Beirut Travel Guide

Could the phrase “Geography is destiny” be said for you, dear Beirut? Take this city and put it in Central Europe.. destroy this perception. I’m starting my Beirut Travel Guide so that you can admire its architecture while walking on its streets, find the cosmopolitanism of the new and the old in one city, and finally gain at least three kilograms while admiring its delicious cuisine.

November 2019 In , by my beloved wife Umur, “Come on, pack your suitcases, we’re going on a surprise trip tomorrow.” I found myself at the airport within 24 hours and learned where we were going right there.. Beirut! I’ve wanted it for so long, I’ve been waiting for so long that I was sure that the trip would be wonderful no matter how unprepared I was.. Moreover, we were going to Beirut at the time of the uprising.. Total madness! Luckily it was a truly delicious trip and I can’t wait to tell you about it.. If you’re ready, let’s buckle up for Paris of the Middle East.

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Is Beirut Safe?

Beirut; As the capital of Lebanon, surrounded by Syria, Israel and Jordan, it is seen as dangerous due to geography.. Of course, there is also the subject of civil war engraved in history.. We also heard negative statements from our family and friends on the trip, such as “What is the need, if it were missing”, but even though we went at a time when the people were uprising against the state with the demand for revolution, nothing happened to us, we did not even experience a tense or dangerous situation.. That’s why it’s a good thing.

Observations on Lebanon

Lebanon is a rich country. While there are marinas and skyscrapers where you can see the traces of a very luxurious life like Dubai; When you move 5 km, you suddenly feel yourself in the lower streets of Istiklal Street.. In short, very cosmopolitan. You are in Europe by admiring the architecture from time to time..

People are very friendly, they love Turks. From the outside they look like Arabic speaking Europeans. Besides the Muslim majority, they are also very respectful to Christians, as there are not few Armenians.. So you are in one of the countries where there are two streets between the mosque and the church.. As a result, we have a lot in common, our blood boiled, we loved it because it was once an Ottoman land.

Is Beirut Expensive or Cheap?

We live in Dubai. It wasn’t expensive when compared to where we live, but definitely expensive considering TL. Although there are Lebanese Lira currencies, everything is dollar-denominated, most places even accept dollars.. It is still a must-visit destination when you get cheap accommodation and tickets.. So don’t be afraid.

When to Go to Beirut?

Since the winter is cold and the summer is hot, I think if you prefer the spring months, your trip will be much more convenient. it will be fun. It was a good choice for us to go in November because the weather was not like November in Turkey, but at maximum September.. We had a sunny half sleeve t-shirt trip.

How Many Days to Visit Beirut?

Hamra and Downtown You will visit the region in 1 day. Let’s give 1 day for Mar Mikhael and Gemmayze . So for Beirut you need 2 days. But when you come to Beirut, there are places to visit nearby.. For this, you should do the Byblos, Jeita Grotto, Harissa tour that I said give 1 day priority.. If you wish, you can take the Baalbek, Chateau Ksara, Stone of the Pregnant Woman route in 1 day.. In summary, let’s say a minimum of 3 or 4 days if you wish.. Less would be fine, of course, but not enough to taste that many options to eat and drink.

Beirut Transportation

Flying a longer distance to Beirut since we live in Dubai We arrived with Emirates Airlines, but it is much easier than Istanbul.. Especially Pegasus has affordable flights.. Moreover, you arrive in such a short time as 2 hours. Best of all, Beirut is VISA FREE for Turks. Just don’t have an Israeli stamp in your passport beforehand.

Transportation from Beirut Airport to the City

Beirut Refik Hariri International Airport When we landed in , taxi drivers from everywhere started running towards us.. This is one of the cities where you get from one place to another by bargaining before the taximeter opens.. That’s why we took Uber directly and paid 17$ to reach our hotel in Hamra.

Beirut City Transportation

When we don’t walk to avoid the taxi tension and fear of getting ripped off I mentioned above. We toured the whole city using Uber. It usually cost around $5 from place to place on average.. I think you should follow this road too, don’t even think about renting a car.. There is extraordinary traffic and everyone is stuck in traffic as if they are driving a bumper car.. No need to risk. Public transport is unfortunately not an option.. Also, unfortunately, there is a lot of horn sound around.

Where to Stay in Beirut? Beirut Hotel Recommendation

When you look at the accommodation prices in Beirut, you see that Downtown is a click high because it is the center of the city.. Hamra is a good alternative for this because it is like our Taksim. If you say you want to explore many places and drink in the evenings, you can choose Cihangir, Mar Mikhael and Gemmayze.

We are in Hamra We stayed at the >Bella Riva Hotel for 4 nights and the price of this hotel with a very nice breakfast was $50 per night.. We were satisfied, but if you want to be in Hamra, the location of The J Hotel with the same prices was better. Decide by room, because we’re talking about 5-6 minutes walking.

Places to Visit in Beirut

After we set foot in Beirut and reached the hotel, we immediately got out and saw everyone We started the feast at Le Chef in the Gemmayze district to get an introduction to the Lebanese cuisine that she could not finish with praise.. The flavors we tried in this artisan restaurant; Fatteh was roasted cauliflower with sesame sauce, hummus with meat and pistachio, tabbouleh salad and Arak (Lebanese raki) for lunch.. At that moment, we realized that we would gain at least three kilos from this trip and return.. We paid $26 bill for 2 arak and all meals here. The owner of the place was a very sympathetic uncle, and it was very sweet of him to try to speak Turkish with us from time to time.

After we ate our meal and regained ourselves, our walk started in the streets of GemmayzeMar Mikhael continued to >. This is the city of Cihangir, like Karaköy; It became a district with various concept venues, streets decorated with murals, and its buildings that we love.

We found a wonderful cafe in Mar Mikhael, thanks to Foursquare, it’s called Kalei Coffee Co. After enjoying a cup of coffee in its garden, we returned to Hamra to end the first day and embraced the first night of Beirut with Happy Hour cocktails in a small bar called Ferdinand.. While we paid 10$ for 2 coffees and 1 cake at Kalei, we paid 36$ for 3-4 cocktails at Ferdinand.

I must say that Beirut’s nightlife is very famous.. We went with the dream of enjoying those parties but all nightclubs were closed due to the uprising. I hope you catch it open. For example, Iris have in mind as the venue.

We started the second day with the National Museum and the Heroic Monument opposite it.. Entrance to the museum is $6.5 per person.

The Green Line located on the street is just across from Beit Beirut. This place took this name because of the greenery that emerged when the city was divided into Muslim and Christian for a while, when there was no transition between each other.. The uprising during our visit, unlike the civil war, is actually an organization of the people against the state due to corruption, not among themselves.

From here we came to Em Sherif, which is nearby.. We tried twenty-odd dishes for $45 per person.. I say we tried because we couldn’t finish all that food! All of them were delicious, you must try this place. Reservation can be a serious problem, so do not leave it until the last days of the trip.. Drinks are extra.

From here we went to the Downtown area in the evening and saw the city center at night.. In the area where the organization was located, buildings with destroyed windows, an abandoned car with flowers in it greeted us.. Since this car was a girl’s car and burned down during the riot, everyone left flowers in it and started to donate.. 10 thousand dollars have been collected!

Come to Downtown during the daytime and see how similar it is to Europe.. Especially the street where those luxury brands are located Beirut Souks is almost the gateway from Beirut to Brussels.

We want to go a little further from Downtown Zaytouna Bay we went to. This is a marina area very similar to Dubai.. We smoked hookah and enjoyed the sea at Leila under luxury skyscrapers.. We paid $34 for 3 beers, 1 coffee and 1 hookah.

To end the night, we went to Ales & Tales, where you will really feel at home in Hamra region, where we love their cocktails.. I was also happy that my cocktail came in the Tibetan Bowl! 3 cocktails and a Patatas Bravas cost $46.

The other day we did our Byblos tour.

On our last day, if you don’t see the city for the day, they will beat you up, Pigeon Cliffs” where did we go. Pigeon Rock doesn’t have a number, but you can’t do it without seeing it.. When we moved back to Downtown from here, we went to the old Holiday Inn (Ras Beirut) . During the civil war in the 1970s, one year after its opening, it became this way and never served again.. There is also the place where their beloved president, who was assassinated, was killed, but we did not come across it while we were visiting.

Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque, the blue domed mosque, we can say is the center of Downtown.. Opposite it, we can see the city where two religions lived together with Roman baths and churches.

To end our last evening from here, we walked to Gemmayze again and this time Mayrig. Prices are a bit high, but let me share what we ate.. We never liked raw meatballs, hummus with pastrami was good. The barren was also different but we loved it. I liked the ravioli the most, you may want to try it. We paid $64 for the whole table and 2 rakes.