I just returned earlier this month from a two-week vacation in Lebanon during which I visited family and went on two hikes. I had an iPad with me this time, allowing me to use spare time in Beirut, at airports, and on planes when there wasn't much to see out of the window, to write entries for this blog, something I rarely had time for at home because of the demands of work and daily life. I wrote up quite a few articles about my impressions of different aspects of Lebanon, as well as accounts of the two hikes. I'll be polishing them up, writing a few more, and releasing them to the blog over the next several weeks and months.
So, what better place to begin than at the airport?
When you land in most airports and walk into the terminal, you usually see advertisements for hotels, restaurants and such, and large, appealing posters of historical and natural sites; things that appeal to tourists. There might be an art exhibit or museum display highlighting some aspects of the country.
Land in Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport (BEY), though, and before you're even officially inside Lebanon, you're assaulted by the real-estate development industry that has this poor little country in its grip. Large, slick advertisements showcase multitudes of 20-plus story buildings all over Beirut. Titanium... Lighthouse... Les Domes de Sursock... La Citadelle de Beyrouth... Sky Towers... and topping them all, the 52-story Sama Beirut (Sky of Beirut). Outside Beirut, up in the mountains, the latest greenery-gobbling complexes are advertised. If you came on a Middle East Airlines flight, you were already forewarned by the countless real-estate ads in Cedar Wings magazine intermingling with articles about hiking pristine areas of Lebanon and images of historical buildings.
Outside the airport, it is not much better; you are greeted by large billboards advertising more of the same.
The vast majority of tourists are not interested in these ads. As they leave the country, some are likely still in shock over what some of these developments have done to the natural beauty and historical integrity of the country they came to see.
Do away with all this assault of ads that appeal to rich people from outside the country looking for a luxury flat to occupy a month or two per year! Replace them with ads that appeal to visitors coming to enjoy the country's unique sights. While I admire the modern nature of our new airport and its state-of-the-art facilities, the spans of barren walls (in-between the real-estate development ads) in the arrival area are a disappointment. They just beg for posters of the temples of Ba'alback, the grotto of Jeita and the other traditional tourist sites, as well as eco-destinations such as the Shouf Cedars Preserve, eco-lodges, and the Lebanon Mountain Trail. There could be sculptures and other artwork by Lebanese artists. (The departure area is much more appealing and does have posters of historical and natural sites.)
Frankly, I think this showcasing of the real-estate development industry at BEY is an embarrassment.
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