Corniche

Corniche, بيروت

If there would only be one place for a nice walk at بيروت, Lebanon, it would be for sure the Corniche – the 4.8 kilometres long promenade along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It starts in the West of the city and leads then along the North of the city centre next to a street called Avenue de Paris. Along the way, you can see the lighthouse of Beirut and the famous Pigeon’s rocks. The Corniche is often filled with people walking, chatting, playing chess or fishing.

Continue reading “Corniche”

Armenian quarter

Beer Christmas tree, Armenian quarter, بيروت

If you’re looking for good bars and restaurants at بيروت, Lebanon, you will be often pointed towards the Armenian quarter in the primarily Christian part of the city. This region of Beirut is easy to find as the road is also called Armenia and the bars and restaurants are lined up at this road are can be found close to it. Sometimes it is referenced to as Mar Mikhael but that is only half the truth; this interesting area partially also belongs to the city quarters Geitawi and Qobayat.

Continue reading “Armenian quarter”

Stay connected

Local SIM card, بيروت

When I went to Lebanon I decided to get a local SIM card for my mobile phone. And that was a very easy decision as my provider Deutsche Telekom places Lebanon into its horrible Ländergruppe 3 (the group of countries with the highest roaming costs) and doesn’t even offer data packages to book. Paying horrible 0.49 Euros every 50 KB (observe the unit, per 50 kilobyte!), making phone calls for 2.99 Euros every minute (or receiving them for 1.79 Euros per minute) and paying 0.49 Euros for every SMS message wasn’t an option. Using just the WiFi in your hotel, in coffee bars and restaurants might be okay. But especially if you want to use Uber to get around or if you travel to rural areas it feels better to have a constant connection.

Continue reading “Stay connected”

Souk

Souks, بيروت

If you expect to find a traditional market (souk) at بيروت, Lebanon, you will be pretty much disappointed. The shopping mall Beirut Souks has taken over some structures of ancient markets and you can see some ruins of the old market between the houses but it is really a modern shopping mall. Nevertheless, it might be useful to get here as you’ve got everything in place: coffee bars, restaurants, shops and also a tiny post office a little bit hidden.

Continue reading “Souk”

Place de l‘Etoile

Place de l'Etoile, بيروت

The Sāhat an-Nadschma or Place de l’Etoile of بيروت, Lebanon, is an important square in the centre of the city. Different roads lead to it in a star-shaped way and next to it you can find the parliament, the archaeological museum and the Saint George church (a Greek orthodox cathedral). In the middle of the square, you can find an ancient clocktower from the 1930s. The area was once filled with bars and coffee bars that were destroyed during the Lebanese civil war.

Continue reading “Place de l‘Etoile”

Minerals

Museum of minerals (MIM), بيروت

I admit I was wrong. I always believed that a collection of minerals must be absolutely boring. But then I came across the Mineral Museum (MIM) of the Université Saint-Joseph at بيروت, Lebanon. It is a vast collection of minerals from all over the world. As it belongs to a university there are good scientific explanations but the presentation is also very nice. They play a lot with light and stage the beautiful stones the right way.

Continue reading “Minerals”

Revolution

Barb wire, بيروت

Lebanon currently experiences exceptional circumstances. 30 years after the Lebanese civil war and 15 years after the so-called Cedar revolution and the Lebanon war in 2006 the country now has a governmental crisis. Since October 2019 the people are protesting on a daily basis against corruption, economic turndown, daily electricity outages, the political elite and a system that assigns governmental positions and the number of seats in the parliament by religion. More than ten different religious groups claim their rights and finding consensus must be like a mission impossible.

Continue reading “Revolution”

Martyrs‘ square

Martyr's square, بيروت

It is the central square of بيروت, Lebanon, and has played an important role in Lebanese history different times: the Martyrs’ square. It was formerly an open square next to the city walls and it is therefore close to the old city centre. It leads down to the harbour and the two most iconic buildings next to it are the Mohammad Al-Amin mosque and the ‘egg‘ – a cinema with a special architecture that remained unfinished due to the Lebanese civil war. Martyrs’ square is a place often chosen for public events, protests and protest camps.

Continue reading “Martyrs‘ square”

Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque

Mohammad Al-Amin mosque, بيروت

It is a house of prayer you can’t miss when visiting the بيروت, Lebanon. The Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque is a Sunni mosque located next to the city centre and the Martyrs’ square. It is a rather new mosque; its foundation stone with laid in 2003 by prime minister Rafik Hariri and it was opened in 2008 by one of his sons. It is well visible because of its four minarets and the 42 meters high cupola coloured in blue.

Continue reading “Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque”

National museum

National museum, بيروت

The national museum was the first point of interest I visited when coming to بيروت, Lebanon. Having seen nothing of the city before I was really surprised how modern and well designed this museum of archaeology is. The museum was founded after World War II and contains around 100,000 items from excavations in Lebanon. Highly decorated sarcophagi, fantastic mosaics, ancient coins, statues and also some mummies can be found in the exhibition – with items also dating back to the bronze age.

Continue reading “National museum”