Beirut the Sin city of the Middle East
FROM nude beach parties and wild bashes to gay clubs and showgirls, Beirut is rapidly earning a reputation as the sin city of the Middle East.
FROM nude beach parties and wild bashes hosted by the likes of Paris Hilton, to gay clubs, gambling and showgirls, Beirut is rapidly earning a reputation as the sin city of the Middle East.
Clubbers don't bat an eye in popping $1000 for a bottle of champagne to guarantee attention at a trendy nightspot, where less is more as far as women's wear is concerned.
Lebanon has seen it all. A bloody 1975-1990 civil war, military occupation, high-profile assassinations, and unending political instability.
Four years ago, Beirut's seaside Riviera Hotel witnessed an assassination attempt targeting a leading anti-Syrian minister.
Today, it is keeping the neighbourhood awake as partygoers drink and dance the night away.
“We have clubs in Cairo,'' said 26-year-old Wafiqm an Egyptian financial consultant, as he swayed to the beat on a hot August night holding a glass of whiskey and puffing on a Cuban cigar.
”But nothing beats this. I need to come here to unwind.”
A record one million-plus tourists visited Lebanon in July alone.
Many of those flocking to Beirut are Lebanese expatriates, but Arabs and Europeans have also arrived en masse to take advantage of Lebanon's glamorous nightlife.
Sami, 30, flew in from Germany for a brief reprieve this summer, which he says turned out to be more exhausting than he had anticipated.
“I'm on three hours of sleep,” he said.
“I had barely started on my coffee when I got to the beach and my friends threw it away and replaced it with vodka in a plastic cup.”
But while some Lebanese believe the worst is over and their country has shed its reputation for political turbulence, 25-year-old Ziad, a Lebanese engineer based in Qatar, believes the summer of 2009 is merely a breathing space.
“I think they want us to have our summer before they get back to business," he said, referring to the country's rival factions.
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