The Best Touristic Places in Lebanon to See Over a Long Weekend

We informed the airline that they had made a mistake and we were aware of that. The airline admitted their mistake and booked us two tickets to Beirut with MEA Airline.

The conclusion of the story:If you had previously visited Northern-Cyprus, don’t try to board a Cyprus Airways flight, because you most likely won’t be allowed on the plane. Book flights of Cobalt or MEA Airlines.

We arrived in Beirut late at night. The passport control was quick and easy. Nobody cared about stamps from Northern-Cyprus suddenly, and we were quickly admitted to the country. The next surprise came at the airport because there was no Wi-Fi in the lobby and I was unable to call for an UBER. Luckily I met a Palestinian girl outside, who gave me a hotspot on her phone and let me order an UBER. She informed me that you have to buy a card for $5.50 for an hour Internet at the kiosk to be able to call for a taxi. She also took us to the parking lot, where the taxi arrived, so she helped us out big time! Thanks Jude!

Arriving in Beirut was a slightly bizarre experience first. Everything looked a bit run down and intimidating in the dark. The first impression was deceiving though, because the next day, we realized that it was a very friendly and modern as well as safe place.

In the morning, we set out to explore the city by ourselves. We headed down to the beach to check out the famous pigeon rocks in the westernmost tip of Beirut. Then we walked back along the sea to visit the American University of Beirut. A guard with a machine gun by the entrance checked our passports and allowed us to enter the campus. From here, we walked around the Al Hamra neighborhood, where our hotel was located. It’s a lovely part of town, with lots of shops and restaurants. After some shopping, we had lunch and went to the Souk of Beirut for a free walking tour.

I m a big fan of free walking tours, I have done them all over the World. They are not free, you do have to tip the guide, but it is a great way to learn about a country’s history and learn about the city from a local.

The free walking tour of Beirut was excellent. It was a bit long, (3 hours), but the guide gave us a lot of information about the history of the city. We learned that Beirut was the Switzerland of the Middle-East before the civil war that took place between 1975 and 1990. We also learned that Beirut was destroyed and rebuilt 7 times in the past and its history goes back to over 5000 years.

We saw some of the famous sites of the civil war and saw how the city was rebuilt and many beautiful modern buildings were constructed in downtown Beirut. The city was a mix of old ran down destroyed buildings and modern, glass high-rise buildings. It was fascinating. She also showed us a giant modern mosque and took us to a neighborhood that looked like the South of France, because of its beautiful French architecture. The city was full of luxury shops; the streets were clean. It felt like being in a wealthy Western-European town. We were in love with Beirut after the first day.

We joined the organized tour of Nakhal Tours to visit the famous Baalbek, which is situated in the Hezbollah region only half an hour away from the Syrian border. They picked us up at 7:45 and took us to the headquarters of the travel agency. The tourist bus set out at 8:30 towards the Beqaa Valley.  Our guide Madeleine gave us all the historical background about the history of the country in general. We learned that Beirut meant water well and Lebanon meant white mountain. Madeleine was a fantastic guide, who spoke at least four languages and had an in-depth knowledge of the history of the sites we visited.

The first stop was at the ruins of Anjar. The place was built in the 8^th century and it is a UNESCO World Heritage site today. Two main avenues ran across this ancient city. The avenues are decorated with colonnades. Visitors can see the remains of the Grand Palace, a Small Palace, a Mosque and a Roman Thermal Bath. The city of Anjar is populated by many Armenians, who sell their handicrafts and jewelry to visitors. We were introduced to some traditional Armenian silver jewelry after the visit to the site.

From Anjar, we continued our journey towards Baalbek. We drove into the Hezbollah region, where everything was decorated with green Islamic flags. Entering this part of the country required us to go through a military checkpoint. It sounds more intimidating than it was, so don’t worry nothing will happen to you if you enter this part of Lebanon with an organized tour company. As we were approaching Baalbek, our guide told us about the three main temples of Baalbek, the temple of Venus, Bacchus and Jupiter.

Once, we arrived, the first temple we noticed was the temple of Venus. Baalbek was built after Alexander the Great conquered Persia around the first century and it took 400 years to be built. The city was called Heliopolis at the time. The purpose of Baalbek was to worship Venus, Bacchus, and Jupiter. Heliopolis was an oracle and a famous pilgrimage site for the Romans. Seeing this giant overly decorated place is an amazing experience. There is so much history behind these beautiful temples.

 

The Venus temple was fairly destroyed, but there was a photo next to it that portrayed what it looked like during the Roman times. It looked spectacular. The entrance of the temple was enormous and beautifully decorated. Upon entering the temple, we could see some of the remains of the Temple of Jupiter. After that, we explored the Temple of Bacchus, which is the best-maintained temple today. It is hard to imagine how they built these temples 2000 years, as they were so massive. These were certainly the most incredible Roman ruins, I have ever seen.