I recently received a mail from a friend who visited Lebanon in
February, partly in a professional capacity. Her stay in the country
involved visiting the majority of its Palestinian refugee camps in order
to collect data on social conditions within them. Since returning home
she has written an article on the living conditions within the camps.
Harrowing and heartrending, the article paints a bitter picture of the
hard life endured by many in Lebanon.
I have still not visited any of the camps. Many have open access, and I would like to go in order to understand them better, but would rather be invited than traipse up with my camera and sunglasses. I am therefore still waiting but hope to write later about my own impressions - superficial and lacking in understanding though they inevitably, at least to some extent, will turn out to be.
In the meantime I will focus on something entirely different, which may provide some context in future, and which, for better or worse, plays a huge role in my lifestyle here - Beirut's nightlife. A number of the city's neighbourhoods have good bars. The two main destinations, Hamra and Gemmayzeh, which are somehow appropriately on different sides of the city so that one is in the Muslim half and one in the Christian half, both compare favourably in their own right with other big cities I know well, such as Cardiff or Aarhus, for entertainment value. You can go out and do something every night of the week, be it drinking in a bar, clubbing, attending the theatre or going to a concert. The crowds vary from place to place. Rich teenagers in Downtown's superclubs, bohemians in Gemmayzeh's indie bars, students in Hamra, lonely souls in all-night boozers all over town. Foreigners form a decent proportion of the clientele but are a clear minority. Concert venues range from intimate to stadium-size, hosting experimental jazz, Polish folk, Arabic pop. Cat Stevens and Bob Marley's band The Wailers have both played here recently. Red Hot Chili Peppers come to town in September.
In the midst of this plethora of places to go and endless nights on the town, one particular event stands out for me as the most unique and memorable. PC Party is a monthly event which takes place in different venues such as former hotels or theatres. Each month there is a new theme and in the days leading up to the Saturday the event takes place, the organisers use hanging drapes, masses of cotton wool, lighted flooring and whatever else is needed to transform the venue into an over-the-top tribute to angels, Viennese balls, or whatever theme has been chosen. Partygoers are asked to go along with the theme by conforming to a dress code - wear something white, bring a mask, be fabulous.
PC Party is the biggest gay-friendly event in Lebanon. In a country where homosexuality is illegal and even hetero public displays of affection are frowned upon, gay people don't get as much opportunity to be themselves and be open about themselves. The PC night is a big monthly event that takes a lot of organisation and has attendances in the thousands, about half of them gay by my estimation. The style of the party leaves nothing to the imagination, with its drag queens, dancers on stilts, topless men and posturing. The organisers must need a certain amount of influence to be able to run something like this, to put it tactfully. Said without tact - I'm sure they pay a sizeable bribe to someone.
In my last blog I alluded to my irritation at the attitudes of men towards the opposite sex. There is none of that here. Straight or gay, everyone is friendly, easy going, happy to be there. Finally, once you have paid the cover charge of approximately £20, the bar is an open free-for-all. This is a recipe for disaster for those of us who cannot shake our English/Danish binge-drinking ways, but the Lebanese keep it respectable and no-one gets aggressive or violent. You may wake up with a hangover the size of the moon, but you'll have a stupendously funny night and you and your friends will come to no harm.
Lebanese Arabic has an expression which translates to 'lengthen your mind'. It does not mean the same thing as the English 'open minded', but is used when you want someone to relax.
PC Party's facebook page
I have still not visited any of the camps. Many have open access, and I would like to go in order to understand them better, but would rather be invited than traipse up with my camera and sunglasses. I am therefore still waiting but hope to write later about my own impressions - superficial and lacking in understanding though they inevitably, at least to some extent, will turn out to be.
In the meantime I will focus on something entirely different, which may provide some context in future, and which, for better or worse, plays a huge role in my lifestyle here - Beirut's nightlife. A number of the city's neighbourhoods have good bars. The two main destinations, Hamra and Gemmayzeh, which are somehow appropriately on different sides of the city so that one is in the Muslim half and one in the Christian half, both compare favourably in their own right with other big cities I know well, such as Cardiff or Aarhus, for entertainment value. You can go out and do something every night of the week, be it drinking in a bar, clubbing, attending the theatre or going to a concert. The crowds vary from place to place. Rich teenagers in Downtown's superclubs, bohemians in Gemmayzeh's indie bars, students in Hamra, lonely souls in all-night boozers all over town. Foreigners form a decent proportion of the clientele but are a clear minority. Concert venues range from intimate to stadium-size, hosting experimental jazz, Polish folk, Arabic pop. Cat Stevens and Bob Marley's band The Wailers have both played here recently. Red Hot Chili Peppers come to town in September.
In the midst of this plethora of places to go and endless nights on the town, one particular event stands out for me as the most unique and memorable. PC Party is a monthly event which takes place in different venues such as former hotels or theatres. Each month there is a new theme and in the days leading up to the Saturday the event takes place, the organisers use hanging drapes, masses of cotton wool, lighted flooring and whatever else is needed to transform the venue into an over-the-top tribute to angels, Viennese balls, or whatever theme has been chosen. Partygoers are asked to go along with the theme by conforming to a dress code - wear something white, bring a mask, be fabulous.
PC Party is the biggest gay-friendly event in Lebanon. In a country where homosexuality is illegal and even hetero public displays of affection are frowned upon, gay people don't get as much opportunity to be themselves and be open about themselves. The PC night is a big monthly event that takes a lot of organisation and has attendances in the thousands, about half of them gay by my estimation. The style of the party leaves nothing to the imagination, with its drag queens, dancers on stilts, topless men and posturing. The organisers must need a certain amount of influence to be able to run something like this, to put it tactfully. Said without tact - I'm sure they pay a sizeable bribe to someone.
In my last blog I alluded to my irritation at the attitudes of men towards the opposite sex. There is none of that here. Straight or gay, everyone is friendly, easy going, happy to be there. Finally, once you have paid the cover charge of approximately £20, the bar is an open free-for-all. This is a recipe for disaster for those of us who cannot shake our English/Danish binge-drinking ways, but the Lebanese keep it respectable and no-one gets aggressive or violent. You may wake up with a hangover the size of the moon, but you'll have a stupendously funny night and you and your friends will come to no harm.
Lebanese Arabic has an expression which translates to 'lengthen your mind'. It does not mean the same thing as the English 'open minded', but is used when you want someone to relax.
PC Party's facebook page
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