Lebanon

It was really nice

>>1247163
i want to go to beruit, i am wealthy American but i look latin, will i blend in and not be obvious american?

>>1247225
please tell me more

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>>1247163
I've been off the coast and one person from my ship got to go ashore, he seemed to like it. Wouldn't go there myself, especially right now.

Here are two downscaled pics since they real ones are on a hard drive in a computer I need to take apart.

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>>1247366

>>1247366
>>1247368
It was in 2010 and a commercial jet crashed into the sea so we hauled ass over there (from Naples) to help them rescue/recover/find anything remaining. There's a pretty steep shelf not far off the coast and nobody survived but we helped localize the aircraft so a salvage ship could recover the wreckage.

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>>1247340
What do you wanna know about the place?

Pic is from the Cornish in Beirut

>>1247587
What's there to do? Is it safe or sketchy?

>>1247639
Totally safe
>What's there to do?
It depends what are your interests
Historical Monuments? Nightlife? Beachs? Shopping?

>>1247759
Everything really.

I heard the locals are really friendly and I'd love to be part of the area for a while, dunno if that makes any sense lol.

I'm 20 btw

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>>1247780
What I got from Beirut is that it's a playground for really rich gulf citizens. But there are a lot of fun things to do there. If you're booking a hotel stay close to Hamra street, it's where all the gathering happens at night.

If you're travelling the country don't skip Sidon, Byblos, Harissa, Baalbek, the Beeka Valley and Tyre

I'm 21 and was alone when visiting the country this January

European who lived there for a year. You can AMA.

The tourist parts of the country are completely safe. Also Lebanese hospitality is a meme, people in general, and Beirutis in particular, are rude and and unfriendly.

>>1247759
Can I just go hiking in the mountains as I please? Does OP's map have any bearing on truth?

>>1248394
>Can I just go hiking in the mountains as I please?
Yes. Jabal Lubnan (Mount Lebanon), Jabal Shouf and Jabal Amil are perfectly safe. Bsharri is especially recommendable.

>Does OP's map have any bearing on truth?
To a certain degree, but not really. Border areas with Syria are not safe, but the South is. Rest of the country is perfectly fine. France and Belgium has had more terrorist attacks than Lebanon the past few years, keep that in mind.

>>1248408
Thanks, trying to decide whether to go to Leb or Turkey next year. I'm not really worried about safety, but if I choose Lebanon I seriously think I'll have to lie to my wife about where I'm going.

Do people there have opinions about Americans or are they like the rest of the Arabic world, i.e. "oh, you're American? That's cool"

>>1247163
Hey OP. Im Lebanese. Dont believe all that murican shit about not being safe etc. Lebanon has everything and very friendly to foreigners. You can compare it to Italy or Greece in many ways. Also go outside beirut and see the country and mountains and nightlife. Its one of the best in the world.

>>1248533
What are some specific recommendations for mountain areas?

>>1248533
What about the spillover from the Syrian War?

>>1247163
Great country, Byblos is a must see.
Nice atmosphere in Beirut tho, and locals are usually friendly.

>>1248481
The average Lebanese don't care. An American friend of mine is called Gideon, and he was called in for an extended interview when going south of Tyre (you need a special permit) becuase he has a Jewish sounding name. He still got in though. That's the worst case scenario, a bit extra hassle from authorities, if and only if you have a Jewish name. You'll be fine mate.

>>1248608
Bsharri is a must. After a week in Beirut, you'll love the mountain air, no traffic, clean tap water, overall it's a beautiful place. You can see the cedars nearby as well, or hike in the Qadisha valley, which is spectacular.

>>1248659
Not an issue. More beggars in the street, but that's it. Don't visit the northern Beqaa valley or the border areas, and you'll be fine.

I'm >>1248354 btw, not the leb.

>>1248481
Well, Lebanon is a very small country, that means you can see everything in about 1 week, so if you were planning longer holidays I would suggest for you to visit both Lebanon and Turkey

>>1247163
Is South Lebanon dangerous? Do you see Hezbollah soldiers a lot?

I'm imagining half of it would still be rubble from 2006.

>>1248994
No and no. In the more rural parts, you may see UN soldiers and Hezbollah, but not in places like Tyre. It's completely safe (but don't wander in the bushes, there be mines), and one of the best places in the country. No visit to Lebanon is complete without visiting Tyre if you ask me. Keep in mind that to go further south than Tyre you need a permit only obtainable in Sidon. Permit + road trip around the South can be done in a day, but that's one case where having your own car and guide is really handy.

>I'm imagining half of it would still be rubble from 2006.
You would, but it isn't. Say what you want about Hezbollah, but they ARE really good at doing stuff the Lebanese government isn't, such as rebuilding ruined stuff. You see more ruined buildings in Beirut from the civil war, than in the South. The popular story goes that when the international aid organizations arrived in the South to help with the rebuilding, there wasn't anything for them to do, because Hezbollah had already fixed everything.

>>1249107
Hezbollah isn't hostile to foreign tourists, are they? It would be interesting for me as a neutral white European to go into Hezbollah territory just to visit. They probably would be hospitable enough to let me see things and not to bad things to me, or?

>>1249113
Baalbek is Hezbollah territory and tourists go there all the time. They even sell their yellow T-shirts at the exit of the temples as a souvenir

>>1249889
Damn, I want a hezbollah t-shirt. Probably would not dare to wear it in public though because it would cause lots of butthurt.

>>1247163

I fought there

>>1248608
Becharre , tannourine , beiteddine, barouk

>>1249113
They don't care, or in the best case scenario recognizes that tourism is a major source of income and welcomes you. Like the other anon said, you can buy their souvenirs in cities like Baalbek and Tyre. Flags, T-shirts and various stuff such as mugs wiith their logo on it are the most popular items. Friend of mine bought a big-ass Zulfiqar (sword of Ali) in Baalbek, just outside the ruins.

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>>1249889
holy shit you weren't kidding

>>1247759
How is it for people that only speak english?

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I spent one month in Lebanon and my mother was born there. Having family show us some lesser known parts of the country like in the Chouf Mountains was nice, but a host is not required. We stayed in a hotel in Jounieh, and visited Byblos, Tripoli, Baalbek, Chouf Mountains, Sidon, Beirut and some other places. Good food, hookah if you're into it, a lot of places to party and drink at night and plenty of history and sightseeing during the day. What's not to like? You're unlikely to receive any hostile attention, its a pretty modern nation (especially Beirut).

just don't cross the eastern border

>>1252709
For me their english accent was way harder to understand than in other arab countries, but you can do fine with it as long as you stick to rich or touristic areas

bump for a cool destination

>>1252293
I wanted to buy one of this, but my lebanese friend who was touring me through the country was a Maronite Christian. It woul be extremely offensive to him if I had bought the shirt, so I didn't get it in respect of him but now I regret it

>>1247163
How many days do you need for Beirut? How's the nightlife in Beirut? And what about Jounieh?

>>1247163
I'm not really a fan of Beirut but the rest of the country is quite scenic. As a Westerner, I'd recommend you stay on the coastal belt of Jounieh-Byblos-Batroun, which is a string of coastal cities that have nice beaches with beautiful mountains overlooking them.

However, as far as partying goes, I was there last summer and it felt rather flat. Night life in Beirut is essentially dying. The only real nightlife consists of facebook-organized parties with high cover fees + face control where you might be denied if the personnel don't think you're good looking enough. You need to be with upper class girls to even get into these places a lot of the time, which I was, but still found it to be nothing special compared to the USA or other places I've been to.

Also there is the issue of poverty being everywhere because of the war in Syria. There are millions of Syrian refugees in this tiny fucking country, which means that, even though there isn't any violence, you're not going to see much of an outdoor cafe scene the way you might in Istanbul. (Istanbul is very nice by the way).

If you really feel the need to party hard, you can go to a neighboring city called Jounieh for fun and there's a casino nearby if you're into that too. You can also buy really cheap Russian hookers for like $100/day

>>1256540
What about Skybar and BO18, and the areas of Hamra and Gemmayzeh?

>>1252709
from what i've heard most people in beirut speak perfect english and french and it'll be difficult to find an opportunity to try your arabic if you speak any

>>1256796
Gemmayzeh is dead. Mar Mikhael is the only thing alive in Ashrafieh. Hamra is nothing special. Skybar is one of those places where you need local upper class women to get into. Probably the same with BO18 but I've never been there

If you're looking for a place to party and you're not Lebanese, I recommend going elsewhere

>>1256849
>most people in beirut
LOL no. If you're hanging around the Christian areas you will hear French but the main language is mainly arabic by far. Most of Beirut is poor as shit now because of the refugees

Hmmmm I might go there, never really liked the prospect of visiting Muzza countries, but there's lots of history i'd like to see and the girls are pretty qt from what i've seen.

right now 2million syrians are burdening the country