Listomania
Ahmad Kareem

Five Reasons Lebanon Doesn’t Suck As Much As You Might Think

From the weathered “service” driver who mutters about how “banzeen” prices are always rising, to the adorable Teta cursing how all the good guys have left and now she can’t find a man for her granddaughter, complaining has become something of a favorite Lebanese pastime. That together with the legendary Lebanese arrogance (we are za best at complaining, walaw) make for a relatively miserable group of people. But let’s take a Beiruti minute and recognize why Lebanon doesn’t actually suck as much as we make it seem.

1. Dollar Beer
(Photo via Almost Fearless)

It’s a rarity to find a country where the beer is both cheap and good. Well, welcome to Lebanon. In a place where Almaza is more of a national treasure than Cedar wood, I’d advise you not to insult one of our largest sources of Lebanese pride. Go for the “Mexican” option with some lemon juice and a salted rim, add a sunny beach and you’ve got yourself a perfect day.

2. Candle-lit Everything
(Photo via Rita Kml)

The hopeless romantics among us may dream of dinner and wine lit by the soft glow of a few candles, but Lebanon is the land where your dreams will become reality. With an average estimate of twelve hours of electricity a day across the Land of Cedars, you’ll be able to enjoy just about all your meals by the magic of candlelight. Don’t hate. Appreciate.

3. Beirut Never Sleeps
(Photo via: Wheeler Folk)

If you’ve ever had your stomach groan at 2 AM and realized there’s no food in the house, not to worry my friends. Beirut knows no closing time, and you’ll find a bevy of places to fill your belly well past normal waking hours. With everything from your Barbar’s to ZwZ’s you’ll definitely be spoiled for choice. And if you don’t feel like braving the crowds of post-party drunks, why not just pick up the phone and text your local minimarket for some groceries?

4. You’ll Always Be Understood
(Photo via: Blog Spot)

Having trouble expressing yourself in Arabic? Worry not, pretty much everyone here is tri-lingual and then some, or at least they like to pretend they are. Your service driver will pick up on your poorly accented Arabic and take it as a green light to unleash his English “skills”, leaving you more confused than you were at the start. Maybe French is more your style, Beirut will be sure to accommodate seeing as us Lebanese are très educated. Even the street signs can be found in the three main languages, so you have no one to blame but yourself if you get lost… just kidding, navigating Beirut streets is a nightmare if you don’t know where you’re going.

5. Party Like You’re a Beiruti
(Photo via: Beirut Nightlife)

Everyone knows Drake was thinking of Beirut when he dropped “The Motto (YOLO)” and one night in the party capital of the Middle East will show you why. Fifteen years of civil war, a security vacuum, and a lack of a “dawleh” has done the opposite of dampening spirits around here; it’s created a generation that takes every opportunity as an excuse to party hard. In any other country, passing your high school exams is the bare minimum. In Beirut, it’s a legitimate reason to empty a full clip and paint the town red. We don’t own the title of best nightlife by mere accident, so take a bow and party like there’s no tomorrow.