To go Baalbek-packing in 'another' Lebanon

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Beirut in Lebanon in April this year, I found myself thinking of the first time I saw footage of the August 2020 explosion of a large amount of ammonium nitrate that had been stored at the Beirut Port. A billowing cloud of toxic smoke, the flames of a fierce fire lapping its bottom and nightmarishly pushing it upwards.

Earlier that day, a taxi driver, while crossing a flyover, had pointed at the silos that were at the centre of the explosion, now as instantly recognisable as Hiroshima's Genbaku/Atomic Bomb Dome.

Staying in downtown Beirut, three years later, the devastation is still visible to this day.

Back in the hotel, I decided to watch the footage once again. One has to hit the 'pause' key quickly to capture how fast the fire in the harbour turned into a veritable apocalyptic event with a fiery geyser engulfing the cloud of smoke hanging overhead, culminating in a outwardly protruding mushroom of explosive air that seems to swallow up the city entirely.

The devastation claimed at least 218 deaths and 7,000 injuries, leaving 300,000 people homeless and resulting in an estimated $15 billion in property damage.

Peering out over the site of the explosion, I tried to piece together the events that had led up to the event. Behind me was the recently reinvigorated historical district, now home to high-end shops with mainly European brands.

Rumours suggest that most of the property has been bought off with Gulf money.

Just the other evening, we had sat down there for a fantastic dinner, paired with the most ostentatious cocktails and champagne. It was pretty much what Beirut had always promised to be — a Paris of the East.

Yet, paying in local currency (the Lebanese pound or lira) had proven to be impossible. All prices