(Him: Charlie)
We were disappointed by Beirut at the first impression,
almost entirely because of a false expectation, but by Day 2, we’ve found the charm
of the City – its people. We’ve come to find out that Lebanese are
exceptionally friendly.
On our day-trip to Beit-ed-dine, a grandiose palace in the
mountains, we must have struck conversation with at least half a dozen
Lebanese. From passengers on shared taxi, to random bystanders, to even a
chatty president’s guard (yes, an on duty president’s guard at Beit-ed-dine
(the president’s summer residence), all of them were very welcoming and made
sure we had a good time in Beirut. In Jo’s words, their smiles are very
genuine. I’d say Lebanese are probably the most welcoming and friendly people
we’ve seen so far.
The conversation we had with the guard allowed us to learn
more about this country, which just had a serious armed conflict with Israel in
2006. Even to this date, many regions within the country are still plagued by
armed conflicts among various groups. Poor economy in combination with
unaffordable living costs resulted massive emigration and severe brain drain in
the country.
Interesting facts:
- A lot of Lebanese emigrated to Brazil, so many expats in Beirut are from Brazil, particularly Sao Paulo.
- There are a lot of Filipinos and Indians in Lebanon as foreign workers. They are everywhere on the street.
- Lebanon is not dominated by Muslim, but an almost even split between Christians and Muslim
(Rural Lebanese town in the mountains)
(Lebanon's national symbol - Cedar)
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