Welcome to Beirut, the capital and largest city of Lebanon. It sits on a peninsula at the midpoint of the country's Mediterranean coast, and Greater Beirut is home to just under half of all Lebanese. People have lived here for more than 5,000 years, making it one of the oldest cities in the world. Beirut has been severely damaged several times, by the civil war, by the war of 2006 and by the port explosion of 2020, and each time it has been rebuilt. Let us start by the sea, then head inland to ancient temples and deep caves.
Raouché
Photo: Oussama Tahmaz · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsFeel the sea breeze in Raouché, a neighbourhood of Beirut known for its cliff-side cafés and restaurants along Avenue de Paris. Just off the shore stands the famous Pigeons' Rock, two rock formations rising from the waves. The name of the district comes from the French word rocher, meaning rock. And here is a surprise: the shores near Raouché have yielded the oldest evidence of human life in the area, flints and simple stone tools that are now displayed in the archaeological museum of the American University of Beirut.
Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque
Photo: NicolasGaron · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsIn downtown Beirut rises the Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque, often called the Blue Mosque, a Sunni mosque standing beside the Maronite Cathedral of Saint George. In the 19th century a small zawiya, a religious lodge, stood on this site. After the civil war, following a donation by Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, the foundations were laid in November 2002, and the mosque was inaugurated in 2008. Hariri himself was assassinated in 2005 and is buried next to the mosque. In the explosions of 4 August 2020, its chandeliers and windows were shattered.
National Museum of Beirut
Photo: Elie plus ( talk ) · Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsStep into the National Museum of Beirut, the principal archaeological museum of Lebanon, officially opened in 1942. Its collections total about 100,000 objects, mostly antiquities and medieval finds from excavations. During the civil war, the museum stood right on the front line between the warring factions, and its Egyptian Revival building suffered heavy damage. Yet most of the artefacts were saved by last-minute protective measures. Today about 1,800 pieces are on display, ranging from prehistoric times to the medieval Mamluk period.
Corniche Beirut
Photo: Varun Shiv Kapur from Berkeley, United States · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsTake a stroll along the Corniche, Beirut's palm-lined seaside promenade. Stretching for 4.8 kilometres, it curves around the Beirut promontory from Saint George Bay to Raouché and beyond, with views of the Mediterranean and, to the east, the summits of Mount Lebanon. Walkers, joggers and cyclists share the path, and push-cart vendors sell local snacks and drinks. Look closely at some of the palm trunks: they are still pockmarked with bullet holes from the civil war.
Baalbek
Photo: Lodo from Moscow, Russia · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsAbout 67 kilometres northeast of Beirut, in the Beqaa Valley, lies Baalbek, a city whose history goes back at least 11,000 years. After Alexander the Great conquered it in 334 BCE, it was renamed Heliopolis, the Sun City, and it flourished under Roman rule. Its fame rests on the ruins of a Roman temple complex, including the Temple of Bacchus and the Temple of Jupiter, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Nearby, an ancient Roman quarry called Hajar al-Hibla is another draw for visitors.
Jeita Grotto
Photo: kcakduman · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsJust 18 kilometres north of Beirut, in the valley of the Nahr al-Kalb, lies the Jeita Grotto, two interconnected limestone caves nearly 9 kilometres long in total. The lower cave can only be explored by boat, for it carries an underground river that provides drinking water to more than a million Lebanese. It was rediscovered in 1836 by Reverend William Thomson. The upper galleries, 60 metres higher, were found by Lebanese cave explorers in 1958. And there awaits the highlight: the largest known stalactite in the world.
Lomakuume
