City: Beirut
Top Things to do in Beirut
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6 Sacred & Religious Sites in Beirut That You Shouldn't Miss
Often called "Paris of the Middle East", Beirut is a thriving hotspot for shopping, socializing and sightseeing, despite many wars and unrest. The city has been rebuilt several times, with modern architecture sharing space with Ottoman and colonial French buildings. Bustling streets such as Hamra and Ashrafieh provide hopping nightlife while the National Museum and the Gibran Museum give visitors a taste of the city's history. The Corniche is the place for activities like jogging and biking.
Restaurants in Beirut
1. Al-Omari Mosque
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 99 reviews
Reviewed By ElyasA34 - Beirut, Lebanon
Welcoming to non muslims, this mosque was once a crusader church. A really interesting and unique place to visit, full of history and beautiful ornaments!
2. Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saint George
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 358 reviews
Reviewed By sartzetakise2015 - Thessaloniki, Greece
A beautiful Greek orthodox church with some very nice iconographies on the walls (part of the old ones have survived the destruction of the civil war). The most important part though is the history hidden underneath the church in a well designed museum. Signs of a number of civilizations laid one on top of the other literally. Do mot miss to visit There is a small charge, definitely worth it.
3. Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 786 reviews
Reviewed By jeanphonse1 - Ottawa, Canada
Beautiful Islamic architecture. The imam of the mosque makes a historical introduction about the building and the surroundings in Beirut
4. Al-Majidiya Mosque
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 10 reviews
Located near the shore, just north of the Solidere-Downtown Beirut, al-Majidiya Mosque was once an 18th century Ottoman defensive fort. In 1841, the fort was no longer needed so the structure was turned into a mosque and named after the Ottoman Sultan Abdul-Mejid I. In 1881 and again in 1906, the mosque was enlarged and renovated. Its tall, pencil-shaped minaret is typical of Ottoman mosques, while its shorter minaret is of a more typical Beiruti-Mamluke style. The interior of the mosque has conserved the arches and vaulted ceilings of the Ottoman fort it once was.
Reviewed By Manoul - Beirut, Lebanon
I like this Mosque so much, I usually prayed inside it, it’s an ottoman Mosque and still have the same architecture. It has a special place for woman upstairs
5. Mosquee Emir Munzer Tannoukhi
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 14 reviews
Located in the downtown district of Beirut, the Mosque of Emir Munzer Tannoukhi dates from 1620 AD. Although it was built in the Ottoman period, the architectural style is much more traditional Lebanese than Ottoman or even Mamluke. Only the octagonal minaret with muqarnas (stalactite) decorations exhibits a clear Mamluke style. The mosque has a courtyard surrounded by a lofty portico of pointed arches resting on eight grey granite columns, taken from pre-existing Roman structures. In a post-civil war restoration, the mosque's courtyard was covered to shield worshippers from inclement weather.
6. Synagogue Maghen Abraham
Overall Ratings
3.0 based on 16 reviews
Built in 1925, Beirut's only Synagogue, Maghen Abraham, lies within the downtown Solidère area, below the hilltop Grand Serail building. The surrounding area, known as Wadi Abou Jamile, was historically the Jewish neighbourhood of Beirut. Ironically, the synagogue was damaged by the heavy Israeli bombings in 1982, when all of Beirut suffered the greatest destruction. At the time, Beirut's Jewish population was still sizeable, but sadly it has dwindled down to a small number of people who often hide their identity for security reasons. For a while, the Synagogue remained neglected awaiting its fate, because in Lebanon the restoration of religious buildings is the responsibility of the individual religious groups. With the lack of any sizeable local Jewish community today, the restoration took forever to get organised, but expatriate Lebanese Jews and related organisations have recently donated the necessary funds.
