I was in Faraya, Lebanon on a ski trip getaway and a friend of mine called me up saying that he would visit me in Beirut if I was able to get down from the mountain for a day. I hesitated not, got into a taxi and had myself taken to Beirut. We met at the Le Meridien hotel where we stayed for the night and hit the city for the first time in our lives…. Read on for more.
We reached Beirut in the evening, and since the city is famous for it’s nightlife, we soon hit the town after dinner. Food is exceptionally good in Lebanon, nothing compares to Lebanese food in the Middle East that is for sure. We had a nice walk in the old town of Beirut (locals call it Downtown), checked the shops and old churches and mosques. Beirut struck me as a city a bit similar to Istanbul in the following regard: Istanbul, as well as Beirut has a population very much mixed, Christians, Muslims and other religions live under the same roof. Because of this, Churches and Mosques are often seen side by side which is a pretty rare sight, specially for someone living in the Gulf. See picture below of an example of such:
After our walk in the city, we started asking people what to do at night in Beirut and we came up with an impressive list of 5-6 clubs and 2 streets that are a must when someone is partying in Beirut. We hit Gemmayzeh street first which was one of the most happening streets I have seen in my life to date. There are residential buildings on both sides of the street and at each of them on the ground floor there is a bar or club with open doors to the curious Beiruti or foreign visitor. We were bar-hopping for quite a few hours and I don’t remember the last time when I had so much fun. People are extremely friendly and outgoing, you won’t be able to spend more than 10 minutes at a place before a conversation breaks out between you and some locals. After our bar spree we hit the clubs at around Midnight, first we were off to the “Basement” then later around 2AM to “B018″. The former is a regular club, a ted upscale with limted dance floor space and posh people. The later one is a, hmm how to say it better, a “bad ass” club that was build in an underground bunker that dates back to the war times. The place is really dark inside, hard core house music is provided by the house-DJ and lots of fun-loving people all around you. We were there from 2 to 5 in the morning, and when we left, people were still coming in. Now how’s that for a Middle Eastern night out? The place got smokey from time to time and then the bunker’s roof would be opened up and the crowd was under the stary sky for a few minutes before they closed it up again.
After our night out, we were ready to hit the streets of Beirut for a quick sight seeing tour before my friends airplane takes off and I go back up to the Mountains. Beirut is very mediterranian in style specially around the old town areas, so we enjoyed the warm late March sunshine and sat outside in cafes and other venues.
All in all Beirut is well worth a visit. If you happen to be in the area with a couple of days to spare, I’d strongly recommend stopping over in Beirut for a day and a night.
Below are a few example pictures, for more on Beirut, visit the Gallery.
The old town at night
My friend in front of a Bar on Gemmayzeh street
Coffee in Old Town Beirut – see how badly I was sun burnt from skiing 
In a dance-bar on Gemmayzeh street
At Beirut’s most famous landmark
This is it for now, I am sure I’ll return one day and post up more info on Beirut. Cheers,
Ben
November 23rd, 2009 at 13:07
What a nice city – cool!!! thx 4 sharing!!!!