Back from Beyond

It's a daunting task to write when there is so much to be said. Since we last spoke I have been to Beirut and back.

I'm not quite sure how to describe Beirut. To say it was dichotomous would be an understatement. When thinking of Beirut there is the obvious initial thought of war. Now, I will also think of warring labels. Fendi, Gucci and every runway wanna-be in between, line downtown and glamorous women teeter from store to store on 4 inch stilettos.

Yes it is true that there are soldiers in the streets and tanks on corners. But there also seem to be more Range Rovers than people and more eyeliner than I've ever seen on any nation of women.

To me Beirut's beauty was both understated and intangible. More then images I left Beirut with feeling. There is the noted element of a European society, the famed party scene, the expensively dressed city and inhabitants. But there is also feeling you get, walking through the streets of a city filled with religion, history and a sense of volatility.

There is often the unlikely scene of a Christian cross in the skyline right next to the Islamic crescent moon. There is the eerie quiet of the looming bombed out Holiday Inn (picture up top) shadowing the luxury buildings practically next door. And there is the always awesome scope of the Sea, the Mediterranean hugging the city and reaching out to the mountains beyond.

I don't want to romanticize Beirut beyond recognition. Perhaps, my eyes were clouded and the Beirut I saw was filled with stars. But, if that's the case then I choose starry-eyed and a new city I love.