Thread: Lebanon

My dad has brought up the idea of taking a family trip to Lebanon since we are part Lebanese (my Grandmother immigrated from there.) It would just be me and my hubby, Dad, and my uncle. It's kind of a long shot though because my Dad is worried a trip there would violate his security clearance.

Anyone been there somewhat recently? Is it as fabulous as it sounds? Any major security issues? Since we all look somewhat Arabic (okay dad and uncle definitely do!) I am not concerned about being harassed as a tourist.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Is it very expensive there?

my friend is from there, he's here on visa to go to school. i'll ask him about it and get back to you!
all i know is that plane tickets are expensive!

pming you some info

Alia Thabit (also Lebanese descent) went there alone in 2004 / here's contact page from her website:
Contact
email her, I am sure she will give you some info. She is a real dear. Tell her Liesa in Plattsburgh suggested her :-)

Don't worry about your "foreign" looks.
(Sorry to the Egypt lovers for the following:) Lebanon is not Egypt. The Lebanese do not harrass their tourists!
While in Egypt people ARE friendly and helpful you sometimes get the feeling that you have to pay for the air that you breathe... (I've been there and really like the country, but that's the way it is).

The big shot tourists in Lebanon are from the Gulf, Saudi Arabia etc.
Us "Westerners" are rare pearls, the LOVE to have us in Lebanon and I always felt that the hospitality is genuine and was never asked for bakshish if somebody helped me with something.
Most of the time they didn't even identify me as a foreigner - somebody asked me for directions in Arabic ..g.:

The only thing you HAVE to worry about is to always be well dressed and made up. Lebanese women seem to be born in high heels and most of them never leave the house without make-up!
(You also see a big amount of plastic surgery, but you can leave that one out ..l;,)

The country is wonderful, the food is great and as I said, the people are lovely.

Go!

My article about Beirut is in great need of an update, I will do it after my next visit in October, but you can get a first impression:
Travel to Beirut

Have fun!

MEISSOUN

Beirut is very, very safe. And as Meissoun has said, no bakshish is needed to get things done. Although both French and English are used widely it helps to know some Arabic as some people can't speak English.

Everything except food seems to have doubled in price from the last time I was there, which was 2005. A taxi ride throughout Beirut use to cost 5000 LB now costs double. There is a big housing boom in Beirut, with overseas Lebanese and Gulf Arabs buying up property. This is driving up prices of everything. You will see a lot of construction in all neighborhoods in Beirut. A lot of locals are saddened about this since a lot of historic buildings are being demolished. However, there are still nice areas of Beirut which have the old, pre-war charm, especially parts of Gemmayze in East Beirut...but get to close to Achrafiyye and those beautiful sandstone buildings will be replaced with highrises!

Fahimi,

I am in Beirut now and have been here for 6 weeks. Everything that Meissoun, Mark, and the others have said is right on. I will be here for a few more months and I am part Lebanese as well :). Please send me a message or email me jemina@aol.com if you have any more questions and I will be happy to help! I hope you come here, Lebanon is wonderful!

Jemina

Hey, I'm going to Lebanon with my family in September (my dad was born in Beirut). Are there any specific places of interest to bellydancers that I should go and see? Good shopping? Good shows (that don't cost a fortune)?

My sister was there just recently and she is going again in 2 weeks and will spend the rest of the year there, the lucky thing.

Its safe there and you will fit in fine! I wanted to visit in 2006 but war broke out! I was in Syria at the time.

Everything is expensive according to my sister. And meissoun is right women always dress up and you will see women walking around with bandages on their faces from plastic surgery LOL! But of course not everyone is like that.

The city is modern. You dont need to wear a hijab but you will if your visiting mosques and perhaps old villages.

Im not sure if its still happening but be prepared for the electricity to keep cutting out. It happened daily when my sister was there. I havnt a clue why.

Its really hot this time of year! You will have a great time!!!

I like to know as well where to visit for Lebanese style dance trainings and shows as well and if they are open or how easy to perform at clubs while staying or visiting.
I am going to Turkey (planned but not sure yet) at the end of the year from Germany and like to go either Egypt or Lebanon as well.
thanks,

Visit the link in my earlier post for dance addresses. I recommend going to Helena Cremona. Also when you're there, nearly every fitness club offers classes for Oriental dance. Just ask around, you can always drop in. It's what I did.

Foreigners who want to perform need a licence which is quite expensive.

Have fun

MEISSOUN

You may have already come and gone by now, but really wanted to share that I had the most positive experience in Lebanon. I was there for the month of March by myself since my boyfriend did not want to join me and as it turns out, this was the best thing that could've happened to me!! as a woman alone everyone wanted to take care of me, Lebanese people are so super sweet, and yes, did love the 2 months I spent in Egypt but Lebanon was far more fun, easier to get around and much easier to make friends.
The manager at AWTAR Restaurant was super kind letting me watch shows for free. Usually you book a table as a group so it was akward to have me seat alone, fine by me.
I stayed right on Gemmayzeh and just loved it. Do recomend stopping by Bar Opia, the owners inmediately made me feel like I was one them and still keep in touch with Joy, Mike's wife and Chemine one of the waitreses. Lebanon is one of the safest places i have visited and would love to go back.

I also recommend looking up Madame Helena Cremona, she is a great teacher and her family is very sweet. She was wonderful when my bank failed me for a couple of days, she even let me use her cell to call Canada!! I really felt like part of the family. She is a bhuz member so you could find her in the teacher listings.

I had an awesome time. Since I was with my family and doing sightseeing things (and only had a week) I wasn't able to arrange any kind of dance classes. However we did catch a great bellydance show at the Zad El Kheir nightclub; we saw Alaa and a girl whose name I didn't get. Alaa was AMAZING; IMO he was light-years better than the girl (who was very nice and cute, but not anything special).

I was amazed at the crazy-bling shoes and handbags for sale in the ritzy downtown shopping areas. I was disappointed that there didn't seem to be much in the way of nice traditional artisanal goods; it was either high-end Western designer stuff, or tourist crap made in India/China. :(

I dressed normally and didn't get hassled except at the Virgin Mary statue up on the top of the hill; apparently women must cover their shoulders but it doesn't say that anywhere explicitly.

The food was fantastic, of course. If you can get to Shams restaurant in Anjar (Bekaa Valley), it's worth the trip out there just to eat there. Best meal we had in Lebanon, bar none.

I've been hearing that things are going downhill politically, though, so I guess we went at the right time.

I saw Alaa some years ago and yes, he's great.
They also had a not-so-great female dancer. The girls are probably just there so that the male audience has something to look at as well. ..l;,

By the way, now that the US governement has given out a warning to American tourists, not to go to "Europe" (yeah, you know, that big grey area on the map) because of the dancer of terrorist attacks (where? In a Swiss mountain village? On a Spanish tourist beach? Maybe a small Norwegian town? Doesn't matter, it's all "Europe"), one might just as well go to Lebanon...

Packed my high heels!

MEISSOUN

Found something:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY_4qtn9krY]YouTube - Alaa lebanese belly dancer[/ame]

When we saw him he also performed in jeans and a t-shirt. That's his look :-)
There is also another video of him dancing in a dance studio.

MEISSOUN