Beirut #1 no surprise, I retract what I said before

I once expressed surprise that Beirut was considered #1 place to visit among another 44 of which many for me are amazing places in NYtimes (check here). So today, I would like to retract what I said and definitely cheer and support this vote, because last time I spoke about downtown Beirut, which even if some restaurants closed since Hariri's assassination, opposition sit-in, all the demonstrations taking place there etc, I totally forgot (silly me) that Beirut consists of other amazing regions as well, such as Hamra, Ashrafieh, Rawsheh, Gemmayze, etc...

Hamra is really an amazing place, I can't believe I didn't see this before this recent month. My blogging colleague compared Hamra to Newyork, and had almost the same impression I had about Hamra. When it comes to me, Hamra reminds me of Paris a lot. I loved Paris because it had everything, and crazily enough I had missed seeing that Hamra had everything as well, for 28 years. Pubs, restaurants, cafes, shops and most importantly hotels all inside buildings in which people live, and other buildings where people work, such as centers, banks. Moreover the roads, the streets, the architecture of having old buildings, open and crowded all the time. It's there.

What about Gemmayze? Pubs street par excellence. I will talk thoroughly about the other regions when I'm not too sleepy, and hopefully have pictures to show you.

So yes, I really think Beirut has it all. I am really hoping that the elections go by with no problems, because if they do, I think we will have the best summer in decades.

Edited: I would like to add a link to Hamra's map that I found on Hannibaal's blog. Enjoy.