Middle East - Anthony Ham [362]
JOUNIEH
09 / pop 103,227
Once a sleepy fishing village, Jounieh, 21km north of Beirut, is now a high-rise strip mall hemmed in by the sea on one side and the mountains on the other. Famous as the home of noisy bars, camp restaurants catering to Saudi sheikhs and lurid ‘super’ nightclubs filled with bored exotic dancers, it’s not somewhere you might want to spend too much time, but it does have two worthwhile distractions, both reachable on a day trip from Beirut: the soaring heights of the Teleferique, and the equally dizzying gaming tables of the venerable Casino du Liban.
Activities
Dubbed the Terrorifique by some, the Jounieh Teleferique (cable car; 936 075; adult/child return LL7500/3500; 10am-11pm Jun-Oct, 10am-7pm Nov-May, closed Mon, Christmas Day & Good Fri) runs cable cars up from Jounieh to the mountaintop Basilica of Our Lady of Lebanon at Harissa. The views from the summit are spectacular, and for those with a peeping Tom penchant, so are the views from the cable cars themselves, which are whisked up close and personal past the living room windows of Jounieh’s mountainside apartment blocks.
Your other must-do Jounieh diversion is the historicCasino du Liban ( 855 888; www.cdl.com.lb; Rue Maameltein; slot-machines noon-5am, gaming rooms 8pm-4am), once host to celebrities like Liz Taylor and David Niven, though nowadays rather more Tony Clifton than Tony Bennett. Still, it has a kitsch charm for those longing for a taste of days gone by. Guests must be over 21 and wear smart casual gear (no jeans or sports shoes); a suit and tie are required (for men, of course) if you want to play the roulette wheels.
Eating
Jounieh has plenty of chain restaurants and glitzy, overpriced steak places, but a stand-out from the crowd isChez Sami ( 910 520; Rue Maameltein; mains US$35; noon-midnight), considered one of the best seafood restaurants in Lebanon. It’s simple but stylish and offers great seaside views and a lovely summer terrace; there’s no menu so take your pick from the catch of the day (500g of fish is around LL25,000) and come early – the crowds think it’s the catfish’s pyjamas.
Getting There & Away
You can get to Jounieh from Beirut by both LCC bus 6 and OCFTC bus 4, both departing from Dawra transport hub and charging LL1500 for the 40-minute ride. Service taxis also depart from the transport hub, and cost LL2000; ask the driver to drop you on the highway near the footbridge. A private taxi from Beirut to Jounieh costs around LL22,000.
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NORTH OF BEIRUT
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BYBLOS (JBAIL)
09 / pop 21,600
A pretty fishing port with a plethora of ancient remains and some interesting fishy fossils, Byblos is one of the highlights of the entire Middle Eastern Mediterranean coast. Although good accommodation options are regretfully thin on the ground, it nevertheless warrants a stop on the way north to Tripoli or the Qadisha Valley, or even a long day’s trip from Beirut. Byblos also plays host to the annual summer Byblos Arts Festival.
History
Excavations have shown that Byblos (the biblical Gebal) was probably inhabited as early as 7000 years ago; by the middle of the 3rd millennium BC it had become the busiest trading port on the eastern Mediterranean and an important religious centre, all under the direction of the maritime Phoenicians. Close links to Egypt fostered its cultural and religious development, and as the city flourished it developed its own distinct art and architecture, part Egyptian, part Mesopotamian. It was in Byblos, too, that our modern alphabet is said to have had its roots, developed by the Phoenicians as a way of accurately recording its healthy trade transactions.
The city was renamed Byblos by the Greeks, who ruled here from 333 BC, named after the Greek word bublos, meaning papyrus, which was shipped from Egypt to Greece via Byblos’ port. As the Greek empire fell into decline, the Romans, under Pompey, arrived in town, constructing temples, baths, colonnaded streets and public buildings galore. Later allied to