The Best Trip I Took In 2020

And why we should all care about Lebanon

Aug 23, 2020

Hey everyone,

How are you? Apologies for the long break since the last newsletter. I was in Lebanon and now Turkey, indulging in time away from the internet before starting grad school next month and spending life online. Also, some personal news!

[Update: Lebanon recommendations here.]

Be a Better Traveler

This newsletter was supposed to be about all the reasons Lebanon is amazing and you should visit. I had been to Beirut before, but somehow neglected the rest of the country until last month, when I spent a few weeks traveling from Beirut to Tripoli, Deir al Qamar to the Bekaa Valley, Baalbek, Byblos and Batroun, driving past ancient cedars and through hilltop villages and the staggering Kadisha Valley.

The Temple of Jupiter in Baalbek is the largest Roman temple in the world. Young winemakers in the north are making interesting and delicious wines with native Lebanese grapes and old-turned-new methods. Restaurants and food stands in Tripoli serve some of the best food I’ve ever had, hands down. Beirut’s architecture and beauty and neighborhoods packed with book shops and cafes were refreshing after months of lockdown and even more months of living in a city that prioritizes malls. I was lucky to have friends to meet up with and connect me with others, but even without connections you would have no problem meeting people or having a great time–the warmth of Lebanese people is famous and cliche, but also real. (And as you probably know, many Lebanese people speak three languages fluently–Arabic, English, and French–putting Americans to shame and making it easy to get around.) I spent weeks wondering why this isn’t the most popular tourist destination in the world. I texted an Italian friend that Lebanon was the Italy of the Middle East, for the beaches, wine, Roman ruins, diverse landscapes, and bustling capital–but it doesn’t need to be compared to Europe to persuade anyone how wonderful it is. If you’ve visited, you know what I mean–people fall hard for Lebanon. I can’t wait to share more about the travel/food soon.

For now though, Lebanon needs your help. Four days after I left, a massive explosion destroyed much of Beirut, killing around 200 people and injuring thousands. Neighborhoods have been decimated. (See the before and after photos Hisham, a talented food writer and recipe developer who showed me around Tripoli, has been posting).

The blast received lots of coverage for a few days, but international media has since moved on. I get it. It’s election season in the US, there are protests in Belarus, coronavirus is still raging, etc. But if this had happened in London or New York or Paris or Rome, coverage would not have faded. There would be international outrage and immediate assistance. I’ve seen a lot of people on social media being like, “oh poor Lebanon, another disaster.” Or dismissing it as something that happens in the Middle East.

It’s never ok to dismiss trauma because of geography (see: Syria, Yemen, and on and on). Second of all, Lebanon has one of the highest U.N. Human Development ratings in the Arab world, despite taking in 1.5 million Syrian refugees in recent years. This is a place that should be thriving but isn’t because of a corrupt government that allowed the explosion to happen and prior to that brought the country to economic ruin (the currency had been devalued about 80% when I was there, and USD was/is in extremely high demand). You might remember revolution protests late last year, and it’s too much to get into here but issues have been piling up for awhile.

Why should you care? Most of you are in the U.S. and it’s true this is not your fault or problem.

Selfishly, you could care because you want to be able to visit in the future and have as great a time as I did. Or, if you’ve ever ordered hummus or shawarma in the US, there’s a strong chance it was from a Lebanese restaurant and therefore you’ve benefited from Lebanese culture and cuisine, and now have a chance to give something back. If you like architecture, you probably want to see Ottoman and French-style houses preserved. If you like wine, Lebanese wine is some of the most interesting and best value wine you can drink this year. Really though, we should all care because people are suffering and the injustice is too infuriating for the international community to ignore.

Remember Notre Dame? Within 72 hours, billionaires and smaller donors had pledged $954 million to rebuild it. You saw hundreds of photos of the cathedral on your Instagram feed. That was for one building, this is for an entire city and thousands of people.

Lebanon is famously resilient, and many have said it will come back, like it always does. But at some point, people shouldn’t have to be resilient anymore. My friend Bethany said it well:

Over recent days I’ve received so many well-meaning messages. But as well-meaning as some of them are, I can’t but say they’re misplaced. I have received messages that ‘this too shall pass’, ‘you Lebanese are resilient, you’ll come through this’, ‘You’re a strong people, you’ll rebuild.’ I don’t share this here to ridicule or shame but to give you real perspective as to how it truly feels in our world as perpetual survivors. In many Lebanese circles, and especially over the last couple of months given the ballooning recent crisis-which now seems so trivial however tragic it was- many of us began complaining about the misuse of the word resilient. We’re tired of this expectation and cliche of a resilient Lebanese. Many of us actually now share a disdain for the word. We’ve all heard the saying; you can have too much of a good thing and that applies to resilience too.”

Please read the rest of her post here for a glimpse at what life has been like over the last year.

I know everyone is suffering right now. There’s a global pandemic and many are in their own financial crisis. But here are a few things you can do to help, and some of them are free:

Donate to any of these organizations, or these.
Donate expertise, glass or services to rebuilding efforts.
See if your local Lebanese restaurant is running a fundraiser. (Here’s an article about places to donate in Dearborn).
Buy Lebanese wine. What you can get will depend on your state and wine shop, but if you can find anything from Sept Winery, Couvent Rouge, Coteaux du Liban, or Domaine des Tourelles you’re in for a treat.
Educate yourself––follow people like Farrah Berrou for insight.
Talk about Beirut! Post about it, talk to your friends about it, let protestors in Lebanon know you support them, let news organizations know you want updates––basically, just don’t let this be forgotten and normalized as just another crisis in the Middle East.
Don’t discount Lebanon as a travel destination. It really is an amazing place to visit and I look forward to sharing some of my travel stories and recommendations another time. Keep it in mind for 2021.