Got here and checked into the hotel about 10:30 last night. Immediately hit the streets. The Corniche (along the coast) was busy, lot's of families, etc. enjoying the evening. I love this city! People hear Beirut and they think "War Zone." Well, keep thinking it. Keeps the touristos out. Money is pouring in here. The shopping area downtown is Tres Chic. Too freakin' chic, as a matter of fact. Stopped in on little dinky shop to see how much a pair of swin trunks cost. A hundred and forty bucks!! Are they nuts?! How many pairs of THOSE a day do you have to sell to cover your expenses? I tell you, the place wasn't crowded.
Anyway, went scuba diving, two tanks. Water was warm, but visibility was poor and the reefs were beat up. But still, my 2d and 3rd dives in the last 28 years.
But, Beirut is an absolutely beautiful city. Very western, friendly to us Umerikans.
The group has almost all showed up, so tomorrow we start work.
So, far I've taken 51 pictures. I'll include two here: one show Roman ruins in the foreground, a mosque in the background and a construction crane, a typical Beirut sight. The second is a couple buildings still showing bullet holes from the war. What you don't see is all the new construction around the few buildings from the old days.
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