Halloumi. For breakfast. Cars pipping. Lots of birds singing. Bullet and shrapnel holes. Fancy cars. Crazy trees. Flowers. Smell of jasmine. Mediterranean blue. Palm trees. Barbed wire. Police and military. Traffic. Disregard for health and safety. Strong coffee. Avocado juice. Excessive food. Carrot and peanut beer snacks. Feral cats. Graffiti. More bullet holes. Street art. 27 degrees and sunny. Spinach. Yachts. Wasteland and barbed wire. Noise. Mosaics. Flatbread. Architecture. Knackered cars. Uneven pavements. Perilous road crossing. Minarets. Music from cars. Parsley. Street maze. Pomegranate ice cream. Nose job bandages. Abandoned, partially destroyed buildings. Bling. Yellow. Blue. Turquoise. Pink. Green. High proportion of hunks.
PHOTO Amazing tree at AUB
Despite a lot of evidence of Lebanon’s tragic and brutal history, this city is very much alive, well and buzzing. It’s exciting, shocking, fascinating, frenetic and doing a good job of sucking me into its unique magic.