Adventures with Julia

October 12, 2018

We landed in Beirut on October 12, 2018 for our first visit to Lebanon.   After immigration, baggage claim and customs, we were met by our Lebanese driver/guide, Dave.   We were immediately pleased by his excellent English skills.  He was friendly and conversational without talking too much or asking too many questions.  We liked him right away.  We later learned that he owns the tour company and wanted to guide us himself.  His Mitsubishi SUV was large and comfortable and soon we were off.  He took us directly to our hotel in downtown Beirut, Le Gray, but the room was not ready, and the sky was threatening to rain, so we went directly to the National Museum of Beirut, where Dave pointed out the important items.

National Museum of Beirut, Main Floor

Marble sarcophagus.  Priam kneels before Achilleus begging him for the body of his son Hector, who is attached to a chariot.  Tyre,  2nd c. AD.

Ivory statue of Papposilenos, master of the god, Bacchus, Roman Period.

A broken container with the remains of a small child.  Did not get the date

Each sarcophagus portrays with realism the particular facial features of a woman or a man.

Vase representing a woman’s head with an elaborate hairstyle (64 BC-395 AD).  I really liked this sculpture created by a potter named Loukios.

The birth of Alexander, Baalbeck 4th c. AD

We also watched a documentary that showed the destruction of the museum during the civil wars between 1975-90 as well as flooding and humidity from exposure to the elements.  Also how concrete tombs had been built around some of the larger pieces by museum staff to safeguard them. We were saddened by how many items were either destroyed or stolen.  Although the building has been restored as well as some of the artifacts, the place feels as if something was missing.   Here are some of the items we were able to appreciate.

New buildings in downtown Beirut.

An all new part of the city including outdoor cafe’s.

After visiting the museum, Dave took us on a walking tour of the down town.  We learned that Beirut was originally a Hellenistic city with the Romans making major developments, the remains of which we could see in areas that have been exposed during the recent reconstruction. If ruins are discovered during the construction of a new building, they must be preserved. They were followed by the Byzantines, who Christianized the area until an earthquake and tsunami struck in 551 AD.

A damaged building left as a reminder of the wars.

Severly damaged, the city fell into decline until the Arabs conquered the city with little resistance in 635.  In 1110, the crusaders arrived and held the city until the Ottomans arrived.  Fast forward.  At the end of WWI, France acquired a mandate over the northern portion of what had been the Ottoman Empire.  In 1920, the French demarcated the region of Lebanon.  In 1921 the country received its first mandated president. The good things that happened under French rule included free education, healthcare, social security and free universities.  With independence, declared in 1943, came religious freedom, a balance of religious communities and a modern democracy.  The constitution requires the president to be a Maronite Catholic, the prime minister to be a Muslim Sunni and the speaker of parliament to be a Muslim Shia.  At the time the population was approximately 50/50 Muslim/Christians.  Today the law is the same, but the population has shifted to more like 54/40 Muslim/Christian, with 5.6% Druze, a different sect.

The floor of a Roman Bath discovered when the city was being rebuilt.  It was left exposed.   

Dave talked a good deal about the civil wars from 1975 to 1990, which resulted in approximately 120,000 fatalities and years of social and political instability.  Although the city was largely destroyed, it has been and continues to be rebuilt and looks thoroughly modern, we did see a few buildings that have been left intentionally un-repaired, lest people should forget.  Anyone under 28 was not even born during the destruction.  The current population of the country is 5 million with 2 million living in Beirut.  There are 15 million Lebanese living abroad, mostly in Brazil, the US and Canada.  In addition, there are 1.5 million refugees from Syria and another half a million from Palestinian.  Syrian refugees receive $67/mo/child and more if they do not “need” to work.  If the refugee takes a job, it means a Lebanese has to give one up.  If they go back to Syria, the refugee will get much less, even if they work.  There is not much incentive to leave Lebanon. This is funded through the U.N.

As we walked, we saw a monument erected in 1943 to martyrs of the Ottoman period.  In the first Arab-Israeli War of 1948, 25,000 Palestinian refugees had arrived in Lebanon with the support of the Arab world. The conflict between the Arabs and Israel continued and during another Arab-Israeli war, 250,000 more refugees arrived in Lebanon.

Militant groups began to develop.  Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) from 1969 to 2004 and a founding member of the Fatah political party during that same time, figured significantly in the civil wars.

During the 1975-90 wars, the monument we were standing in front of during this discussion, received a number of bullet holes that are still visible.  We learned that Syria occupied the north and eastern part of Lebanon from 1977-2005 and that Israel occupied the south from 1982-2000.  Even during reconstruction, the country was not at peace.  It was not until March 14, 2005 after all the occupiers had withdrawn, that complete freedom was declared.

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On one side of Monument Square is the new Mohammad Al Amin Mosque.  Next door is St George’s Maronite Cathedral. We visited both buildings.  Nearby was the government parliament palace.  Dave was enthusiastic about how comfortable Christians and Muslims are with each other and were before the civil wars.

Had to wear this cloak to go into the mosque.  However, women are welcome in all Lebanese mosques.

The city was vibrant and very busy with shops, arcades and malls everywhere, which the Lebanese call “souks”.   We did see many policemen as well as military soldiers walking and driving around. No one seemed to be bothered by them. Dave, for one, was glad they were there as they keep the city and the country safe.

Saint George’s Orthodox Maronite Cathedral.  We saw several like it in Central Europe.

Then we drove along the seafront where we saw the American University, the yacht club, many apartments and hotels.  We stopped in front of Pigeon Rocks for a photo.  It was nearly impossible to visualize the city in ruins as it must have been in 1990 when the country was in chaos with no government or administration.  Many countries have donated and loaned Lebanon billions of dollars to assist in the recovery.  In addition, taxes, which had never been assessed, were instituted in 1992 and have also contributed to the rebuilding of the country.

The busy seafront in Beirut

By the time Dave took us back to the hotel, it was getting dark and we had not yet seen our room.  Le Gray is a new boutique hotel in the heart of the city.  It is visually very appealing inside with a circular atrium that starts wide with decreasing circles as floors ascend, until the 6^thfloor where there is a restaurant, a bar, a cigar lounge and a rooftop bar.  All the spaces, including hallways, are large and our room was no exception.  There were works of art on many walls.  We happily ate in the hotel and went to bed.

Pigeon Rocks at sunset as seen from the seafront walk.