Our Window on Beirut
Our Window on Beirut
Be it ever so humble, and it
certainly was--a small apartment with an unreliable old
freight elevator, foam furniture and one internet/phone line
for the entire building (that operated at about negative
megabytes per second), this was our home for the first two
years of our shared lives as international school
teachers. On the plus side, it was close to the school,
the health club, grocery stores and restaurants. 
This
is a view from the hallway leading into our one-bedroom
apartment. The floors resemble marble, but are actually a
polished limestone. The rug is of Syrian design, and we picked
it up at the Hamadiyeh Souk on a recent trip to Damascus. The
entryway mirror and shelf are made of rattan, and we picked it
up in Ouzaii, a souk-like area in south Beirut. To the left of
the mirror is our kitchen/dining room area, the next stop on
our tour.
This is a view from
the entryway, looking into the kitchen. The counter and
shelf unit mark the division between the kitchen and the
dining room. To the left of the picture, the counter runs to
the wall, and next to the counter is a full-size
refrigerator. Next to the fridge is a sink with cabinets
above and below. Just behind the door is our very small
oven, which runs off a drum of natural gas. To the left of
the picture is the water dispenser, something we couldn't
live without in Beirut!
Here
is a closer view of the dining room area. Although a bit
cozy, six people can fit around this table for a meal. As
you can see in the background, the full-length balcony
affords a good view of Beirut!
Immediately
opposite
the kitchen (on the other side of the entryway mirror) is
our bedroom. Decorated on two sides by the omni-present
heavy green drapes, it consists of the bed (two single beds
on a larger frame) built-in closets to the left of the
picture, and a second small balcony which opens at the foot
of the bed. The pillows are local handicrafts, while the rug
is another of our Syrian purchases. The best thing about the
bedroom is that the curtains make it pitch dark, and it is
absolutely free from the street noise and the constant
strains of the muezzins from the three nearby mosques.
One door
down from the bedroom on the same side of the hall is one of
the two bathrooms. As you can see, there is no room for a
tub, much to Tracy's dismay. There is a small shower stall,
just visible to the left. The entire bathroom is done in
ceramic tile, and has room for about 1/4 of the items the
average westerner would keep in their bathroom.
Directly
across the hall from the bathroom is the living room. It is
an L-shaped affair, and this view is looking down from the
top of the "L". To the left of the plant that is casting a
shadow over the room is a closet and the second bathroom. At
the bottom of the L you can see the computer area, replete
with Tracy's new iMac, and also the shelf with our stereo.
Just out of view in that corner area is our "mini" home
theater, a TV/VCR with surround sound. Unfortunately, living
in an apartment does not allow to enjoy the full effect of
this theater very often. Like the dining room, the living
room has a large sliding glass door opening onto the
balcony, providing a great view of the city below.
Looking
from the bottom end of the "L" you can see the couch,
located along the longest wall of the room. The chair came
with the apartment, while we had the couch made at the same
place we purchased the mirror. To the left is another yucca
plant, this one a bit larger than the one at the entrance to
the room. The plants, the rattan furniture, and the light
rug all give the place a more airy look. 
Here is
a view looking from the living room side of the balcony
toward the kitchen. The balcony contains a small a table,
which we have covered with a Syrian design table cloth.
Syria, by the way, seems to be the table cloth center of the
world! Although we seldom have time, one of our favorite
leisure activities is to sit on the balcony with some of the
delicious (and inexpensive) Lebanese wines, discuss the day,
while we watch the world go by below us and marvel at the
blueness of the Mediterranean Sea in the distance.