MAKICHUK: Revisiting the ghosts of old Beirut
Plagued by setbacks, it still offers history, culture and natural beauty
He was Delta Force, one of America’s best.
The destination was Beirut, the target was a bad dude.
A terrorist the US wanted, dead or alive. Mostly dead.
He had read the file, and along with a team, began the hunt.
But things changed, almost instantaneously.
Walking down a quiet street, a van pulled up, thugs jumped out … they grabbed him and bundled him up, before he could react.
Suddenly, he found himself in the back of a minivan. Blindfolded, and told to shut up.
But the accent was not Arab, very strange.
He tried to remember each turn the minivan made, swerving as it did, back and forth.
But it was pointless. He lost any semblance of his location after 15 minutes.
The minivan stopped inside an abandoned warehouse. His hood then removed.
They were Russians, they told him. And they were only going to hold him until it was necessary.
You see, they were after the same bade dude, only … they wanted him a whole lot more than the Americans did.
It seems the Russians were one step ahead, maybe two.
Hours later, he was taken to a location in Beirut, hood removed, and let go.
The fun was over, for now.
The Russians had got their man, they just wanted the Americans to stay out of it.
Just another day in Beirut, a city I love.
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Yes, it is a city plagued by setbacks — war, incompetent political leadership, economic hardship, a massive dockside explosion that caused $15 billion in damage, and, the presence of Hezbollah.
Yet, despite all that, I keep going back. I keep wanting to experience everything Lebanon has to offer.
Whether it’s a visit to the Roman baths in downtown Beirut, the Museum of Antiquities, south to the market at Sidon, north to picturesque Byblos, or to the spectacular wineries in the Bekaa Valley.
All wonderful places to experience (in times of peace). And yes, you will be watched — Hezbollah knows all and sees all, their intelligence unmatched.
But no trip to Beirut would be complete without stopping into restaurants visited by the great chef, author and TV host, Anthony Bourdain.
Tony’s first stop was always Le Chef, an establishment not too dissimilar to a New York diner in terms of its friendly, welcoming atmosphere.
Starters included hummus, various tapas, and the meat of the day. He was also introduced to arak and kibbeh.
Arak is a distilled Levantine spirit of the anise family, giving it a sharp taste akin to ouzo, and it is drunk before (and during) meals as both an aperitif and palette cleanser served with a single ice cube and topped up with water.
Kibbeh, a bulgur like wheat, is served in a myriad of ways. In Le Chef, the preferred method is stuffed with mincemeat and baked in the oven like a pizza, then served with yogurt sauce and pitta.
Wonderful! To make it even more cool, I sat in the same table shown in No Reservations.
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The restaurant suffered severe damaged in the great explosion at the Port of Beirut in August, 2020, but actor Russell Crowe would donate $5,000 to a GoFundMe fundraiser by filmmaker Amanda Bailly and journalist Richard Hall to help get the restaurant back in business.
Tony also liked Restaurant Barbar, a legendary juice and shawarma bar catering to the late-night crowd.
Shawarma is a Middle Eastern version of the gyro — marinated roast lamb, veal, or chicken is shaved off a spit, wrapped in pitta, and served with hummus and vegetables.
One of those perfect night-time meals that is designed around soaking up any excess alcohol in one’s system.
Beirut’s history as spy central during the Cold War looms large even today.
The apartment of infamous Soviet super spy, Kim Philby, is still there, but it is empty and the building itself is derelict.
Philby was a British intelligence officer and had penetrated MI6 for the Soviets, doing considerable damage in the process.
In 1963, he was revealed to be a member of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring that had divulged British secrets to the Soviets during the Second World War and in the early stages of the Cold War.
Of the five, Philby is believed to have been the most successful.
It is strongly suspected that Philby was protected by former colleagues in MI6 up to the moment he jumped aboard a Soviet freighter in Beirut in January 1963.
He would escape to Moscow and die there in May of 1988.
One might also want to visit the memorial to former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who died in a bombing attack in February of 2005.
Hariri was travelling in a motorcade past the St George Hotel in downtown Beirut when a bomb hidden in a van exploded, killing him and 21 other people.
Hariri, a Sunni Muslim, had aligned himself with the opposition in parliament and supported calls for Hezbollah's backer Syria to withdraw its forces from Lebanon.
So great was the explosion, the car flew upward and lodged onto a construction crane, that happened to be there.
Intel sources say the wreckage of the vehicle sits in the basement at police headquarters in Beirut.
The assassination brought tens of thousands of demonstrators onto the streets in protest against the pro-Syrian government, with the finger of blame for the assassination pointed at Lebanon's neighbour.
The government resigned two weeks later and Syrian troops pulled out that April.
Today, Beirut is on the map again because Israel is threatening to attack Hezbollah in the south. Rockets have been traded back and forth, and things are looking dicey again.
There is still no prime minister in charge, no government, the cost of living has soared and inflation is rampant.
Canadians have also been told by Ottawa to leave now, as the threat of war is quite high.
However, this too shall pass. And while it is no longer the “Paris of the Mideast,” a trip to Beirut is still a magical thing.
Featuring its share of mystery and intrigue to attract any adventurous traveller.
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