Tourists, ‘Diamante-Encrusted Bikinis’ Return to Lebanon’s Beach Resorts
Travel Blog • Michael Yessis • 08.22.07 | 10:48 AM ET
Photo of Beirut, Lebanon by A year after war between Israel and Hezbollah rocked Lebanon, and with “sectarian tensions and political standoff” still simmering, Reuters reports that the country’s beach resorts are back and packed with revelers. “Until three weeks ago, it seemed that people couldn’t forget the scars of last year’s war. But now Damour is back again,” said Fady Saba, general manager of Oceana resort, referring to the coastal strip near Beirut. The resorts are using fashion shows and concerts, among other things, to attract travelers from Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East, particularly Arabs from Persian Gulf states.
“I’ve been coming to Lebanon since 1995. It was hellish last year when we had to escape the war via Syria, but here I am again. I wouldn’t choose to spend summer anywhere else,” said Khaled al-Omari from Kuwait.
Beirut’s nightlife scene has apparently also rebounded. From Reuters: “[B]ar and club strips on Rue Gemayze and Rue Monot are once again heaving with people and pulsating with music into the early hours at weekends.”
Perhaps one of these days Time Out Beirut will make another go of it. For now, according to its Web site, publishing is “on hold until the politcal and economical climate is stable.”
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Michael Yessis is the cofounder and coeditor-in-chief of World Hum.
