Beirut's central district is filled with mosques, churches, and a lone synagogue, all laid next to each other, with overlapping spheres of influence. This is what I imagine Jerusalem is like; layers upon layers of civilization, with each branch of Abraham's lineage rubbing up against its siblings and cousins in a confined space. We walk through an amazing collection of buildings from different eras, each with unique architectural attributes and aesthetics, each paying tribute to slightly different conceptions of the divine. We stroll through the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St. George, and observe a giant mural of St.George slaying a dragon looming over the altar. Ancient crypts are housed below this, but we just missed the visiting hours, and in any case our group quickly transits to another building, the Saydet El Nourieh "Lady of the Light" Church, a small Maronite shrine just adjacent to the cathedral. The distinctions between these faiths begin to blur as more and more buildings come into view. Within just a few square miles are many more buildings, Armenian, Arabic, Greek, and Maronite, some intact from distant eras, but far more rebuilt and preserved after Beirut's ruinous civil war. The shadows cast by history weigh heavy on this city, and everywhere you look are remnants of God and Allah and men who spent lifetimes conquering others on his behalf. It's hard to wrap your head around how densely occupied this place is with time and stories, wars and vendettas, languages and achingly poignant petitions for peace by a captive populace. I can't say that I understand this place, and wouldn't presume to. It's beyond me, in many ways, and as the complexities of this country come into focus its future looks increasingly blurred. How does one coexist with belligerent neighbors, and dogmatic strains within it pulling in all directions? Lebanon is a crucible, a series of interlocking riddles, and it grows more intriguing with each step through its streets...
The St. George Maronite Cathedral
The St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral
Saydet El Nourieh Church - Our Lady of the Light Shrine,
with the Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque in the background
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