It was in the September 2019, just a month before the massive protest happened in Beirut. After a three hours flights from Warsaw, I landed in the Beirut. I was nervous to be landing in the Middle East before as I got no idea about that. However, after I stayed in here for a week, I found that Lebanon is not at all what I though it was going to be!

I arrived Beirut in early morning!

My hostel is in the Hamra region, it is a neighbourhood located in Beirut, used to be one of the main places where Arab poets, writers, thinkers and philosophers used to meet and gather. I arrived from airport by taxi in early morning, what surprised me was that stylish wall painting is everywhere! It was not what I think as messy as a post-war country.

And yes, I should say that the ‘Buk Buk’ announcement from taxi appeared likely in a frequency of every 30 seconds when I was walking on the street. However, after you say no for that, they won’t try to distinguish you again.

Stylish cafe is everywhere!

I am a coffee lover. In the Lebanon, I don’t need to worry about it. I just found that it was so easy to find a good cafe in Beirut. And my favourite place is the Rue Gouraud. This district is full of narrow streets and historic building from the French era (Lebanon was a colony of France!). Today, it is full of trendy bars and pubs, cafes and restaurants here. It was so interesting for me hanging around here.

People are charming!

When I was hanging around the city, local people are very curious to foreigners. They like taking photo and they try the best for helping you when they find that you get some questions. During my trip, I raised my thumb and took the hitchhike for four times, which I never tried that before in other countries. What amazing me is that each time I got the hitchhike quickly (no more than 5 minutes) and I felt completely safe for doing that. It is one of the most hospitality countries I visited !

The Mediterranean Sea itself is amazing!

Having the Mediterranean coast, the capital Beirut provides a really enjoyable view to both the tourists and locals. The photo above was taken in the Starbucks that just next to the Mediterranean Sea, how peaceful it was for taking your own coffee in front of the endless ocean! When I was in Beirut and got my leisure time, I usually went to the coast and had a slowly walking along the coast (it is just 10 minutes from my accommodation!)

It is a country with both Islam and Christianity religions in majority!

Different from other Middle East countries where Muslims are the overwhelming majority, Muslims and Christians in Lebanon are each making up approximately half the country’s population! With the terms of agreement known as the National Pact, the president of the country must be a Maronite, the Prime Minister must be a Sunni while the Speaker of Parliament must be a Shia. Nowadays, different religions are coexist peacefully in Lebanon!

For me, the trip to Lebanon is really a wonderful life time experience!