Forget the turmoil in the Middle East for a minute, and remember how Beirut, Lebanon’s chic capital on the Mediterranean, remains a prime destination for travelers to the Arab world (at least, those looking for kebab shops located next to hip sushi joints next to Prada stores).

As The Independent pointed our recently, things have been especially quiet since the Israeli bombings in 2006, and new spots to check out around the city are popping up everyday, including the St George’s Cathedral Crypt Museum where you can view eight archaeological layers, from Hellenistic to Ottoman, that encompass Beirut’s history, and you can see everything from “the remains of six churches that date back 2,000 years . . . sandstone tombs, 18th-century frescos salvaged from the bombed out cathedral (complete with bullet holes), a section of Roman road, and a skylight looking up into the altar of this renovated Maronite church.”

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Impressive vistas, grilled meat on an open flame, shots of faces that tell a story all of their own — this stunning video of Lebanon tells centuries worth of tales without saying a word.

James Lewis’ video from his travels in Lebanon better be good: a glimpse at his Vimeo page reveals he works for a visual effects company that worked on both “The Dark Knight” and “Inception.”

Check out the poignant images at 1:58 where a young boy points out the bullet holes in a wall, presumably in the country’s capital of Beirut, a reminder of some of the city’s not-so-better (but hopefully long-in-the-past) days.

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Ahh, isn’t alliteration so fun? Remember that most famous of “No Reservations” — the one where Tony and crew get caught in the crosshairs of a little squabble between Lebanon and Israel back in the summer of 2006, in what turned out to be the beginning of the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War, and what also turned out to be one of the series’ most infamous episodes (and the one, in my humble opinion, with some of the best writing we’ve seen on the show, including this great send-off we discussed a little way back).

Four years have past, bygones have become bygones (as they tend to do, every notice that?), and “No Reservations” has returned to Beirut for this latest season. Tony recently sat down with CNN and discussed his feelings on returning to the city, where he went, and, most importanly, what he ate.

First order of business, we went back to Le Chef. We made a point of going back with the exact same camera crew and producer, who were stuck with me in 2006. And we met with largely the same people, even went to the places we didn’t get the opportunity to visit last time, and we met with people from the previous episode.

Met with Kamal [Mouzawak], the guy who runs Souk el Tayeb [Beirut’s first farmer’s market], went to the restaurant that showcases regional produce and specialties [Tawlet]. We had a meal at his [Kamal’s] house. Ate seafood along the coast, falafel at a famous place run by two brothers who don’t talk to one another [Falafel Sahyoun].

Had sfiha [meat pies] near Baalbeck, went to a vineyard where they make traditional arak [a clear, aniseed flavored alcoholic beverage] and wine. Try to eat around high and low. Had traditional Armenian food at a restaurant in the Armenian district.

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Ever since I saw the “No Reservations” Beirut episode last year, I’ve been wanting to go myself (despite the fact that half the episode was spent watching Tony try to leave the city as war was erupting outside). Who wouldn’t be curious about the “Paris of the East,” a city known for its cosmopolitan flair, hoppin’ nightlife, thriving culture, and, yeah, amazing food?

And I’m not the only one. In fact, travel to Lebanon in 2009  increased a whopping 39% from 2008, with 1,851,081 visitors entering the country.

This week the UK Times decided to check out the turnaround of fortune for this notoriously party-friendly city.

It is hard for people who visit the shiny, refurbished Beirut of today to understand how remarkable the transformation has been. The shops are back, parliament has reopened and most of the ruins on show today — with the exception of the bullet-scarred Holiday Inn — are of the Roman variety.

Rumor has it, Tony’s going back to the city this year to see what he missed. He’s not the only one.

The post Why I Want To See Beirut (And So Should You) appeared first on The Expeditioner Travel Site.

I stumbled upon a couple of articles in The Gazette this week highlighting Beirut, capital of Lebanon, as a city coming back to life. For the past 4o-plus years, this country has seen some of the worst of times. Situated in a precarious geographical position, it has been in the middle and on the sidelines of war.

However, as the article mentions, in January 2009, Beirut topped the New York Times list for vacation destinations. During the same year, Lonely Planet ranked the capital in it´s list of top ten cities for its ¨charm and cultural dynamism.¨ The year 2009 also saw a record 2 million tourists, according to The Montreal Gazette. As a result, it is suggested that the hopes and dreams are high right now for bringing Beirut back to its pre-1970s luster. The London-based, boutique hotel, Le Gray, is merely one of many that aim to take advantage of the growing tourism. Plans for a Four Seasons and a Hyatt are underway.

Along with a record amount of tourists, 2009 was a year of peace for the metropolis that still has battle wounds from, as recent as, 2008. My questions are: Has peace befallen Beirut because of tourism or has tourism increased because it was a time of peace? Are tourists becoming more fascinated by war, wanting to experience it firsthand? Or, does the increase in tourism provide more media attention, thus a time of tranquility? I know that the same questions arose when the Olympics went to Beijing and these are the types of questions we should keep asking ourselves. Nonetheless, it is the proverbial chicken or the egg.

I suppose with more people traveling than ever, the grey area of politics, power and peace become a little more transparent. The successive question is whether our desire just to see another place will ruin our chance to truly experience it? The hotels will provide jobs, apparently peace, and stimulate the economy. I wonder what happens to the rest of the country? It´s been a long-standing, internal debate of my own: does tourism help or hinder? Possibly, in this case, tourism helps if it means people are safe from being bombed. Nevertheless, I still wonder, what are the long-term effects of Western-based businesses that have different outlooks on the way things ¨ought¨ to be?

A very close friend of mine is Lebanese. Her mom and dad live in Lebanon. I wonder what their thoughts are? I will have to get back to you on this one.

By Brit Weaver

About the Author

Toronto born and based, Brit is an avid leisure cyclist, coffee drinker and under-a-tree park-ist. She often finds herself meandering foreign cities looking for street eats to nibble, trees to climb, a patch of grass to sit on, or a small bookstore to sift through. You can find her musing life on her personal blog, TheBubblesAreDead.wordpress.com.

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Food markets are probably the best place visit in order to immerse yourself in the culture of the land, and there’s no better place to do this while you’re in Beirut than at the Souk-el-Tayeb farmers’ market. As was discovered by Joy of the Independant, “there’s a growing movement towards organic food in Lebanon, but the real mission of the Souk-el-Tayeb is to reconnect the land to the city”

“For many, the first glimpse of Lebanon is Beirut, a city of Starbucks, late-night bars and hyper-preened women. It hums with a mix of Eurotrash style and Middle Eastern traffic chaos: loud, brash and ostentatiously wealthy. As with many capital cities, it offers a façade behind which lies quite a different country.”

But far from the frenzied nightlife and glitterati that is all too apparent in this city, the market offers home-produced goods such as olive oils, fruits, jams, pickles, as well as homemade crafts.

And the best part in my opinion? By signing up on their website, you can venture out into the country and visit the various producers on their land to see where the food is grown. Way better than lounging by the pool all day in my opnion.

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