socialmedian: Beirut is back … and it's beautiful

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Beirut is back … and it's beautiful

Source: observer.guardian.co.uk

Nov 08, 2009

Summary

How the Lebanese capital went from warzone to 2010's most glamorous tourist destination

A whole new road system has been built from Beirut airport to the city centre since the last time I visited. What's more, there are new, exciting roadside accessories. "Oh my God!" says my friend Anna. "What's that?"

"It's a traffic light," I say although it's somewhat self-explanatory. "You're not stopping, are you?" says Anna. "Oh don't be so ridiculous! As if anyone's going to pay any attention to that!"

She has a point. We lived in Beirut for eight months back in 1995, a time when there were not only no traffic lights, there were also no road signs, no speed limits, no traffic police, and, indeed no apparent traffic laws. None.

Our friend Khaled's means of negotiating jams was to take his gun out of his glove compartment, strap it to his under-arm, and if the traffic was really bad, wave it around a bit.

As it turns out, the lights are a mixed success: some people stop, some people don't. A very Lebanese solution. You can do what you want, but you may have a super-charged L

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