Oct 24, 2007

City Icons - Beirut Lebanon

Continuously inhabited for millennia, it is not surprising that Beirut is a city with more than one icon. Jutting out of the Mediterranean Sea is one of the city’s most recognized landmarks, Pigeon Rocks. It is also the only natural landmark in Beirut, known for decades as the Paris of the Middle East.

You can view the rocks from the Corniche, Beirut’s seaside promenade or from one of the cafés overlooking them in the Raouche section of the city. Peak time to view the arched rocks is sunset.

A few miles away in downtown Beirut stands the shell of the bullet-ridden Holiday Inn Hotel. It was opened shortly before the 15-year civil war began in 1970s and was used by snipers.

There are no plans at present to restore the hotel. For now it stands as an unofficial monument to the war.

Previous City Icons: Jaipur, Rajasthan.

1 comment:

Sandier Pastures said...

I have plenty of Lebanese friends here in Dubai and they talk of their country with extreme pride. I know from conversations with them and these photos that Lebanon is such a beautiful country. Too bad it is engage in a lot of trouble, rooting from inside and outside forces.