Summer comes into the Levant without even a hint of spring. With the Mediterranean coast running along its western edge, its easy to escape the concrete surfaces for some sand, beach, or just some patches of grass. As mentioned before, the concept of public space is hard to define here, and the idea of a public beach, while present, isn't celebrated like in other countries along desirable bodies of water. For the Lebanese its clubs. They line the coast from top to bottom, and whether one likes their positioning, they are nearly the only option. (there are several beaches in Beirut and outside that are claimed as "public", but they are untended, have unclean water, and mostly not family friendly).
So in the past several weeks I have been visiting several beach clubs in the north and in the south. They are as diverse in some ways as the "villages" that make up the City of Beirut. They can be as fancy as those like Eddie Sands, where one can witness the likes of the upper elite strutting around in bikinis and high heels with pounding beats provided by the resident DJ. Or you can enjoy the reggae and celebratory styles of something like Pierre's, or the similar urban party at St. Georges. I preferred south of the city, where they say the better beaches are, with the likes of Lazy B or traveling all the way to the border for some beaches around Tyre and the nature reserves. check out a list of beaches
Of course, this all seems a bit excessive, as things can be here. And there are other reasons to avoid such "recreation." as this article explores, not everyone is welcome at such clubs.
Here is a glimpse of the sand, water and skin.
and some more here..
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