ONE DAY IN BEIRUT, LEBANON

If there's one place I didn't expect to find myself in, this would be it:

Beirut, Lebanon.

Though a roadtrip across Lebanon has been on my bucketlist for a while now, it always felt like whenever it was time to go somewhere, Lebanon is placed on the backburner. Every single time. Mostly because some of the people I travel with prefer to go elsewhere. However, it's a destination I felt more comfortable seeing with someone, so I kept pushing it.

Then when I finally made it, our one week trip changed to one night only.

The trip was suddenly cut short due unforeseen circumstances. I was devasted, but at the same time, I knew it was for the best. So we had to take the hard decision to leave without getting to see any of the places I wanted. We only had enough time to visit Beirut for a day.

We stayed in Raouche, steps away from the popular Raouche Rocks, also known as Pigeon Rock. It was my favourite stop of the day, as I found the view from the corniche to be spectacular.

We enjoyed strolling along the corniche, but only wished we had enough time to take a boat ride to the rocks.

We quite enjoyed walking along the corniche as well, to enjoy the sight and the many restaurants available. It was clear that we were the only tourists in the area, but that didn't bother me nor did that attract a lot of attention.

We then took a taxi over to the city center. There, we explored both the Mosque and the Church. We were dropped off in front of Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque. Inside, you will find a beautiful Ottoman design, with the walls decorated with Quranic verses, crystal chandeliers and big carved columns.

Steps away from the mosque, you can walk over to Martyrs' Square and Place de l'Étoile, before exploring the rest of the city center. We snapped some pictures of the city center, and even came across a beautiful mural written "HOPE."

As I stopped there for a photo, I finally came across the first small group of tourists. Though I had also seen the City Sightseeing bus, I found it to be empty. I was happy to see a handful of tourists learning about Beirut and the landmarks around.

We walked over to Al-Omari Grand Mosque, a significant landmark in Lebanese history. This mosque was built on the site and ruins of a Crusader church that was demolished in earthquakes.

Steps away is the Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral. This church was built in the eighteenth century, on top of another one that was demolished during the civil war. You can still see remains of the old church dating back to 4th history. The church is beautifully decorated with Byzantine paintings on every corner. You can also visit the museum underground while here.

We had only about an hour left before we had to head back and make our way to the airport. We used the time to explore the remaining parts of the city center. I felt like I was walking on a movie set, it felt odd and unlike anything I have seen before.

Thinking about the dark past and what caused the buildings to be that way made me feel very sad. I came across local kids playing in the ruins of those buildings and cats wandering the empty streets. Soldiers roamed the city in military trucks. We took a cab back to our hotel to grab our luggage and made our way to the airport.

On my way to the airport, I quickly realized that despite having been in Lebanon for almost a day now, I had not yet tried any restaurants or food, though Lebanese cuisine is one of my favourite!

I only changed a small amount of money to keep as a souvenir. I made my way to the lounge at the airport and it turned out to be one of my favourite lounges I have been to so far, with some of the best food.

Stepping anywhere in Lebanon feels like taking a step back in time. I can't wait to be able to go back someday and explore more of this beautiful country and to learn more about its history. I can see it easily being one of my favourite destinations, despite it being among one of the least visited. Even if I only stayed for 24 hours, I felt like I did quite a lot in the short time that I was there and can see that Lebanon is an underrated destination.

Have you been to Beirut or is it something that interests you? Let me know!

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