Beirut
Not much going on here except for partying and shopping so don’t expect to see any old buildings . Any that are still standing are riddled with bullet holes . The Holiday Inn is still standing as a reminder to the people how fragile their city is. The Holiday Inn was near completion when civil war broke out and you can see the damage it incurred in the photos below . Most of the international hotel chains have presence here now but the Holiday Inn have never come back .
Beirut 14/3/2010
The bus from Damascus to Beirut was scheduled to take 3 hours. Our driver was a sweaty looking, caffeine addicted, chain smoking Syrian gentleman with bags under his eyes that Samsonite would have been proud of . With one arm over the back seat and one arm on the wheel he looked a picture of content while driving at break neck speed along the winding bullet ridden valleys on each side of the borders between Syria and Lebanon.