top list of travel annoyance in Beirut. For that, agree and pay the tariff early before embarking. Otherwise, use hotel provided taxi for fixed cost, though expensive, or rent a car if you can embrace traffic and parking issues.
Essential Travel Info
Time zone UTC+2, UTC+3 (summer – end march to end October)
Drives on the right
Country code +961
Electrical: 240V, 50Hz, plug: two round pin is the most common (but you’ll also find Type A. B, C, D, G),
Useful phone numbers: Police: 112 or 911 or 999 Fire brigade: 175 (metropolitan Beirut only) Civil defense: 125 (outside Beirut) The Red Cross (Medic Response): 140 Information: 1515
Indonesian Embassy, Presidential Palace St. Baabda (next to Rumanian Embassy), Telp. 00961-5-924682, 33 50’42”N 35 32’20”E
Qatar Embassy , Ain Al Tinah, +961 1 804256/8, 33 53’0”N 35 28’50”E
QNB, Capital Plaza Building, Ahmad Sawki St, Mina El Hosn Solidere, Beirut, +961 1 377170, 33 54’2”N 35 29’54”E
Eyebrows raised, question-mark smile, rethoric question asked “Lebanon?” “Single or with family?”
As indicated in my previous post, we planned to spend summer in Qatar by among other travelling to cooler countries. Ignoring any travel warning/advice from US, Australia, we went instead to Lebanon!
No, no, no…Im not a party animal, nightlife seeker, or summer beachgoers (I’m more than tanned already :). I am a history, museum, culture and scenery buzz.
So, this 5-night, 4-day effective trip was spent to explore not only Beirut, the capital, but also entire Lebanon: North, South, East, North East. Driving a rented car exploring narrow streets that snaking around up and down the mountain & valley, lost by GPS in the souq, struggling with traffic and pocket parking, take the best picture in the scorching heat, enriched with history and religion diversities, not to mention delicious Lebanese cuisines.
I will be back with as usual travelogues, but let me complete a critical mission tasked by company to facilitate major risk assessment this week. Stay tune!
An explore dream discover life episode of an Indonesian family in Qatar
CGK-DOH 