Al Balad & Solidare

The first thing to do after getting settled into the Phoenicia is food. We're hungry and ready for some delicious Lebanese Mezza. Faysal Jarmakani, a very good friend from college, is visiting Beirut on business and we meet him at Al Balad restaurant in downtown. Al Balad is in the heart of Solidare downtown, which is the very wealthy part of town. This quaint restaurant has an indoor & an outdoor heated patio, which is where we decided to dine. In true Faysal fashion, he takes charge of the menu and starts ordering all the good looking dishes on the menu to ensure we get a good taste of Al Balad. Although Faysal is just visiting, he is actually from Beirut and there isn't a person in the world better to take you out than Faysal; I was beyond thrilled to see him! Lunch was marvelous and almost put me into a food coma, but nothing would stop me from getting through exploring Solidare.

As Faysal rushed off to get back to work, I had our waiter show me in the right direction of St. George Orthodox Cathedral. I could not wait to visit the oldest church in Lebanon and witness the Church that has survived many generations, earthquakes & wars. Although initially built in 1767, the church has gone through multiple renovations that keep it standing today. The sanctuary is absolutely breathtaking. The ceilings are covered in traditional Orthodox images of Jesus and the Saints. The iconostasis is made of gold and is extremely intricate in detail. Underneath the church, they have built a museum around the ruins of the grounds that date back to 1760's when the church was first built. The history and sacredness of the church moved me and gave me goosebumps as I took a took a glimpse at the ancient world that the Lebanese have managed to preserve. Unfortunately I could not take pictures inside the church or of the museum, but below are some images I was able to capture online, none of which do it justice.

After receiving the blessings of St. George, we continued to explore the upscale Solidare region. Solidare is the name for the central downtown Beirut area that was built after the civil war in 1990's. It is filled with high end shopping, restaurants, cafes & religious centers. Dina and I had our mouths open as we walked from store to store in awe of the high designer fashion that surrounded us. It was nothing that we could afford but we definitely had fun window shopping and frequenting the homeland stores of our favorite Lebanese designers!

The architecture of the buildings in Solidare is very European. It's a mix of old France & Italian structures with impeccable taste. If it wasn't so cold, I would've dressed differently but due to the weather, I recycled my travel outfit and coupled it with a fun & sparkly Splendid sweater. I wish I would've packed more warm clothes but I was hopeful for a sunny Lebanon! Our shopping was cut short by heavy rain & wind causing us to make a mad dash for the hotel. Forget ruining our clothes & hair, Dina was carrying a Hermes messenger bag that isn't allowed to get wet and she left her purse umbrella bag at home! (yes, Hermes provides an umbrella bag with every purse purchased) The cab only got us so close to the hotel due to traffic so as we tried to reach the entrance, we were forced to climb a barrier in the rain and risked slipping or getting hurt, all in the name of being a fashionista. Fashion has us do weird things but all worth it in the end! After all this we were ready and in desperate need of some high tea in Cascade before taking on the night!