Happy Birthday, Italiano
ITALIANO wrote:As for Abu Dhabi, well, I have been to Dubai, and I agree, it's not what I look for on a holiday. I wouldn't even say that it has everything that Europe or America can offer - I found the place ridiculously rich, true, but also ridiculously fake and soulless.
''Ridiculously fake and soulless''.
You couldn't have said it better!
And yes Turkey is a great place for a vacation. The best of the East and West all rolled into one. Istanbul is one of the most beautiful cities in the world...a very close second to Florence.
Edited By Reza on 1218596006
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Cinemanolis
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Thanx, Reza. I'm glad that you liked my country.Reza wrote:So far my best vacations have been Italy and San Francisco. In fact ideally I would like to visit Italy many more times.
As for Abu Dhabi, well, I have been to Dubai, and I agree, it's not what I look for on a holiday. I wouldn't even say that it has everything that Europe or America can offer - I found the place ridiculously rich, true, but also ridiculously fake and soulless. (Oman, another country in that region, is much more interesting, and I guess that Yemen must be, too).
As for Lebanon, if you are interested in the area, for your first trip here my advice would be to include in your tour even Syria (very beautiful and, unlike Lebanon, extremely cheap) and Jordan (which I personally found less fascinating but which has what is probably the most beautiful place I've ever seen - Petra). As for when - in such an unpredictable country you never know. Now it's a great period, but next year, with the national elections, who knows...
If I were you, I would probably think, other than the ever-popular and deserving Spain, of Eastern Europe, which may get more expensive day by day, but it's still affordable and really fascinating (Prague and Budapest especially). And then there's always Turkey of course.
Marco, is Beirut generally expensive? Clothes, food etc. And what is the best time of year to visit? Maybe NOW would be the best time as anytime in the future may clash with a mini civil war?
I'm glad Lebanon was mentioned in this thread. I am always looking for places to visit on vacation and next time I will seriously consider this country. I had all but planned my dream vacation in Spain (nine cities in 2 weeks) this year but something came up and we had to cancel out. Instead we had to do with a makeshift vacation in Abu Dhabi. The U.A.E. has everything that Europe or America could offer you except the weather which is horrendously HOT & HUMID! My idea of walking around chilly shopping malls is not what I look for on a holiday.
So far my best vacations have been Italy and San Francisco. In fact ideally I would like to visit Italy many more times.
Edited By Reza on 1218557796
I'm glad Lebanon was mentioned in this thread. I am always looking for places to visit on vacation and next time I will seriously consider this country. I had all but planned my dream vacation in Spain (nine cities in 2 weeks) this year but something came up and we had to cancel out. Instead we had to do with a makeshift vacation in Abu Dhabi. The U.A.E. has everything that Europe or America could offer you except the weather which is horrendously HOT & HUMID! My idea of walking around chilly shopping malls is not what I look for on a holiday.
So far my best vacations have been Italy and San Francisco. In fact ideally I would like to visit Italy many more times.
Edited By Reza on 1218557796
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OscarGuy
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Yeah, the midwest is basically a Mediterranean climate, and we have lakes and all, but I'm not a swimming kinda person, so it's always just hot and muggy.
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
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OscarGuy
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What's the summer temperature and general relative humidity.
Our average temperature is anywhere form mid-80s to mid-90s in the summer with humidity generally upwards of 50%, which makes it feel like it's mid-90s to mid-100s...
And I can't imagine a coastal zone in a Mediterranean climate not being compatible.
Of course, winter would probably be better than summer, but who really knows.
Our average temperature is anywhere form mid-80s to mid-90s in the summer with humidity generally upwards of 50%, which makes it feel like it's mid-90s to mid-100s...
And I can't imagine a coastal zone in a Mediterranean climate not being compatible.
Of course, winter would probably be better than summer, but who really knows.
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
Thank you again.
Do you know Fairuz, rain bard? Well, congratulations. I had never heard of her when I first came here 7 years ago, but now of course I know well, and love, her amazing, unusual voice. As you said, she's a true diva here. A goddess, to many.
To be honest, I think that anyone interested in history or art should visit Italy at least once. Though Berlusconi, and those who voted for him, are doing their best to destroy its image in the eyes of the world, thank god centuries of beauty are impossible to delete, and the country has even more to offer, including, true, its delicios food (I have been to San Francisco only once, and briefly, but frankly most Italian restaurants abroad prepare - and not always well - the same stuff, mostly from the South, while Italian cuisine is extremely varied, and there are lots of pleasant surprises to be tasted).
But it's my country, I know it so well, I have been to even its most remote corners, I can predict my fellow Italians' reactions to anything - so I guess I needed something different, and I found it here (after travelling all over Europe of course). All the Middle East is awesome, each country has so much to offer (though as Uri knows well, unfortunately I have never been to Israel), but Lebanon, while much smaller than Syria and Jordan, is definitely the most interesting at least from the human point of view - such a complex, explosive (in many ways), challenging mix of cultures and religions, of christianity and islam, of Europe and the Arab world, that one can never get bored. It is, admittedly, not an easy experience, and one gets in touch with so much suffering, too - and it's confusing, and tough, so one must be intellectually prepared to it. Switzerland it certainly isn't. But it's a great experience, and as Reza pointed out, it wasnt called the Paris of the East for nothing - nightlife is still great, they love parties (even too obsessively, I must say, but understandably so), they love to have fun. They are very sexual - men and women.
I was here even during period of high tensions, so I've seen its many sides. This summer, the city is again booming with energy and with tourists (most of them from other Arab countries, I am one of the very few Europeans, but at least not the only one like last summer!). And it's very safe - compared to Milan for example, where especially late at night you can meet all kinds of people, you can walk anywhere in Beirut, at any time, without problems of any kind. (Except, of course, that there's always the possibility of a civil war starting in your neighborhood... But seriously, Reza, it's extremely safe and no area has to be avoided).
And it's not that hot, Oscar Guy - this is a mediterranean country, so it's like being, say, in Southern Italy (and in winter one can ski on the mountains).
Edited By ITALIANO on 1218548024
Do you know Fairuz, rain bard? Well, congratulations. I had never heard of her when I first came here 7 years ago, but now of course I know well, and love, her amazing, unusual voice. As you said, she's a true diva here. A goddess, to many.
To be honest, I think that anyone interested in history or art should visit Italy at least once. Though Berlusconi, and those who voted for him, are doing their best to destroy its image in the eyes of the world, thank god centuries of beauty are impossible to delete, and the country has even more to offer, including, true, its delicios food (I have been to San Francisco only once, and briefly, but frankly most Italian restaurants abroad prepare - and not always well - the same stuff, mostly from the South, while Italian cuisine is extremely varied, and there are lots of pleasant surprises to be tasted).
But it's my country, I know it so well, I have been to even its most remote corners, I can predict my fellow Italians' reactions to anything - so I guess I needed something different, and I found it here (after travelling all over Europe of course). All the Middle East is awesome, each country has so much to offer (though as Uri knows well, unfortunately I have never been to Israel), but Lebanon, while much smaller than Syria and Jordan, is definitely the most interesting at least from the human point of view - such a complex, explosive (in many ways), challenging mix of cultures and religions, of christianity and islam, of Europe and the Arab world, that one can never get bored. It is, admittedly, not an easy experience, and one gets in touch with so much suffering, too - and it's confusing, and tough, so one must be intellectually prepared to it. Switzerland it certainly isn't. But it's a great experience, and as Reza pointed out, it wasnt called the Paris of the East for nothing - nightlife is still great, they love parties (even too obsessively, I must say, but understandably so), they love to have fun. They are very sexual - men and women.
I was here even during period of high tensions, so I've seen its many sides. This summer, the city is again booming with energy and with tourists (most of them from other Arab countries, I am one of the very few Europeans, but at least not the only one like last summer!). And it's very safe - compared to Milan for example, where especially late at night you can meet all kinds of people, you can walk anywhere in Beirut, at any time, without problems of any kind. (Except, of course, that there's always the possibility of a civil war starting in your neighborhood... But seriously, Reza, it's extremely safe and no area has to be avoided).
And it's not that hot, Oscar Guy - this is a mediterranean country, so it's like being, say, in Southern Italy (and in winter one can ski on the mountains).
Edited By ITALIANO on 1218548024
ITALIANO wrote:Anyone should have his or her birthday in Beirut,
Damn, I just missed that opportunity by a few weeks back in '82 – I guess going there for my 20th birthday on October instead of spending that year's Rosh Hashanah's holiday in mid September around Sabra and Shatila would have made for a much more satisfying result. And less lethal.
Anyway, Beirut is indeed a beautiful city, under any circumstances, though my way of getting there for the first time, gliding down the mountains from the east on top of a tank may not be the most advisable way to do so.
Happy birthday.
Edited By Uri on 1218521470
Damien wrote:but I doubt that Lebanon is on the radar of more than a relative handful of people here.
I know it was the port of choice in the 1960s - the ''Paris of the East''. All my older relatives talk about it. In fact my parents went to Beirut on their honeymoon (a trip that also included Venice, London, Paris and Barcelona). Then war happened!
Marco I hear that Beirut is picking up again and I would love to visit. Is it all bombed out or have things been ''fixed''? Are there areas that should be avoided or have things now settled down?
Edited By Reza on 1218521221
I'd love to go to either Italy or Lebanon- though admittedly there are few countries that don't beckon me in some way.
Italy has two film festivals that probably top my world-wide wish-list to attend: Pordenone and Bologna. Not to mention my long-standing fascination for ruins. And my favorite of all European cuisines, at least as distilled here in San Francisco restaurants.
Lebanon I know much less about, though I've long been curious about its reputation as the most "cosmopolitan" of Arab countries. I count myself a fan, if not exactly a rabid one, of the beautiful voice of the Lebanese diva Fairuz.
Italy has two film festivals that probably top my world-wide wish-list to attend: Pordenone and Bologna. Not to mention my long-standing fascination for ruins. And my favorite of all European cuisines, at least as distilled here in San Francisco restaurants.
Lebanon I know much less about, though I've long been curious about its reputation as the most "cosmopolitan" of Arab countries. I count myself a fan, if not exactly a rabid one, of the beautiful voice of the Lebanese diva Fairuz.