Beirut by night..

A quick shower (my own “quick”-standards: 30 minutes), the illusion of a little nap and many layers of Glam Bronze powder later, my best ally to fake a well-rested look, I was ready to discover the Lady of the World by night.

Driving from Ramleh El Baida, a residential neighbourhood south of Beirut, all the way along the seashore, through Boulevard du General De Gaulle, and passing by the famous American University towards the Downtown area and the Hamra neighbourhood, I could capture a touch of Paris here, a bit of Amman there, a glimpse of Venice further, an air of Barcelona in between and a striking similarity with Tanger - Morocco’s northern Pearl - in many regards, particularly the Corniche area, the high Mediterranean-style buildings, the multiple floodlit mounts surrounding the city and the tiny up and down hills streets here and there.

Police check points again.

The lovely downtown area - little architectural jewel of French Mandate-era and Art-Deco buildings - has been divided with barbwires and ugly massive concrete blocks into 2 distinctive zones, defacing the area and blemishing the gorgeous façade of Al Hariri Mosque.

Hezbullah militias camping on one side.
March 14 Alliance on the other side.
And the President’s seat empty for 18 months now...

The cleavage is obvious… and the growing tensions perceptible in the way both militias screen out the very few walkers that still continue to hang out in this area. Not that it is closed or forbidden but most Beirutis abandoned its fancy boutiques and stylish restaurants and pubs for friendlier and safer areas in the city. And the once Beirut’s most fashionable and trendy street,Maarad St,has become a sort of deserted no man’s land between 2 rival little states, inside a bigger - very weakened - one. Only one restaurant decided to ignore the political situation and remained open. We decided to have diner there; a colourful méli-mélo of yummy Lebanese mezze and delicious Lebanese wine; before heading to “Le Prague”, a cosy pub in the fancy pro-March 14 Alliance Hamra neighbourhood, a few blocks from the American University of Beirut.
Le Prague reminded me of St Germain pubs in Paris: a very chilled out atmosphere, loads of students, beers everywhere and “reading corners” improvised here and there with piles of French classic novels and… Asterix and Obelix comic books!

The pleasant soirée goes on late…From politics (unavoidable in any conversation that lasts more than 5 minutes in Lebanon) to literature (unavoidable in the homeland of Khalil Gibran and May Ziada) to fashion (also unavoidable, though for no reason) I was happily familiarizing with my first Middle Eastern host country, and getting a deeper understanding of all the dynamics of Lebanese society and politics.