Monday, July 10, 2006

Settling In

After a marathon one-hour search for something to clean the bathroom, I traipsed back to the hotel. Just before falling asleep, I called Robert Fisk, who agreed to do an interview, and to call him back later to discuss a fixed time.

I then called Hizbullah, and immediately got tangled up when he gave the meeting place name. Not being well versed in Arabic, I was completely caught out. But after texting Zahera I appear to have it all sorted. I'm sure the taxi driver will know where it is.

Called Nicholas Blanford, another journalist. He writes for the Christian Science Monitor. Friendly guy - he agreed to be interviewed, and asked if I could meet him in a cafe in Gemayzieh, a suburb of Beirut.

After a brief sleep, I hunched under a dribbling shower before noticing a dead cockroach on the floor. Great. Haven't spotted any more, after a fingertip search. In fairness to the hotel, I reckon it must have got in from outside. I'm making the room sound terrible - it's not that bad, really. The bed linen is clean and the air con works - the two main things.



Decided to do the touristy thing and take a walk along the Corniche. It took me a while to wander down to it, but it was worth it. Really amazing - cars bombing up and down coastal road, and what most of Beirut wandering along the seafront, cooling down by the Med. It's all a bit incongruous - turn to your left, and you catch the sight of bombed out buildings next to a Hard Rock Cafe and McDonalds. On the right, the Med stretching out like a yawn.



I nearly got run over about eight times by kids on skates and bikes, but I didn't care. I decided to call it a night after walking about half the length of the Corniche - the Pigeon Rocks can wait until another day.

Tomorrow then, it's an early start at the Hizbullah media offices (if I get the right address!). I might wander down to Martyr's Square after that. All day I have seen posters of Rafiq Hariri, the assassinated former Sunni Prime Minister who rebuilt swathes of Beirut after the war and earned the nickname 'Mr Lebanon'. I'm expecting that I'll see considerably more posters of him at the Square, where he is buried.

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