yallabina!

i am in the lebanon. met my colleague on the plane, as you do, and sat next to the swedish ambassador to jordan. he invited me to his residence in amman when i'm in the area. i accepted! insh-allah i will make it. into the hustle and bustle of beirut. a cosmopolitan city that is desperate to leave the war behind and become the glamorous meeting point of east and west it once was. you see newly restored buildings beside ruins with bullet holes. the scars from the war are very visible still. yet everyone enjoys life, the cafe scene is massive, and the number of serene headscarves is considerably lower than on the edgware road, london. miniskirts and bling rule! compared to cairo, beirut is so much more wealthy. you can drive new cars apparently, and big ones, too, people walk on the pavements. i have my first shawarma and nana mint tea first thing on monday. delicious. and the fruit juices go down so well in the early summer heat. we see phoenician ruins, learn about cipolino, the romans, byzantines and ottomans in no particular order, while holding our noses into the sun. the palestinian refugee camp is pointed out from the bus, we are happy to pass it quickly.