Modern City

I've spent my first few days here walking around the city's central districts and sampling some of the nightlife. It's been an easy introduction.

Outside of a pedestrianised area within the Central Business District, crossing the road is somewhat challenging. The traffic is generally chaotic and traffic lights are only loosely interpreted. The trick seems to be to wait until the cars are moving slowly enough to be able to stop before they reach you, and then to walk out in front of them.

This aside, walking around town is an entirely stress-free experience. There are relatively few signs of the devastating conflicts that have taken place here during recent history. The marina area and Business District are Dubai-like in their glamour. I must have seen more Porsches and Ferraris over the last few days than I have during the previous year. There is a strong police and security presence - the police wear camouflage uniforms and carry machine guns - but the atmosphere is nevertheless friendly and relaxed.

Yesterday I walked along the Corniche, the seafront promenade where ordinary Beirutis come to socialise in their free time. It's a great place for people-watching, with huge diversity in terms of dress and activity, from burka-wearing women walking 5 yards behind their husbands to girls on rollerskates and teenagers blasting Arabic pop music from the stereos of their BMWs.

My hostel is located in Gemayze, a sub-district within the predominantly Christian East Beirut and one of the most buzzing nightlife areas I have seen anywhere. Hamra, in Muslim West Beirut, is equally endowed with clubs and bars full of partying young Lebanese. I have been to bars in both areas, and felt severely underdressed in my scruffy hoody and battered trainers. The local people make a real effort to look the part. They are extremely friendly and happy to chat to foreigners in fluent English. During the daytime, I have felt entirely comfortable everywhere I've been, tourists and foreigners do not receive any special treatment or discrimination.

The city centre surely only represents part of the overall picture. But it's a part which seems Southern European in as many aspects as it seems Middle Eastern - if it's culture shock you're looking for, you won't find it here.