vacation from day to day life. and i get it. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> there's no place else even remotely like it. everything great and all the world's ills all in one glorious messed up magical and maddening city. ♪

beirut. it's good to be back. ♪ i took a walk through this beautiful world ♪ ♪ felt the cool rain on my shoulder ♪ ♪ found something good in this beautiful world ♪ ♪ i felt the rain getting colder ♪ ♪ sha la la la la ♪ sha la la la la la la ♪ sha la la la la

♪ sha la la la la la la the mediterranean sea itself trembles. the ground shakes beneath the wheels of our heavy metal thunder. back in beirut, after all these years. the first time i was here it did not end well but it made no difference to me. i love it here. in spite of everything, i love

it here. >> nice ride. it's a good way to see beirut. >> this is very similar to that place we went to years ago. this is your traditional chicken sandwich. >> the broasted chicken was this man's idea, ramsey short who i met in the bad old days of 2006. apparently he's in with the lebanese chapter of the harley davidson group, or hog for short. so when you roll into some religiously conservative villages on the bikes and leather jackets what is the reaction? >> two types. once we were pelted with rice and the other extreme was stones at the wheels like just get out of here. >> i wouldn't throw stones at

people on harleys. whoa. look at this. let's dig in. >> this is a famous neighborhood. this area was central during the civil war. the sheer volume of fire that was poured into some of these buildings is absolutely unbelievable. >> so many have been in the same place over and over and over again. >> clearly. >> i notice this every time someone visiting the city they just point at that. look at that. but you know, we don't see them any many. just pass by them. >> beirut, seemingly the world in literature. 18 religious sects recognized. more than 2 million christians, over a million and a half shiites, a million and a half sunni and 500,000 palestinians

and now as many as 2 million syrians, all living and somehow getting along, kind of, in a country the size of connecticut. but along its borders the country has what you might call serious neighbor issues. isis in syria threatening to expand into lebanon. >> isis in many ways is something we have never really seen before. a really large well organized well equipped terrorist army. >> the country simply can't take any more. >> a quarter of lebanon's population is now syrian. that is the equivalent of the u.s. taking in 83 million

syrians. >> the real fear is that violence cross the border now spilling into an already fragile area. >> beirut struggles to put a lid on the simmering sectarian tensions. ♪ >> the aftermath of beirut and some of the flashes. ♪ >> exchange for shia as two palestinian brothers were shot. ♪ >> here block by block you see the scars from the 15 year civil war that only ended in the 90s.

but also nightclubs, discos, beaches, bikinis, where much of the arab world comes to let their hair down. it is an incongruous mix. >> the violence since the beginning. >> this neighborhood has long been the home to principally

palestinian refugees but it has become an area for syrians fleeing isis. the camp saw heavy fighting, shelling and outright massacres during the the religious conflict known as the lebanese civil war. everywhere you see posters representing factions and affiliations from asad loyalists to every flavor of extremist. >> a victory for jihad. >> do you know of any other place in the region where all of these groups are co-existing within a confined space? >> it is stunning to be walking down the street behind short skirts and red wine flowing and drive straight into an extraordinarily conservative shiite district. it is kind of mind blowing. >> i am not a giopolitical

expert and as much time as i have spent in this part of the world i spent nowhere near the amount of time this guy has. cnn senior international course respondent. >> most of the groups are more terrified of the crazy radicals in syria than they ever have been of each other. >> what do we call this neighborhood? >> it's one of the mixed areas that beirut has. >> close to 2 million people from syria alone. >> yeah. >> that's a hell of a lot to be absorbed by a tiny little nation. >> it's just loads of people with nowhere to go. >> you see it in how cell phones don't sometimes work the way they should. bad infrastructure and more. >> we'll follow you. >> the first time, see the

leads. >> the name is there. >> in syria, he was an english teacher. needles to say he had at one time a better life back there. >> i came from syria. after the civil war started -- >> yeah. >> many, many problems. sectarian problems and we don't want to add more problems for those people. but what can we do? we live here. imagine the situation here. it is unbelievable. >> he is there by the way and he has three kids. he works construction. his family bought this to protect from the rats. these children need medical

operation but this family can't pay for those operation. it is expensive. they wait for nothing. they wait for the hand of god. >> straining under the weight of all of these unasked for guests the lebanese government has begun making it very difficult for them. >> he doesn't work because he doesn't have an official resident so he can't leave the camp. otherwise he will be homeless. >> being stopped at any of the military check points could mean a one way ticket back to syria, trapped, unable to work, they exist invisibly on the margins of society. >> this is military. you don't want to get involved in any problem. syrian food, it is called the seven countries. it consists of many kinds of vegetables.

seven kinds of fruit. most of them are doctors, engineers, lawyers, teachers. >> here now it's the opposite. >> here in lebanon even if you were a doctor or a lawyer or a teacher, you can't work only in the camp. we don't know how to go, where to go, to go back to syria. >> no can do. >> to cross the sea. >> yeah. >> suppose that there is authority to collect us to throw us away to syria, what will we

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once known as the palace of the middle east, beirut still clings to its glamorous 1960s image where you could famously ski and go to the beach all in the same day. walking it's easy to forget, for a moment anyway, what's going on not far from here.

>> all the people who live here feel safe. they expand outside of their houses and this is one of their traditions. this is how i live my life. >> mo is a local security specialist on assignment to keep, well, me and my crew safe from harm. he lives with his daughter and family in beirut, a mixed neighborhood of christians, muslims and jews were a little oil in the middle? >> yes. >> so good. very good fish. i missed this country. i really did. >> you have been here before? >> this is my third time. my first time was 2006.

we came here and had two perfect days and then the war broke out. >> during my first trip here in 2006, hezbollah had a 44 day war that followed and much of beirut was heavily pounded by bombs and artilleries. >> you have this really extraordinary mix of religions and people. what's so special? why? >> of course, somebody on friday going pray, somebody on sunday going pray. they go the same restaurant and have the same food and they have the same traditions. >> there is no place better than lebanon. you have everything. people are friendly. beautiful, fantastic.

>> it is a democracy here. >> of course. you have choice to sit down. i like this. i don't like this. >> so what's it look like now? >> we looked like before 2006. >> that's not good. >> tension is a little bit high but the people, we are very happy. i go with my family. >> i was watching the news last night in the hotel and it is genuinely terrifying. >> tomorrow is sunny. it's happening all the time. you get used to it. >> you get used to it. are you concerned or optimistic. >> optimistic. >> do your friends feel the same way? >> not really. >> your friends are less optimistic? >> yeah. >> we have only one good neighbor that don't affect us. they help us all the time. we bring the fish and we have fish. and he never get upset from us. ♪

♪ ♪

>> we are back in the hiz-ouse. this is radio beirut. >> i ain't afraid. >> is that, why yes. yes, i think it is. ironic glasses, vintage clothing and neck beards. it appears the brooklyn strain has spread even to beirut. >> radio beirut.

>> cnn and everything. >> cnn has become the most trusted name in news. same way a broken clock is right twice a day. >> cnn changed their slogan from this is cnn to at least it's not fox news. >> how is it possible that this mix of religions and cultures? >> you have got mountains, the sea, and we're surrounded and there are so many factions that you have to deal with everybody. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> monday is hip hop at radio beirut. it is a really awesome place

where there is live bands playing all week long. >> we created a platform for emcees to try their skills in front of people without judgment. although we do judge but we don't make fun of them. >> lebanese free style legend hussein, aka, aa, the preacher man. >> you were arrested? >> yeah yeah yeah. that's not the first time it happened. >> what? >> basically i was profiled. if there's an explosion, the big dude with the beard who is bald. >> these are beard related issues. >> they are. >> hip hop? >> that's the glue that binds us. >> what is it about hip hop? >> i see it like this. it's a traditional riming scheme where they speak about their problems. it's in our core to be poetic. >> i'm from a background where you have governments that are dictators and you can't really voice anything. ♪ >> we're trying to find our own identity. we don't want to be like our ancestors fighting each other. that's nothing. you know?

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afternoon in beirut and this family, like many others across the city, prepares dinner. [ speaking foreign language ] >> extraordinary spread of food. >> all this food, you see, my brother wants to go burger king. he want some chicken burger from burger king. >> thank you so much for having me in your home. >> this is sweet potato. it is a deep fried potato with red pepper, chili, garlic and lemon just.

this is raw meat, lamb, fresh mint, onion. mixed all together. this is minced meat, baked, green and red pepper and chick peas and tomato and tomato paste. please help yourself. >> thank you. i was in beirut in 2006 this neighborhood was hit very hard. were you here at that time? >> yes. >> why this neighborhood? >> because the people of this area support us so much. >> as israel buries its dead, a radical group celebrates victory and things are at a fever pitch right now. >> this is the deadliest

hezbollah attack since the two sides went to war in 2006. >> hezbollah means the party of god. they are a shia military political organization lavishly supported by iran. the party is more powerful, more effective on the ground than the lebanese army. the united states officially designates them a terrorist organization. in 1983, they did this. the u.s. embassy bombing. and this, the marine where over 200 servicemen were killed. >> please put it down now. >> they are dangerous. they are well funded and

whatever else they may be, they are not stupid. >> i have two sisters. hezbollah take care of them. here everybody support hezbollah, even the people who are not religious for one reason. because they feel protected by them. >> my host's support for hezbollah, typical of south beirut, is staunch. >> before hezbollah, lebanese were always scared. now what? now we say ha ha. we don't care. >> in the early days hezbollah used tactics that just about anyone would call terrorism. when is it permissible to use a car bomb or using civilian targets? >> for me? >> for you?

>> i'm against killing. against killing anybody, even israel. this person that i'm going to kill, car bomb or whatever, he has family. >> what's the most important thing happening in the world right now that needs to be resolved for things to be better? >> isis. they are rebels. they are against like everything on the earth they are against. >> recently hezbollah has become heavily involved in the war in syria, in defense of the asad regime. complicating matters and uncomfortably enough they are probably the best organized, best equipped most serious obstacle to isis and al qaeda in the area. >> most of the villages in eastern lebanon, they are christian and they are sunni. >> correct. >> if hezbollah wasn't there, it was christian in that area. this is the only reason, this is

the only reason just to protect my children and my wife. >> 20 years, 30 years? >> yeah. >> will things be better? >> i hope so. that many years, now, next year. i hate war. h. l'oréal's true match blends seamlessly for a true-to-you finish. now in 45 shades. it's perfect for me. find your true match. from l'oréal paris. so did you gkind of. car? thanks to navy federal it only took 5 minutes. so vets can join? oh yeah. how do you kind of buy a new car? it's used. it's for mikey. you know he's gonna have girls in that car. yeah. he's gonna have two of them.

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♪ ♪ >> who is buying these apartments? who are they for? >> two kinds of people. lebanese who are living abroad or arabs especially from the gulf region.

>> for whom beirut is a wonderland. >> compared to where they are yes. but we cannot generalize this and say that beirut is a place where sexual expression is encouraged. >> her books are banned in many countries in the region. she is regularly threatened the rape, stoning and murder. she is culture editor of lebanon's biggest newspaper. >> yesterday i had my first tv show about sexual freedom and you cannot imagine how many doors have opened just because i dare said that girls are allowed sexuality like boys. we pretend to be a democracy.

this is yogurt sauce and cranberries. >> fried. stuffed grape please. >> yes. >> the fact that lebanon and beirut works at all. if all of these religious groups, this is a fully functioning more or less by world standards. >> we don't have a president. it's going to be a year now that we are without one. >> it's sort of awesome. >> don't you think that the main reason behind you seeing this as thrilling, exciting place to live in is that you're a visitor and not someone who actually lives here? >> am i wrong to love this place? >> you're not wrong to love it. i love living on the tip of a volcano, but there has to be some point where i can breathe and relax. i don't want to seem like i'm only criticizing because i

really also as much as i hate this place, i love it as well. and i know that it's very precious to have such a freedom in a place like beirut. i don't need to tell you about islamic states even though they are not inside beirut yet, we can feel it every day. >> should people come here? >> yes, definitely. they should come. they will enjoy it as much as you have. i wouldn't advise them to stay more than a month, though.

>> i often go to events and i asked him to call me your highness. i love it. i go there and i dress like an emperor. sometimes i dress like an emperor. >> there have been two attempts on your life? >> yes. >> that you're aware of. >> it means the third one succeeds.

i don't know when the third one will be. >> an activist, a labor organizer. you have been arrested in your life? >> yes, many times. when i was 14 years old i became a communist in a region that was under control of the extreme right wing militia. i ended up in a torture room. >> later after joining and then leaving the lebanese army, michelle formed the nru, an armed revolutionary group. >> your life now is music and culture? >> i think that i was made to be a musician but when war happened, i took a gun. i understood that i could not face someone who was attacking my house with a guitar. >> in 2003, by now a music producer, entrepreneur, politician, artist and film maker, he founded the beirut musical in a bullet popped theater empty since the civil

war. this is his kingdom. >> some people come because it's trendy. they come with sexy ladies. some come because they like to discover new things. we have up to 15 acts, each act coming from a different culture. >> who needs culture? >> i think that culture can save the world. someone who had looks, someone to listen to beautiful music cannot become an animal again. >> if you were the emperor of the world, hypothetically. >> hopefully. >> hopefully, what would beirut be like in ten years? >> best case scenario it goes back to before the creation of separate. when all communities were living together well. we would have a jewish neighborhood here. i think we would have to be

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how you doing? i'm tony? >> this feels very formal. >> yes. >> but it's not so please relax. >> i am relaxed. can i get my beer. >> by all means, yes please. >> lots of people come here. they are mostly musicians and sick people. lots of jamming here and it's

like we're a family hanging out. >> this cafe is a typical beirut establishment from syria and any number of other countries. the owners are both lebanese and sirrian and acutely aware of the tricky political realities with which they must live. they were concerned abus filming here and wanted us to understand clearly that the cafe has no political affiliation and that the opinions of this young lady are not that of the cafe or even that of the clientele. >> you are born and bred suni? >> yes. i was born and brought up in syria, damascus. one night, 3:00 a.m. the army entered our house and i found them in our bedroom looking for the free syrian army. my dad knew he couldn't protect us because he was old. three hours later we decided to leave, so we came to beirut. we always eat here.

grape leaves are my favorite. >> i saw you went for that first. >> yeah. >> it's delicious. >> yeah it is. we come here a lot and we talk a lot we talk about our visa issues most of the time. actually i have four months left and i have no idea what am i going to do. >> what do you think, will they renew your visa? >> so far, i don't think so. >> do they arrest you? do they take you to the border and kick you over to the other side? how does that -- >> send you back to syria. >> what happens if you go back to syria? >> most probably die on the way, or just some people get arrested or be taken to the army. >> how different is damascus from beruit? >> oh, it's really, really different. in damascus i was always afraid of the government. some people died because they cursed the president. i left syria and i found hope here and i screamed in the

streets, cursing the politicians and everything. it's all right. nobody is going to come arrest you. i really love this place with all my heart. >> is all of the chaos and the violence worth it for change? is it worth dying for? i mean, things were -- there was order when you grew up. there was order. >> yeah. >> no freedom, but order. would you go back to that? >> i don't think that there is anything worthy in the world of human blood. there is nothing more important than human being. >> you were never able to yell out loud, you'll never be able to do the things you do now, you'd go back? >> i was alive. >> lots of people were alive, so. rosy tone moisturizer.

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lebanon, seeing widespread anger and finger pointing. >> this blast has set off a tie to civil unrest in lebanon. ♪ ♪ >> how have you been? >> i've been well. >> capital imperialists like ramsey and myself spend the last evening if beruit, then abuele. >> it was open. he was an atheist member of the lebanese communist party. >> a communist themed bar located in a housing block. >> what is this? >> you know what, i'm not sure. it's been put in front of us. >> we should probably drink it, figure it out. >> looks good. why not? >> vodka.

>> vodka. >> you know, i actually had somebody who lives here tell me, don't stay longer than a month. what? you're trying to kill us, man. who is this man? trying to hurt us. after more than a few indigenous beverages -- >> cheers. >> cheers. -- enter ernesto. >> hey, i got something for you. a cuban cigar. >> let's get the party started. or was that rick james? >> ernesto is the owner of the son of this bar. >> this is my mom. she made some -- >> it's the cheese. >> it's kind of rotten cheese. >> oh, yeah. >> cheers. >> i called my dad. i told him there's a guy called tony cnn. he said, i don't watch cnn. and then i told him, but he's a

cool guy. he wants to make the best food for you. >> this is some of the best in beruit. >> lamb. >> and spices. >> oh, man, that's good. >> are we picking up or not? >> yeah, we will fight these people. >> no. >> we have to have it. >> i seem to remember mom at some point whipping out some kind of automatic weapon. >> i will take this up in arms and i will fight. and then the mirror descended from the ceiling. bootsy column came on over the sound system. the rest is a fog. >> let's have cheers. >> this is the country, the worst neighbor problems in the world. it's amazing. >> i've been around. i've seen places.

this place -- >> i think so, too. >> here's to tony, man. ♪ ♪ >> beruit, everybody should come here. everyone should see how complicated, how deeply troubled, and yet at the same time beautiful and awesome the world can be. everyone should experience, even as the clouds gather, what's at stake, what could be lost, what's still here. and never let that hope go. beruit. there is no place like it. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪