Is It Safe?

Even now, 15 years after Lebanon's civil wars ended, most authors of guidebooks and travel stories find it necessary to mention that the wars are over, Lebanon is among the safest countries in the Middle East, and its citizens are among the most American-friendly in the region. In the last few weeks, the Lebanese have become even more pro-American, while the security situation has changed. However, besides the brutal assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 18 others that initiated the events of the last few weeks, the popular uprisings against the Syrian occupation have been blessedly low on violence. Hopefully, this will continue until the hoped-for withdrawal of Syrian troops and intelligence agents. While almost everybody in Lebanon recognizes that nothing is served by resorting to violence, there are no guarantees that the security situation will remain stable at such a volatile time.

My recommendation is this: Families and seniors should stay away for the moment, while keeping Lebanon on their "Must Visit" list and looking forward to an early, peaceful, resolution when safety can be guaranteed. For adventurous single travelers and students, I can't imagine a more exciting place in the world to be right now than Beirut—or a more beautiful setting for a revolution in a region that the United States is deeply involved with politically, socially, militarily, economically, and culturally. Go!