The View from Here

My plan for today was to get up, go to the gym, take some pictures of Beirut, go for a walk along the Corniche (by the sea), have nice food, read my book and go to bed.

My actual day consisted of getting up, getting a call that basically said "don't go out", switching on the news, watching the Danish Consulate get torched, seeing the tanks and a few demonstrators go past the flat, seeing some trouble in Sassine Square, hearing about it on CNN a few minutes later as the reporter also seemed to be nearby, seeing an angry mob in our road, taking some pictures of said events, popping out to the supermarket when it all seemed a bit calmer, then rapidly realising there is still a lot of tension out there, quickly going back home and I am now about to make some not so nice food, read a book and go to bed.

We were out meeting friends in the area near the Danish Consulate last night. (We went to a really nice bar called Kayan.) The army/police were present then, so they clearly knew something was likely to happen today and it appears that there was only serious intervention by the police/army/fire engines after the worst had happened. We could see the smoke from the flat, and after a while it became apparent that some people were heading our way. As I said, the tanks, which I think actually were more like armoured personnel carriers (in any case they really damaged the road) were on the way. To give you a nice little snapshot of what the traffic is like in Beirut, even on a day when you think most people would be indoors, the tanks were then stuck in a traffic jam outside our window for about 10 minutes! They then took up position in Sassine Square and then people just stood around looking at the soldiers for an hour or so.

Then it appeared that another group of men were making their way to Sassine Square, presumably to demonstrate against the actions of the people who had torched the Danish Consulate and who were rioting. They were blocked by the army and police, and herded down our road. There was a bit of shouting, but it all seemed peaceful. Sassine Square has a bit of a reputation for being the place people congregate to either be pro Christian, or to antagonise Christians, and I would imagine the police/army were trying to stop that before another flashpoint occurred. Well, their tactics seemed to work as everyone dispersed after a while.

About an hour ago when we popped out to the Supermarket, there were two smallish tanks on the road, and, as I said, a bit of a tense atmosphere, but it does seem to have quietened down. I don't know where the demonstrators outside the Consulate went, I guess they were dispersed. All in all, a bit of a scary day. More for others than us, I know. A couple of friends had cars being torched outside their apartments, but everyone seems to be safe and are just keeping their heads down.

Anyway, a couple of photos of the days events to close, a view of Sassine Square with the smoke from the Consulate behind, and the tanks in the traffic jam. Sassine Square is like a smaller version of Trafalger Square before it was partially pedestrianised, without any National Galleries. Saying that, it is a very useful location as every taxi driver in Beirut knows where it is (and that is saying something!!!). I will try to upload more photos, but am not quite sure how to do it yet without completely crowding out my post. (I will have to do this separately, my computer is not liking the images at present!)