Middle East – Page 3 – Green Bottle Tree

Beirut and Baakline Day 4 – postcard

Beirut: Traffic. Tanks. Windy. Helpful people. Cars pipping. Soldiers with machine guns. Rough Mediterranean Sea. Armenian food. Exceptionally fresh tabbouleh. Palm trees. Derelict buildings. Barbed wire. Lively. Potholes. Uneven pavements. Wasteland. Apocalyptic rain. Stripy lighthouse. Fancy modern flats. 22 degrees celcius. Beirut to Baakline: Pedestrians crossing the motorway. Oranges for sale. Mountain roads at motorway […]

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Beirut – Impressions before visiting

Lebanon, Middle East, Travel / Karina

I don’t expect Beirut to be quite this colourful; more muted versions of these colours. Falafel, traffic, dirt, Mediterranean, pale and dusty yellow, hectic, tomatoes, rocks, apartment blocks, hummus, bullet holes, mountains, sunshine, rain, old French buildings, halloumi, concrete, cars pipping, colourful clothes, cats, street food, Arabic writing, spices, lots of tatty posters, taxis. As

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Beirut Day 2 – postcard

Lebanon, Middle East, Travel / Karina

Cranes. Exterior curtains. Traffic. Palm trees. “Handbag” bread. Friendly locals. Pineapple coconut mousse cake. Cars pipping. Dilapidated buildings. Cats. Antique shops. Call to prayer. Dirty shoes. Sunshine. Mediterranean sea spray. Syrian refugees begging. Reproduction “Phoenician” architecture. Crumbling Phoenician architecture. Small themed bars (Hemingway, East v West Germany). Flowers. Decorative banana displays. Posters. Ruins of Roman

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UAE – lists and practicalities

Middle East, Travel, United Arab Emirates / Karina

Abu Dhabi & Dubai – Lists and Practicalities In three words or phrases, Abu Dhabi (AD) first, then Dubai (D), in no particular order and not always 10 things to avoid stretching the truth when fewer things are worthy of being in a top 10 list. Most information relevant in 2017 and 2018. 10 food

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UAE v UK hipster coffee

Coffee, Food, Middle East, United Arab Emirates / Karina

Dubai v London – how hipster coffee and warehouses don’t equate to a hipster ‘hood I gave up being a coffee-snob-in-denial after, “Turkish coffee, please”, resulted in a one-sachet-cappuccino followed swiftly, still nursing a burnt tongue and offended tastebuds, by a Google search for “hipster coffee Dubai”. Other than good Turkish and Arabic black unfiltered

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Beirut Guide

Lebanon, Middle East, Travel / Karina

PRACTICAL INFORMATION What is Beirut like? *very big pondering pause* How on earth can I convey my impressions of Beirut? Very difficult. It’s like a fully interactive video game, a full-on game played at high volume with the added challenge of smells to discern and the distressingly real risk of being mown over by a

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