Beirut!

Has a single word ever meant so much to you? A word that carries a certain weight and that stirs up emotions in you? I have mine, and it's BEIRUT. I love that word, and I cannot explain why. I am not being emotional just because we are in a war. I've always felt like this about Beirut... mostly, when I was in the States. To the question "Where are you from," I've answered "Beirut" much more than I've answered "Lebanon." They're both true, of course, but I relate more to Beirut than I do Lebanon. Whenever I say it, or read it somewhere, it doesn't seem like a mere word to me. "Beirut" is always smiling, and somehow fruity to me. Needless to say, I adore the songs about Beirut, how pretty it is and how majestic. My favorite is one special song that calls Beirut, ya set el dunia, which literally means "the world's ma'am!" The phrase sounds much sweeter though said in Arabic than in English.