Beirut is a menagerie of modern, ruined, historic, religious, secular, affluent, and working class. A visitor would see just as many large churches as mosques, just as many Mercedes 500SL’s as mid 80’s Toyota Tercels, and just as many western fast food venues as local falafel stands. Walking the neighborhoods is a mixture of modern and restored high rises, as well as, historical mansions and bomb pot marked carcasses of buildings.
We visited the National Museum, where between 1976 and 1990, during the civil war most treasures were locked away in the basement. Those that weren’t like the 1800 year old sarcophagi were encased in concrete bunkers to protect them from the shelling and looting.
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