Agree with that. My mother in law worked there for five years...she liked Oman and Yemen (this was before 9/11; don't know how much they like Westerners now)

Also agree with the poster above who said that there was nothing in Dubai 30 years ago...the "real Dubai" would be a sparsely populated sandbar! Abu Dhabi is less liberal than Dubai, and Sharjah doesn't even allow alcohol sales. Can't remember the other 4 Emirates...something like "Umm al Kawein" and Ras Something, but none of them are over 50,000 people, vs. Dubai/Abu Dhabi's millions.

It is kinda cool to walk along the Creek and look at the Dhows, though. They're lateen-rigged wooden trading vessels that go between Dubai and the Indian Subcontinent. Unlike Western wooden ships, the planks are stitched together with some kind of rope, which is then covered with pitch. Western wooden boats have the planks nailed, screwed, or glued to the frames. They range in size, getting up to 90' long, if I had to guess. If I had to guess, I'd guess they werre made of teak, which is very durable and rot resistant.

The cool thing is seeing them loaded from everything from machine tools to sacks of rice and 55-gal drums of something. And it's always the little, 5' 2", 90# guys manhandling these ridiculously large loads around.

I think it would be a neat adventure to book passage aboard one of these ships to India, if you had a guide to translate. Pretty basic (sleeping on the deck, eating whatever) but fun nonetheless.

I'd love to come visit...don't see a transatlantic trip in the cards for a while, though. BEY has scenery, history, good food, beaches...

I read in the NYT awhile back about the Arak industry coming back, and some world-class products being produced.

How has the USD held up? Does the Lebanese (franc?) track the Dollar or the Euro? Are people experiencing economic hardship as the Syrians lose influence and pull back?

Just got this Great 5 Star Desert Resort for AED475 a night in August.

http://www.babalshams.com/special_offers/

Look forward to your visit :) .

Indeed, Beirut has a lot to offer. In fact, the entire Midde East has a lot to offer and I wish more people would visit this part of the world.

The Lebanese Lira (or Lebanese Pound) is pegged to the dollar. A dollar gets you 1500 Lebanese Pounds. To put that in perspective (using the Big Mac index), it is about 7500 Lebanese Lira for a Big Mac Meal. However, for only 750 you can buy a nice toasted cheese sandwich. For 1500 you can park your car for a whole day.

I wouldn't say that we are suffering per se, but it is not easy losing Syria as a trading partner. Will see how things shape up over the next few months.

If you do come this way, let me know.

Please e-mail me your details will call for sure
Thanks :)