There’s been talk about this theather being demolished and there’s even a petition to stop this cultural terrorism but the minister of culture re-assured that it will be preserved.

I finally got to experience nightlife in Hamra tonight for the first time since back in 2000 (I’m old and live abroad so don’t hate me). Last time I partied in Hamra, Blues Alley was kicking ass and I’m not even sure if the place is even around today. The night started off typically with me lost in Beirut. I was trying to get to the main Hamra Street and didn’t know where that was. Finally spotted two guys walking on the side of the road so I pulled over and asked for directions. Turns out they were European tourist but were still able to point me towards Hamra Street. Embarrassing to say the least.

I was supposed to meet up with a friend at a pub called Black Lilly but I got there early and decided to kill time walking in Hamra. Noticed some people walk into an alley and decided to follow them and to my surprise I ended up surrounded by around 6 to 8 pubs. I was in heaven. I called my friend up and told him where I was, he told me to wait for him at a place called Colon. Once he got there we went pub hopping and I have to say Hamra is way cooler than Gemmayze. Going back tomorrow night!

Najib forgot to post the list so here it is, the Top Ten blogs according to Communicate magazine… *drum roll* …and the winners are:

1) Beirut/NTSC*
2) Beirut Drive-by*
3) Joe’s Box*
4) UxSoup
5) Marketing in Lebanon
6) Joernals
7) The Social Media & Personal Branding Blog
8) NittyGriddy
9) Ink on the Side
10) Gino’s Blog*

The one’s with *’s are my personal favorites. Check out the latest issue of Communicate [Here]

I enjoy reading Communicate Magazine and we’ve been featured in that magazine quite a few times, but their top ten Lebanese blogs list in the December 2011 issue is very disappointing to say the least. Don’t get me wrong as there are some great blogs featured which I enjoy reading and follow daily but if the list is based on how consistent the blog is in terms of posts, some of the top ranked blogs in the list barely post once per month. If it is based on the blog’s popularity, some are so lousy they aren’t even ranked in Lebanon.

Put aside BlogBaladi as I am not writing this post because we weren’t included, but how can you make a list of Lebanese blogs and not mention the BeirutSpring or Trella.org for example?? Those blogs, along with few others, have been here forever, are daily updated, very interesting to read and are popular not just in Lebanon, but in the whole area.

I know it’s just a list, but given that the magazine has a whole section dedicated to the Lebanese Blogosphere, they should know better.

Update: Apparently the list is based on blogs related to marketing & communication only and the blogs aren’t in order. They should have mentioned that as it makes more sense now.

Episode 1: For Peace and Health

They started their journey in the spring of 2010, documenting their steps as they went. From the rights of domestic workers, to freedom of press, or the Armenian genocide, each day brought with it a new cause to walk.

Two Norwegian travelers, Jørgen and Matias, decided to go trekking through Lebanon’s rugged and mountainous terrain without the aid of a map or a compass, and raise awareness as well as funds throughout 14 episodes for local issues such as poverty, orphans, cluster bombs etc ..

What a great initiative! I hope they’ll be rewarded for their efforts by the authorities or at least the ministry of tourism.

Via BeirutSpring

I absolutely love ABC’s Christmas decoration in Dbayyeh branch. The tree is beautiful and the small villages they set are really nice.

BHV at City Mall have a really great deal on the Nespresso Essenza machine. The usual price is around LL350,000 but yesterday they started selling them for $160 which is a great price. It would make a great Christmas gift but they only had 4 left last night and I picked up 2 so if you want one HURRY.

If you’ve tried going to City Mall at night then you know what I’m talking about. Finding a parking spot is literally impossible and driving around looking for one is a waste of time. Instead I’ve got a tip for you, just don’t park in City Mall.

Instead park across from City Mall on the other side of the highway. There are PLENTY of parking spots available and then just use the cool multi-floored pedestrian bridge to get to the other side. The pedestrian bridge drops you right at the City Mall entrance. You save a lot of time this way and the bridge is actually pretty neat.

I thought the local authorities were going to shut down Sea Sweet after it poisoned over 100 people with its bad knefe. Instead, it opened another branch.

I am not sure how new this branch is but I pass by this area a lot and I didn’t notice it until yesterday, so it can’t possibly be that old. Also, there’s no mention of this branch on their website.

Any idea why there are Alfa & MTC large boxes in ABC Dbayyeh’s parking lot? Is it to boost the signal or some other use?

I played the video clip like 3 times to make sure what I was watching was truly a Lebanese artist. What would be funny though is to have an Arabic version of it!

Thanks Rita

So based on the feedback I received in my previous post I got myself an MTC Touch line the day I arrived to Lebanon. I also subscribed to their 500MB package for $19 which is slightly less then what I pay back in Kuwait for the same amount of bandwidth.

My experience didn’t start positively. I got the line and subscribed to Mobile internet at 6PM but I only had my internet activated the next morning. Then I only had EDGE not 3G. I called up customer support and found it very frustrating.

First of all it takes a few minutes of redialing to actually connect to 111. Then when you connect you are FORCED to listen to all the menu options. You can’t skip by pressing the number you want, it doesn’t work that way. You need to hear the automated machine read out ALL the options and only once she is done you can select an option. So what should be a 10 second process is suddenly a minute long. I spoke to customer support 3 times and it was frustrating all 3 times since they couldn’t solve my issue. One guy said I should wait till its 24 hours since I signed up, another said to call again after 24 hours and they would register a complaint, another said I should visit the service center. When I asked for the APN information one guy told me he didn’t have it and I should visit their website. Actually one guy refused to file a complaint even because according to him the service was working since I got EDGE. I told him aren’t you guys advertising 3G? Aren’t you guys advertising the fastest mobile internet? My phone works with 3G and I’m only getting EDGE not the 3G you promised so the service is NOT working.

Anyway finally after spending around 20 minutes on the line mostly on hold a guy got back to me after discussing it with one of his IT guys. This is how I was able to activate 3G on my iPhone 4s based on their instructions:

- Go to network settings and choose Alfa as my operator
- Then after I do that I should swap it back to automatic
- Turn off and on the iPhone
- Voila, 3G is now active

I thought that was strange but hey, it worked and that’s all I cared for. If the guy told me to stand on my foot while shaking the phone over my head I would have done that if it meant getting 3G working.

And yes, 3G on the iPhone is great. It’s fast and I love it. Earlier I went and parked under this old railway track in Jounieh and got online with my MacBook while tethering to my iPhone and the connection was great. I used to hate coming to Lebanon because of the terribly slow internet connection but now it’s suddenly become a joy. I also have 3G up in my house in Seheili (around 10 minutes after Jeita) which is also great. So right now I’m extremely happy with my 3G on MTC Touch.

I am not sure if it’s a nightclub/pub or a restaurant but it’s a risky investment if you ask me to open a nightclub/pub on the road facing ATCL. The only pub that opened and survived in that area is Estredite and we all know why.

There’s an army base nearby as well, so don’t expect the soldiers to be very happy if there’s noise and traffic.

1- Go to the following [link]

2- Save the picture or check its properties. You will get “Samir-Geagea-at-Bkerkeh-photo-Aldo-Ayoub-18_resize-640×360“.

I didn’t know Samir Geagea is the english translation of البطريرك الراعي.

I spotted this building while stuck in traffic in Bourj Hammoud. I like those old buildings but I don’t understand why they built the stairs to lead to the balcony. I don’t know how they came up with the building on the right as well.