 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You do realise these photos are from December 30th 2019, don't you? It's now June. Lebanon season just about creeps from January to March most years.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Good posts (despite it being middle of summer)...
Lebanon's economy is currently on the brink of collapse.
Assuming no civil war, Lebanon could be a very cheap ski vacation in 2021.
A good alternative to (say) the smaller resorts of Austria or Italy.
The Lebanese ski areas will slash prices to attract the middleclass with hard dollars (which the banking system badly needs).
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Lebanon is a fantastic country. Friendly people, good food, and arguably the best Roman ruins in the world (Baalbek), and Beirut is a fantastic cosmopolitan city. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend it as a country to visit, and with the current issues with the economy tourist dollars are much needed (and mean good exchange rate for tourists). Unfortunately I have never skied there so can't add anything in that regard.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Yes, Beirut is much more cosmopolitan and modern than most people would assume. Same is true of Iran which also has skiing and possibly even friendlier people. Unfortunately for most people these places are just thought of as some kind of dangerous warzones full of "death to the west" type people.
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full of "death to the west" type people...
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Blimey. Toryboys get everywhere 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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much more ... modern than most people would assume...
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Pity. Everywhere's becoming samey.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| boarder2020 wrote: |
| Yes, Beirut is much more cosmopolitan and modern than most people would assume. Same is true of Iran which also has skiing and possibly even friendlier people. Unfortunately for most people these places are just thought of as some kind of dangerous warzones full of "death to the west" type people. |
One-fifth of all of habitable Lebanon is basically a warzone.
One-fourth of Beirut is completely offlimits to Westerners (southern part).
All of Tripoli is pretty much a nogo zone.
Southern Lebanon is covered in landmines.
Even the roads to and from Beirut Airport get blockaded by riots on a fairly regular basis.
Lebanon is a cool country.
One of the three "safest" in the Middle East.
But don't pretend it's some kind of Med utopia.
You gotta go there with eyes wide open.
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I take the FCO guidelines with a pinch of salt. Always over cautious and often more based on politics than the situation on the ground.
I was in Lebanon around 5 years ago so my experience is perhaps not reflective of the current situation. Also the fact I went there and nothing bad happened doesn't prove it's "safe". However these are my thoughts:
- Tripoli was fantastic. Yes there is some areas that you probably should avoid, but these are not particularly close to anywhere of interest for tourists. I would compare it to Rio de Janeiro in that yes there are some bad areas, but as a tourist you wouldn't really be anywhere near them unless you actively went looking.
- Southern Lebanon is very interesting and you really should visit to understand the politics and why thousands of Christians and Sunni Muslims vote for Hezbollah and the work that they do there. There probably are lots of landmines but I don't see how that affects 99.9% of tourists who are not going to be off trail hiking.
- Southern Beirut is not off-limits to foreigners. There is no real reason to go there as there is nothing of interest for tourists. If you do go there you might get stopped by Hezbollah and questioned about what you are doing there. As it's the area usually targeted for terrorist attacks I can't really blame them being cautious. I was always treated respectively going through Hezbollah check points.
- of course nowhere is completely safe, especially with terrorism. Althoughin Lebanon most terrorist attacks are targeted at the Hezbollah areas of Beirut. They are not random attacks like in Europe. So if there is an attack you are unlikely to be in it.
- The biggest dangers to a tourist are most likely the bad driving and copious amounts of second hand smoke.
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One of the three "safest" in the Middle East
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Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Iran, uae, and Oman are probably all "safer". Turkey is probably similar.
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FAQ
But I can't believe that the true generous soul of the Lebanese people has changed to the detriment in the interim . . . It's on my retirement bucket list even if 'nostalgia is best served on a bed of couscous' 
