I did not enjoy Beirut as much as I wanted when I went there for the first time last December. The schedule was tight, the weather was cold, and the political situation was tense. But now it’s summer, and I hope it will be different this time. I will be flying to Beirut tomorrow to participate at the Arab Bloggers Meeting, an informal gathering for online activists in the region organized by Heinrich Boell Stiftung Middle East. It should be interesting.
P.S. I want to thank Prof. Abdul-Rahman al-Obaid and Dr. Ashraf Mahmoud for their understanding and support.
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12 Comments
yeeeeaaaaahhhhh !
all the best for the trip !
go and make saudi arabia proud of yourself….
Wish U all the best, we are proud of you.. Always..
One of my friends just came from there yesterday, she said that it is not so good there..
Full of Saudis as usual, soldiers are everywhere, treating tourists very bad.. And it became VERY expensive..
But i hope that she is exaggerating..
Arab Bloggers Meeting… sounds interesting! What goes on at a bloggers meeting??
All the best, have a safe journey and insha’Allah this trip will prove a million times better than the previous trip.
I have never been to Beirut, although I am a very small part Lebanese (and Greek and Romanian). My mum went in the early 70s (as well as Damascus) and LOVED Beirut. Safe travels to you.
Ahmed
good luck in your journey
I like Lebanon what makes me sad is that I’ve heard it’s totally torn down now:(
I need your report when you get there “please”
I am in Beirut now and its the worst its ever been. Since the political situation in Lebanon has improved there is a record amount of tourists and visitors in Beirut at the moment. The country is PACKED! Everywhere I go its packed with people.
Mark,
packed with people and tourists = “the worst its ever been” ?!?!?!??!
isnt that supposed to be good for the country?
Question: I’ve heard that Beirut used to be the “Paris” of the mid-east. Is this true? Or perhaps Lebanon was referred to as the “Switzerland” of the mid-east? Any truth to these things?
ashraf is the best
proud of u ahmed
Ok Ahmed, the truth why am i the most miserable female in Beirut is becauseI miss my people back home!!! Not because it’s not fun or not an amazing place to visit “In fact: Beirut this summer is stunning” so much activates & events. .. People couldn’t have such summer since 3 years because of the political situation.. You know that I’ve been here during the latest events when they closed the airport..! And still this crazy country was safe!!! T.V and News papers exaggerated 80 percent.
For God sake most Lebanese were partying in “Hamra & Jimmaizah” and few of them shooting each other in the next neighborhood!!! While the rest of Lebanese drinking “Araq” & watching the news.
About what they call terrorists << they barely exist. There are few “Metaw3ah-Salafi conservatives” in the north “Tripoli in specific” fighting with (Al-Alaween<< real Minority in Lebanon).. the dazzling thing about Lebanon that ,also in the North, 50 KM before Tripoli you can witness the wildest most crazy beach parties human being can imagine in Jebail.
So this is Lebanon. I’m safe with my 3 years old baby<<who is enjoying a summer camp on the mountains. families could love it here: a lot of professional educational kids programs.
As I told you.. it’s just that i miss my friends back in Saudi, it’s hard for me to communicate with Lebanese it’s hard to find real friends, always scared from each other looking behind their backs all the time (they truly have a trust problem) + (Too much showing off in a bathetic way makes me feel sick most of the time).
And only few of them!! And I mean it few.. are funny!! but the rest :they think they are ;)
The biggest shock for me was the mentality (by the way they still Arabs) some Bidwens I know are much much more liberated than some Lebanese sons of Jobran Khalil Jobran (( what a shame)) most probably it’s a part of the radicals influence.
God Bless Lebanon & welcome to Adventure land my friend.
ooooooooooh !!! i love lebanon!!
have a great trip!!!! =) and don’t forget to jet ski !!!
I love Beirut & Lebanon on the whole. I’ve just returned from Highway africa, a media conference which brings together journos from across Africa and other parts of the world. Sami ben Gharbi a Tunisian blogger who heads Global Voices advocacy group was there too.
It would be great to have a global muslim bloggers meet
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