Beirut - Côte d'Azur of the Near East

We're back after a very nice, but as always too short, weekend in Beirut.
I had already written before that we gave ourselves this city trip as a birthday present. And last week, when my block course finally ended, we headed to Lebanon on Friday!

By the way, the tree on the Lebanese flag is a cedar

Our Air BnB was right by the harbor (which is quite central in Beirut and especially close to the pub mile ;-)).
On the first day, we walked across the city (there weren't many things we specifically wanted to see - we preferred to explore the city).

The old charm of Beirut, which earned the city the nickname 'Côte d'Azur of the Near East', can sometimes only be imagined after all these years of war, but you can still see why the city was called that.

One of the first actions was, of course, enjoying a delicious cold beer ;-)

We quickly chose Almaza as our favorite beer in Lebanon :)

After that, we walked along the corniche (the promenade by the water) to the Raouche rocks. We even timed it so well that we were there just in time for the sunset.

The Raouche rocks are a landmark of Beirut

In general, we also had great weather - wonderfully spring-like with lots of sunshine!
On Saturday, we arranged to meet up with our Lebanese friends Elie and Mario. Since it was Easter, the two of them were also at home on vacation. Together, we visited Mario's hometown of Byblos.

Together with Elie at the port of Byblos

Byblos, by the way, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places on Earth. Its harbor was of particular importance during Phoenician and Roman times as well as during the Crusades in the Middle Ages.

The city is also part of the UNESCO World Heritage.

Street signs etc. are (almost) always in Arabic and French

Byblos has a quite eventful history - no wonder, as it is one of the longest continuously inhabited places in the world (it is estimated to be around 7000 BC).

During the time of the Crusaders, Byblos was quite important and formed the center of the Gibelite rule.
You can still visit the Castle of Gibelite today:

The Crusader Castle of Gibelite

The Saint John Cathedral (dedicated to John the Baptist) from the 11th century.

Besides visiting the port and the Crusader castle, we also enjoyed the delicious food and the long-missed beer here.

In the afternoon, we went to Harissa, an important Christian pilgrimage site above the city of Jounieh, north of Beirut. On the mountain, there is a 15-ton white-bronze statue of the Virgin Mary (Notre Dame du Liban) with her arms outstretched.

There is also a (quite modern and, in my opinion, not particularly beautiful - that's why there is no photo) church. According to Elie, this is also the largest church in the Middle East. But the view of Beirut and the surrounding cities in the evening light was particularly amazing:

View over Beirut

After a short break (our feet were quite tired by now), Elie took us on a little beer tour in Mar Mikhael, the neighborhood where we were staying. There were really a lot of nice pubs and everyone was very friendly.

A few beers and cocktails in Mar Mikhael

So we slept in long and comfortably on Sunday! Luckily, I took the day off for this one day to extend the weekend.
After getting up and packing our backpacks, we treated ourselves to a delicious Easter dinner ;-) and took another walk through the city before heading back to the airport and back to Saudi Arabia.

Lebanon certainly has a very eventful history - even in the earliest past. Just like in the other countries here in the Middle East, there are parts of the country that should be avoided (as a Westerner). But in Beirut and especially in the Christian areas of the country where we stayed, we felt extremely safe. Everyone we encountered was exceptionally friendly.
Even more than in Jordan, you come across a truly interesting and exciting mix of cultures here. Many things feel typical of a Mediterranean country, it wouldn't matter if you were in Spain, Italy, or Greece. Even the coast looks exactly like the eastern Mediterranean. But everything is interwoven and mixed with a touch of the Orient.
So Lebanon is definitely worth a visit - and we will definitely come back!