The Old Man And The Sea

Back in 2009, I discovered a little sea-food restaurant in El Mina, thanks to a good friend of mine, Rawaa. It's been there for many years but I never really took notice of it until she pointed it out to me that day. We went and it turned out to be one of the yummiest fish restaurants I've tried (and I don't even like fish!)

Over the years, I introduced my family and friends to it, most of whom loved the place as much as I did. And this afternoon, I went there for lunch as well...

It's still the same as I remember it (though I haven't been there in well over a year). It's got a dusty collection of seashells and miniature sea ships and dried seaweed on the wall. A little pirate's hut if you ask me... 

We picked our fish and took a window seat, overlooking the cornish. It was crowded today, with dozens of pedestrians. I guess they were mostly Syrians though, out for a walk in the sun after a week of rain and storm... 

While we were eating, I heard a light tapping on my side of the window. It startled me, and as I turned to face the noise, I noticed an old beggar with one hand leaning against his cane and the other outstretched to my window. I tried to ignore him, but he kept on tapping. After all, it's a little difficult to eat with a strange hand glued to the window next to you. I mean, had the window not been there, he could have simply just grabbed a french fry from my plate...

The table in front of us noticed the old beggar and beckoned him over. He limped to their side and they opened the window, handing him LBP 2,000. I noticed him stash the money in his pocket, limp a little further, then stand up straight and scurry off to find another group of people to beg from...

You're probably wondering what's the point of this post. And really, it's quite simple. We were planning to spend the day in Beirut today. But due to a change in events, we stayed in town. This would have probably never happened in Beirut, especially not in the top restaurants we'd probably have frequented. But this is the sad reality of my city. It's full of poor and helpless people, worlds away from the capital city. But in it's downside, it's still got it's charm... 

Take this view for example, I wouldn't trade El Mina's cornish for the world… :-)