Beirut – City of Walls

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Last week I had my first exposure to the sham area of the Middle East when I visited Beirut, Lebanon. I was invited to attend a board meeting for the local NGO with which I am affiliated.

During my time there, I had the privilege of sharing a room with the Sudan country director for the same NGO. It was a great opportunity to spend time with someone who has years of wisdom and is happy to share it. His humility and sincere desire to do his best was a source of inspiration to me.

We decided to take one day and drive up to Byblos, a nearby coastal village with Phoenician ruins dating back to the beginning of recorded history. In fact, some believe it is the oldest continuously–inhabited city in the world—a claim I have often used for Sana’a. The town is also mentioned in the Bible during the construction of Solomon’s temple.

The same day we visited the Jeita Grotto, an enormous cave with a ceiling almost 400 feet (120 meters) high and an underground lake. Later that day, we also took a cable car up to a nice lookout over the city. Two Catholic churches sit on top of the hilltop.

City of Walls

The most striking peculiarity of Lebanon was it’s complex blend of cultures. After numerous occupations by imperial powers, the country reflects it’s rich past. Arabic, French and English are all spoken by the majority of the population. Yet, unlike America where the population has accepted a homogenous shared culture, Lebanon is a city of walls. Most people seem to cling to their own identity and fight any potential threat to it. Christians refuse to greet Muslims with “Assalaam aleykoum” (“Peace be unto you”… the same message Jesus shared on numerous occasions such as John 20:21) Muslims seemed to avoid the “Christian” greeting “Marhaban.” Even sects within major religions, such as Shia and Sunni Muslims have ways to differentiate themselves. I even noticed that the beads wrapped around the rear view mirror of each car identified the religion of the driver…rosary beads for Christians, prayer beads for Muslims. Some would call all this diversity. That’s true. But wouldn’t a diversity that accepted other religions be even better? The overall mood I sensed was a cold one. There seems to be a lot of resentment going on.

In contrast, consider the Islamic diversity in Yemen. Both Shia and Sunni Muslims are present, yet they both pray in the same Masjids and generally seem to accept one another. Yet each group retains it’s distinct cultural traditions.

The Lebanese also seem to take pride in their resilience in the face of warfare. Many like to share stories about bombs exploding near their vehicles while driving. They laugh it off as if it were nothing. Some might call it silly bravado. It’s probably more likely their own way to mentally survive.

The Language

I was happy to be able to converse a little with the Lebanese using my classical Arabic. But in general I sound awfully strange to them. This combined with the ridged social rules of conduct made for difficult conversation at times.

The Food

Before the trip, a friend asked me what I wanted to do in Beirut.

“Eat!” I responded.

And I was not disappointed. The food was amazing. Lebanese cuisine might be edging out Indian and Thai as my favorite ethnic food!

There are many redeeming qualities about Beirut that tempt me to relocate there. The beautiful countryside, food, history, art/design scene, and overall hospitality of the place were a delight. But as with every place, it would definitely have it’s challenges.