Beirut Travel Blogs

This small country, the smallest in the Middle East, has an area of only 10,452 km² but carries a civilization & history of 4,000 years.   Historical Facts:   1)      Lebanon is the modern name of what was called Phoenicia. It is not an Arab country. 2)…

We started early this morning because we had arranged to go on a tour to Byblos, Jieta, and Harissa.  The tour company picked us up at 7:45.  We went to their office and changed buses and were on our way.  The first stop was just before we reached the caves at Jieta.  We saw som…

I had wanted to visit Lebanon as far back as I could remember.   I recall the images of destruction on television from the '70s and '80s and knew that Lebanon was more than that. I acquired a pass, through work, to anywhere in the Gulf Air network and decided to go to Beirut. …

I was sad to leave Lebanon. This country had made a huge impression on me. On one hand this country is torn apart by war and conflict (first the civil war, and now someone else's war being fought on their soil), but on the other hand the people are remarkably resilient, and will simply continu…

People i met here who contributed to, and improved my trip: Julia (Russia), Ahmad and  Mahmoud (Lebanon)When i left home in 2006 i really hadn't envisaged that my trip would last so long, but today marked my third birthday whilst been on the road. Another chalk mark on the blackboard of lif…

Please note that links to external sites were correct when this blog was written.  However, they may no longer be valid.  This trip around the middle east with Kim's parents Pat & Fiona was originally centred around visiting the rose-red Nabatean (Arab) city of Petra in Jordan. …

El trayecto nocturno desde Damasco a Beirut fue algo pesado, no sólo por el frío que pasé en el coche, sino porque mientras los demás soñaban plácidamente, tuve que ir pendiente de Said, el nuevo conductor, porque llevaba conduciendo desde las seis de la mañana y temía que pudiera quedarse …

Its about 4AM and i'm excited as I see early morning Beirut glide past my window below me as the BA Boeing comes in to land. Although I have never been here before, I instantly recognise and name areas of the city by linking them to events and chronicles as recounted by the journalist Rob…

Although I spend only 3 days in Lebanon, I'll try to give some general tips about it as well.VisaThe visa, like Syria, can be bought at the border. This costs 25.000 Lebanese Lira's, about 12 euros at moment of writing (for a stay up to 15 days). Besides some checks along the way, the visa and form…

In the early morning hours of October 23, 1983, two trucks full of explosives drove into buildings housing US and French troops. The US marines were members of the 1st Battalion 8th Marines based out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, participating in a peace keeping mission there. Their duty term w…

Today we paid a flying visit to Lebanon. We visited Baalbek first, which contains an ancient temple to the Phoenician god Baal (Baalbek means City of Baal). Baalbek was renamed Heliopolis (City of the Sun, it has 300 sunny days a year on average) by the ancient Greeks), and Baal was turned into…

After flying to Syria and spending some time there getting my Iranian visa, checking out different parts of Damascus and smoking lots of hookah, "My that grape is mild!"  I boarded a bus to check out Beirut. The bus I took was not your most modern and after getting shifted around in seats a b…

First few pictures of my baby Major Mitchel Parrot

Traveled to Lebanon with my friend Malek. The only way to travel. It was the perfect mix of family time and party time. One of the best experiences I've ever had!

it is the most beautiful coutry in the world i have ever seen