Job Discussion Forums

[gtidey]

Hi,

I'm still thinking about Beirut for once I leave Lisbon. Thing is, I like a good night out, which was one of the reasons I came here. Beirut seems beautiful and it's right next to the sea which is perfect, but whats their culture like?

Are Lebanese women treated like Moroccon women insomuch as they aren't allowed out unless theyre chaporoned etc? I dont mind hanging with Ex-Pats but I hope to learn the lingo and chill with Lebanese too! I already know a few and they're dead cool, so it would be a shame if I went there and was just with ex-pats every night.

Basically, any info on the actual culture and mentality of the lebanese people or beirut (for example, is beirut a more liberal city than the rest of lebanon or no?) would be welcomed with inquizative looks of joy.

cheers

[Atassi]

About half the population in Lebanon is Christian.

I am now wondering what you saw in Morocco. Morocco, in my opinion, is very liberal. They are very much influenced by French culture in Morocco. But to answer your question, Lebanon is liberal. If you want to find girls that aren't chaperoned, you'll find plenty of Christian girls.

You see, whether kept alive by culture or religion, girls are "chaperoned" for their protection. If she is from a religious Muslim family, of course at night, if she is out, she will be with her family. In any place in the world, if you find somebody religious, you will see them also doing the same thing.

And please don't think about it like "an 18 year old girl is an adult being mistreated." Accept the culture of the people you live amongst I only ask of you. The way Muslims see it, a girl is a girl until she gets married. Then she is a woman.

A true liberal accepts different ideas and cultures readily. I wish you luck in Lebanon.

[gtidey]

exactomundo o meu amigo! i do take peoples cultures as they are, very much so, that's part of the enjoyment. another part of the enjoyment relies on you hopefully choosing where to live for x years carefully in order to have the best time you can out there, dontcha think?

im a right bell end though. all the lebanese i know are christian but for some reason i still thought it was a predominantley muslim country. like my christian freinds had been chased out or summert. ho hum

[Brooks]

I thought the saying in Morocco was that a girl isn`t a woman until she is a mother.

Morocco has its liberals and conservatives.
Some women are chaperoned by a man at night, but sometimes women go out together.

Conservatives would find it strange for a woman to be walking by herself after the sun has set, but if a man does, there must be a reason why (i.e. he has to go somewhere).

I did hear it said that a woman walking alone at night in Morocco is a prostitute, but I don`t believe it.

[Cleopatra]

The Arabic word for girl "bint" can also translate as "virgin".

So Atassi is right, in the sense that a girl does not become a "woman" until she marries, as it is assumed that she will be a virgin until then.

As for Lebanon, I believe Muslims (both Sunni and Shia) are a slight majority in the country as a whole, but there are Muslims and there are Muslims, just as there are Christians and Christians. In general, Lebanon is a comparatively liberal country, and I think it is a mistake to assume that being "conservative" or not breaks down neatly on religious lines. True, it is said that the Lebanese Muslim community tends to be more conservative as a whole than the Christian community, but I am sure there are plenty of exceptions on both sides.

[Atassi]

[gtidey]

oh dear. the word for girl is bint? *shrugs* maybe that's where it came from.

now that's a good lookin bint.

[dmb]

gtidey, what is that in the bottom right hand corner of your avatar?

[gtidey]

a relative