Come to Lebanon this summer!

**BlacKOEIsle** · 06-15-2009, 12:37 AM

The girls are so tall and their legs are so long.........

I like the beach party ones

**Khalid80** · 08-01-2009, 09:04 PM

!!

I know u can find everything that u wanted here in Lebanon but I never would have believed this unless I had read it.

Apparently we have a "gay" tourism industry for all those whom r interested

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/08/02...l?pagewanted=1

**Khalid80** · 08-02-2009, 10:10 AM

Then again Beirut was selected by CNN as one of the best "party cities" in the world

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phjqV...ture=topvideos

**marc333** · 01-26-2010, 10:17 PM

Beirut is reborn as a glitzy playground for tourists
By Veronica Gould Stoddart, USA TODAY

BEIRUT — On a mild Tuesday evening in downtown Beirut, the city's young and beautiful are bellying up to the hottest night spot, the bohemian Gemmayzeh neighborhood. Model-chic Beiruti women, sporting skinny pants, stiletto boots and cascading tresses, cluster in groups or with dates inside the hip bars, pubs and restaurants that line this milder Middle East version of Bourbon Street.
Not far away, in the Old World-style Albergo boutique hotel, visiting Michelin-starred chefs from France are dishing out meals for a sold-out crowd that takes Beirut's sophisticated dining scene for granted.

PHOTO GALLERY: Beirut bounces back

During the summer, the trendy flock to swank rooftop clubs — Noir, Sky Bar or White Bar, where Champagne bottle service can run $10,000 — to dance till dawn.

Call it Sex and the City meets South Beach.

Beirut's sizzling nightlife, from gritty to glam, helped drive a record tourism year in 2009. Overcoming a reputation as a Middle East trouble spot, Lebanon welcomed nearly 2 million visitors last year, a 39% increase over 2008. It was the No. 1 destination for tourism growth in the world, according to the World Tourism Organization.

'Joie de vivre' draws Arabs, Westerners

"Lebanon is back," Nada Sardouk, Lebanon's tourism director general, told the Middle East news agency AMEInfo.com in December. "We've had 80% to 90% hotel occupancy this year. But it's more than about just numbers. ... It's about the joie de vivre."

That exuberance is drawing mainly Gulf Arabs for the liberal lifestyle, Mediterranean climate and beaches; returning Lebanese expats; and intrepid Westerners. After years of political turmoil and war, a newfound security and calm has settled over this parliamentary democracy, ushering in a renaissance, however fragile. Although Lebanon is still on the U.S. State Department travel warning list, Beirut itself was virtually free of sectarian violence last year. The peace dividend is evident in tony new hotels, sleek malls and office towers, and a vibrant arts and music scene, which draws the likes of Snoop Dogg and international DJs.

One anticipated newcomer is Le Gray, a chic boutique hotel that British hotelier Gordon Campbell Gray opened in November. Over roasted quail in its rooftop Indigo restaurant, Campbell Gray gushes about this city of 2 million. "Beirut is a real city, with real history and edge. That makes it sexy," he says. "I find it beguiling, exciting, damaged, vain, beautiful. This is the new hot place."

Four Seasons president Kathleen Taylor is equally bullish. "We're very pleased with our timing," Taylor says of the new seaside Four Seasons, which opened this month. "There's a real resurgence of interest in Beirut."

Hotel guests will find a heady mix of cultures and religions — European flavor, French colonial legacy and Middle Eastern intrigue in arguably the most tolerant city in the Arab world. In this pluralistic society with 18 religious groups — primarily Muslims and Christians — one's religious affiliation defines one's politics. "My identity is my religion first, and Lebanese, second," says Rita Aad, who works for a foreign embassy.

The mosaic can be disorienting: Mosques sit cheek by jowl with churches and monasteries. Image-obsessed women in revealing outfits — some showing off their nose-job bandages — stroll alongside women covered from head to toe. The muezzins' lilting call to prayer mingles with European techno blaring from passing cars. And the trilingual locals are apt to greet each other in a mélange of Arabic, French and English while cheek-kissing — three times, no less.

As this onetime Paris of the Middle East dons its new face, gleaming skyscrapers brush up against pockmarked cement skeletons that still await makeovers 20 years after the end of Lebanon's civil war. Meanwhile, Beirut's 5,000-year-old historic core is being transformed by urban development group Solidere. Restored golden limestone buildings, aglow at sunset, now house cafés and boutiques, where fashionistas can mainline Cartier and Fendi.

This area "symbolizes the whole country," says Solidere's development head Angus Gavin. "All the different religions are represented here."

Indeed, layers of history reveal a Roman bathhouse, St. George's Greek Orthodox Church, the landmark Mohammed al-Amin mosque and showpieces from the Ottoman and French Mandate eras. To reconcile Beirut's brutal past — the city has been destroyed and reconstructed seven times — Solidere is creating a Garden of Forgiveness and an interpretive heritage trail that's due this spring.

New buildings are going up, too. Traditional souks have been reborn as a modern open-air mall lined with designer stores. In the new Sayfeh Village, the moneyed live in chic pastel condos surrounded by antique shops and galleries.

"Beirut bounces back quickly," Gavin says. "It's an extraordinary characteristic of the Lebanese, like a life force."

A playground among the ruins

That survivor mentality causes people to seize the moment — partying with passion, despite power outages and brutal traffic. "Beirut is like a Lebanese Babylon, where Arabs can dance on tabletops, swim in bikinis and kiss their girlfriends in public," says British journalist Warren Singh-Bartlett, a 12-year resident. In summer, the famous beach clubs hold their own against the playgrounds of Greece and Spain.

Whether on the beach or in the smoky cafés — Lebanon has one of the world's highest smoking rates — conversation inevitably turns to politics, given the volatile history and many minorities all jockeying for position.

With a frisson of danger never far from the surface, "there's a subversive appeal," Singh-Bartlett says. "You go to a swanky restaurant serving Japanese-Spanish fusion and leave and see bombed-out ruins. But you don't have to worry about being mugged on the street, only about being invaded."

Indeed, the legendary Lebanese warmth and hospitality engenders a sense of safety. When this visitor asks directions of a male pedestrian, she is graciously offered a ride to her destination — and doesn't hesitate to accept.

"Beirut is a very strange and complex city," says Sandra Dagher, Lebanese co-director of the year-old Beirut Art Center, a warehouse-turned-exhibit space that would be right at home in SoHo. That complexity is on full display along the Corniche, the palm-lined boulevard hugging the coast for miles, which draws tout Beirut. On soft evenings, people gather to suck on hookahs packed with flavored tobacco while knots of men pole-fish patiently. Young couples stroll hand-in-hand, oblivious to soldiers in fatigues.

And everyone, it seems, deeply inhales the balmy sea air as if to hold onto this moment of peace forever.

source: http://www.usatoday.com/travel/desti...ces-back_N.htm

**marc333** · 05-19-2010, 01:47 PM

36 Hours in Beirut
By SETH SHERWOOD
Published: May 2, 2010

Revelers at Music Hall in the Starco Center

WANT a Beirut investment tip? Concrete. Thanks to a couple of years of political calm, the palm-fringed Middle Eastern city is bingeing on new buildings and cultural projects. A fast-expanding night-life strip, an upstart design district, new hotels and the country’s first contemporary art museum have all sprouted in the last few years. And they’re certainly not going unnoticed. A record number of travelers showed up to discover Lebanon and its capital in 2009. If the peace holds, look for an even bigger swell this year.

Friday

5 p.m.
1) SMOKE ON THE WATER

Muslim women in headscarves, scruffy locals in rock T-shirts, Filipina baby sitters: come dusk, Beirut’s seaside walkway known as the Corniche becomes host to a city on parade. To watch it and enjoy views of the glittering Mediterranean while you’re at it, start across from the Hard Rock Cafe (where an outdoor banner reads, “The time will come when you see we are all one...”) and stroll west past the fast-rising hotels, luxury apartment buildings and the leafy campus of the American University of Beirut. The Manara Palace Cafe (961-1-364-949), next to the lighthouse on the water, is a perfect place to absorb the salt air, wash of waves, cry of seagulls and fiery sunset while drinking fresh mango juice (7,500 pounds, or $5 at 1,492 Lebanese pounds to the dollar) and smoking sweet fruit tobacco from a narghile pipe (12,000 pounds).

8 p.m.
2) DUELING FLAVORS

The city’s top two regional cuisines, Lebanese and Armenian, are served up masterfully at Al Mayass (Wadih Naim Street, Ashrafieh; 961-1-215-046), an Old World-style restaurant where a lively soundtrack is provided by roaming musicians. Itch, a zesty cold salad of bulgur, finely chopped parsley, diced tomato, lemon and spices, cuts the Middle East heat. But the marquee attraction is the grilled kebab in syrupy cherry sauce. Dinner for two with arak, the local aniseed liquor, runs about 140,000 pounds.

11 p.m.
3) MIDEAST GROOVES

Late night unleashes a sea of C’s — Champagne, Chivas Regal, Cohibas, Cartier, cleavage — at Music Hall (Starco Center, Minet El Hosn; 961-3-807-555; elefteriades.com), where dolled-up young professionals, cigar-smoking captains of industry and local celebrities fill the plush red booths and chairs to watch more than a dozen musical acts belt out a globetrotting playlist. Backed by an orchestra in red robes, the talents range from leopard-print divas doing Beyoncé covers to the Chehade Brothers, a Palestinian pair who kick out rollicking Arabian jams in exotic scales. Book in advance. The $55 cover charge is applied toward drinks. (Note that prices are often quoted in American currency, and dollars are widely accepted.)

Saturday

11 a.m.
4) FARM FRESH

Find an empty suitcase and wheel it down to Souk El Tayeb (Saifi Village parking lot; 961-1-442-664; soukeltayeb.com), Beirut’s first farmers’ market, which started in 2004. Drawn from a broad spectrum of Lebanon’s diverse faiths and rural regions, the dozens of growers, producers and artisans who gather every Saturday (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.) represent both a subtle social experiment in national reconciliation and an excellent market for snapping up local olive oil, tomatoes, cheeses, jams, breads, soaps, baskets, flowers and nearly everything else from Lebanon’s horn of plenty. It’s a prime spot to assemble a farm-fresh brunch. The Earth & Co. stand serves hot manouche (5,000 pounds), warm thin sourdough bread wrapped around thyme, labneh cheese and sliced tomato.

1 p.m.
5) THE LEBANESE AESTHETIC

Whether you’re furnishing a sultan’s palace or a mere studio, the Ottoman-style town houses in Saifi Village are quickly filling with boutiques from top Lebanese design talents. Nada Debs (Moukhalsieh Street; 961-1-999-002; nadadebs.com) mixes Far East and Middle East styles, like a cube-shaped oak candleholder inlaid with geometric mother-of-pearl patterns ($100). And Bokja (just off Moukhalsieh Street; 961-1-975-576; bokjadesign.com), run by the design duo Maria Hibri and Hoda Baroudi, takes iconic chairs and sofas by Western designers, like the classic Eames lounger, and reupholsters them with kaleidoscopic collages of fabrics from the Middle East, Central Asia and beyond.

4 p.m.
6) AVANT-GARDE AFTERNOON

With the new Beirut Art Center (Jisr El Wati, Street 97, Building 13; 961-1-397-018; beirutartcenter.org), the Lebanese capital is emerging as a strong contender for the art capital of the Middle East. Opened last year, the nation’s first contemporary art museum is an airy white two-level space that holds rotating exhibitions — often two at a time — all year long. From the experimental films of the Lebanese architect Bernard Khoury to the photographs of Emily Jacir, a Palestinian conceptual artist, the museum’s rotating exhibitions are the most unusual, adventurous, intellectually challenging and envelope-pushing that you’ll find in Beirut.

8 p.m.
7) A RETURN TO PARIS

A clutch of new French restaurants seem bent on recapturing Beirut’s long-ago nickname as Paris of the Middle East. Opened in November, the neo-bistro Couqley (The Alleyway, Gouraud Street, Gemmayzeh; 961-1-442-678; couqley.com) is run by the French-American-Belgian chef Alexis Couquelet, who is a veteran of top Gallic kitchens including Paris’s Market and La Bastide de St.-Tropez. Twice a week, he receives shipments of beef and duck flown in from France, resulting in a thick filet de boeuf with a Bordelaise sauce, and a confit de canard jazzed up with fresh raspberries that cut the fatty duck with fruity acidic zing. Book in advance. Dinner for two, without wine, about 120,000 pounds.

11 p.m.
8) THE COCKTAIL DISTRICT

Mashroob is the word for a drink in Arabic, and you’ll find a whirlwind of them in the red-hot Gemmayzeh district. There’s a bar for every clique and mood. Bourgeois singles and 40-something divorcées sip Chateau Ksara wine and crowd the long bar at Kayan (Liban Street, Gemmayzeh; 961-1-563-611), an airy and vaguely British colonial-style bar. For live Arabian music, backgammon and water pipes, try Gemmayzeh Café (Gouraud Street, Gemmayzeh; 961-1-580-817). And when it’s time to dance to D.J.-spun electro, house and indie rock, the self-styled cool kids and creative set swill Almaza beer in the velvety confines of Behind the Green Door (across from Electricité du Liban, Gouraud Street, Mar Mikhael; 961-70-856-866)

Sunday

Noon
9) A BEIRUT BRUNCH

If you’re still feeling the excess of your Arabian night, mimosas and Bloody Marys await at Casablanca (Dar El Mreisseh Street, Ein El Mreisseh; 961-1-369-334), an Ottoman-era mansion restored with funky colors and contemporary art. Menu items like French toast, eggs Benedict and bagels with smoked salmon suggest a New York City diner. But the chatter of Arabic, French and English from Lebanese brunchers brings you back to cosmopolitan Beirut. Brunch for two, about 60,000 pounds.

2 p.m.
10) LEVANTINE SHORES

In a city of many faiths — Christian, Sunni, Shiite, Druze — at least one religion is universally practiced: sun worship. One of the most pleasant temples is Lazy B (off the airport highway, Jiyeh; 961-70-95-00-10; lazyb.me), about 20 miles south of Beirut. From May to October, the tranquil beach club features a smorgasbord of sandy coast, rocky coves, grassy expanses, scenic outdoor terraces, swimming pools and other spots where hordes of heliophiles absorb ultraviolet rays and cultivate their bronzed exteriors. So here’s a final Beirut investment tip: suntan oil.

IF YOU GO

Many airlines including Air France, Lufthansa and Egypt Air offer flights to Beirut from New York City with a layover. A recent search found a Lufthansa flight in May from Kennedy Airport, with a change in Frankfurt, for about $1,200.

The newest luxury hotel is the Four Seasons Hotel Beirut (1418 Avenue Professor Wafic Sinno, Minet El Hosn; 961-1-761-000; fourseasons.com/beirut). Opened this year, the 230-room hotel has a sleek Mediterranean restaurant and a plush colonial-style bar, with doubles from $250.

Orient Queen Homes (John Kennedy Street, Ras Beirut; 961-1-361-140;orientqueenhomes.com), near the American University of Beirut, opened last year and has 71 apartments and suites done in angular Ikea-esque style. Studios start at $150.

A good budget bet is the Mayflower Hotel (Yafet Street, Hamra, 961-1-340-680; mayflowerbeirut.com), a British colonial-style hotel that was spruced up in 2007 and offers Mediterranean vistas and a rooftop pool, with 85 rooms from $130.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/05/02...ted=1&emc=eta1

Besides, it seems that a Spring Break in Beirut is being organized.

For those interested, join this group on fb

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...4697137?v=info

**Khalid80** · 03-04-2011, 11:07 AM

These are some clips of the event that took place in Faraya Mzaar (Well known ski resort approx. 2000 meters above sea level in the Lebanese mountains) this February

Seemed like a nice event

.. Wish I was there