"Four months in Beirut" a Beirut Travel Page by swings

By the time I leave Beirut next week, in early June 2004, my husband and I will have spent nearly four months in Beirut and in Lebanon. In actuality, we've gone off on a few other visits to other nearby countries while the opportunity was there, but in truth, we've been here far longer than most tourists! So we have had that much more time to get to know Lebanon and her people and her.... (dare I say it?) FOOD!!!! lol

Because we've been here so long, and because our cooking facilities leave much to be desired, we've eaten out at a LOT of restaurants. For the most part, Beirut is expensive- probably on a par with other capital cities around the world like London, Paris and Washington, DC. So we've specialized in small, preferably cheap restaurants, although we've also had many opportunities to eat at finer restaurants across the country.

Let me say right off that 1500 LL (Lebanese livre)= $1 US. The Lebanese pound is fixed to the US dollar, and the Lebanese use both currencies almost interchangeably all over Lebanon. In fact many stores give the prices in both currencies.