Beirut's defence

OK, having dished Beirut a little in my last blog I better tell you quickly how it redeemed itself... I gave up on the search for an ideal waterfront experience and decided instead to head for the centre of town to see what it had to offer, and my what a surprise! It was like stepping out of the Middle East and straight into France. First, it was the cleanest city centre I have ever seen in my life anywhere in the world. Second, the streets were filled with fantastic restaurants, bars and outdoor cafes. In between the shops and restaurants were beautiful churches and mosques side by side. Most fascinating of all were the buildings. Here and there as you approach the city centre you see buildings riddled with the marks of bullets and shellings still remaining from the war, along side brand new glizty constructions, but when you get to the city centre it is all these fabulous restored buildings which are clean and perfect but old, french colonial era in style. In the end Beirut did live up to its reputation of being a very liveable city.