Blue sky. Pharmacies. Traffic. Cars pipping. Graffiti. Genuine farmers’ market. Mosques. Churches. Directions from machine gun-toting soldier. Barbed wire. Designer shops. Artisan shops. Tens of jewellery shops. Centre-of-roundabout café. Armenian genocide posters. Macadamia nut trees. Cats. Steps. Quirky modern buildings. Deserted areas of new downtown. Mountains. Peeling posters. Damaged pavements. Cigarette smoking taxi driver. Beirut’s Shoreditch. Outdoor dining. Shisha pipes. Food samples. Flowers. Tank traps. Cranes. Shelling holes. Cool design shops. Disappointing Beirut River. Syrian refugees begging. Bumping into people we’d previously met. Overhead cables. Beautiful cake shops. Mediterranean Sea. Music. Spice smells. Clothes hanging out. Exterior curtains. Art Deco buildings. Palm trees. East/West Berlin theme bar. Call to prayer. Church bells. Machine gun security for a wedding. Plastic bags. Fresh juice kiosks. Small quirky bars. Witty signs. Worn wooden shutters. Roman remains. Crazy driving. Friendly people. Walls of jasmine flowers.
Crazy, wild, shocking, exciting, enthralling, vibrant, bizarre, surreal, utterly wonderful city. Beirut is in my top five favourite cities, easily.