   
Though most news that comes out of Lebanon is related to the continuing Israeli occupation in the South, most Lebanese live in peace and the war rarely reaches their homes. In fact, many Beirutis enjoy a very high standard of living in their cosmopolitan capital.
|
 |
     
Beiruti men relax along the corniche in Beirut smoking a water-pipe.
|
 |
   
Lebanon is majority Muslim. This woman prays facing Mecca in a private prayer room built in her home.
|
 |
  
A woman smokes the nargili, a water pipe filled with fruit-flavored tobacco, while playing cards with friends in the town of Lucy, in the Bekaa Valley.
|
 |
  
A Syrian Bedouin inside his tent in the Bekaa Valley. Migrant Syrians do much of the low-wage labor in Lebanon. This man and his family are in Lebanon for the tomato harvest. He earns seven to ten dollars a day. Many Lebanese are unhappy with such a large Syrian presence in their country, which they have little control over.
|
 |
Like the rest of the world, wealth is not evenly distributed in Lebanon. Migrant workers work the fields camped nearby a wealthy Lebanese town.
|
 |
The Bekaa valley, where much of Lebanon's agricultural products are grown. Once the heart of Lebanon's famous hashish production, now most of the produce is legitimate.
|
 |
The view of Beirut port area.
|
 |
Beirut is a mix of old and new architecture. This building in East Beirut stands amidst some classic French colonial architecture.
|
 |
A building that had been left standing uncompleted for over thirty years is demolished to make way for new development along Beirut's pricey waterfront (Corniche) area.
|
 |
Many buildings damaged during the civil war still have not been rebuilt. Some cannot be demolished until tenants are bought off because of Lebanon's strong tenancy laws.
|
 |
The minaret of a rebuilt mosque in the heart of Beirut's central downtown district. Formerly a front-line during the Israeli invasion and the militia wars in Lebanon during the 1980s, downtown Beirut is being rebuilt on a grand scale to restore the unique character that long-time residents claim the city possessed before the war. |
 |
