NFT: Traveling to Lebanon-Anyone been?

but I do own a few liquor stores in MA. I look forward to hearing of your experience when you return; have fun and stay safe.

It is a really beautiful country and the areas in the Beirut area and north are particular safe and friendly to Americans. These are mostly Christian areas. There is a different culture in the region, much like what you find in Israel, where the risk of violence and danger that most Americans would find frightening and intolerable has become an accepted though unfortunate part of daily life. Being guided will help. English is very widely spoken and the only safety concern now is whether the Syrian government and its proxies will carry their civil war to Lebanon during your visit. There has been spillover in recent months.

I'm really leaning towards going. All I have to pay for is my airfare, then everything is taken care of.

Don't know your itinerary or his, but maybe meet up and see the wine biz in Israel as well.

I'm not sure how Aaron will be received in Lebanon if he has Israeli in/out stamps on his passport. For that matter, one would probably get a pretty good grilling at Israeli border control/customs once the guards see Lebanese stamps on your passport, although the name "Aaron"will probably help, especially if one is Jewish..

Aaron the grape growing areas in the mountains of Lebanon are great terroirs, just like the best Israeli ones are. Chateau Musar is one of the world's most over-rated labels from what I've tasted (not much) from them in the last decade, but Chateau(x) Ksara and Kefraya both make really fine Cabs at their upper tiers of production, and decent bargain entry level oriented wines at value price points. I have no idea about safety there so cannot help in that regard, but I'm sure the wineries and winery owners/managers themselves will receive you warmly and hospitably. I have met some of them at international exhibitions in France and, IIRC, in Israel!

In better and more optimistic times we have spoken loosely about making an annual or semi-annual joint international exposition of middle Eastern wine with alternately Lebanon or Israel hosting...

would not travel to lebanon right now. It is one of those travel at your own risk type of destinations.

The trip is being organized by one of our importers who specializes in Lebanese wines. We carry a small line from Chateau St Thomas, which is excellent! The organizer also owns Olive farms and makes fantastic olive oil. He was pretty adamant about the trip being safe.

Not Jewish, Armenian. I think the Lebanese like the Armenians....

I'd contact the State Department before going there. Here is the warning:
Link - ( New Window )

St Thomas and Kouroum should have been on my short list of top Lebanese wineries too but I got lazy. The State Dept warnings are overly cautious IMO, if your importer friend thinks the trip will be reasonably safe I wouldn't hesitate, in fact I would rather jump at the chance to go to Lebanon while the Syrians are busy killing each other and have less opportunity to mess over the border with Lebanon.

My older Israeli friends, old enough to have been living here before "peace broke out" back when it was OK for Israelis to visit Lebanon, have told me that Lebanon is a beautiful, stunning, country - "the Switzerland of the Middle East" they have called it, and the main wine growing area of the Bekka Valley is among the most lovely parts of Lebanon supposedly. Bierut is also supposed to be a beautiful city, and once upon a time was known for its high culture and cuisine. Less so nowadays I gather, but it's not altogether gone.

one as recently as 3-29. I am sure you are aware. I only say because I have a friend who is Lebanese and travels back and forth without incident, weird that we constantly read about these sort of things but people who are there rarely mention know anything about it.

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I would not ignore the State Department warnings but can tell you that these warnings are often very conservative and precautionary. I have many Lebanese relatives and they are routinely in contact with us. Lebanon, like many other parts of the Middle East, is always under threat of violence. However, a well-organized and guided trip should be safe, particularly if you stay away from the south and the Syrian border. It is really about your comfort level.

I traveled throughout the country during its 15 year bloody civil war. The more I visited, the more immune I became to the dangers of the war. Actually, the most danger I felt was during the Israeli occupation. Both the Israelis and the Lebanese were understandably very suspicious of an American visiting Lebanon. Even then, I have felt more danger walking in parts of Washington D.C. just a few blocks from the Capitol and visiting my son at the University of Southern California.