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Scuba DivingAlthough the Middle East has its diver's paradise with the Red Sea, there is one overlooked place on the Mediterranean coast, a place which is regaining its rank as the "pearl" of the Middle East: Beirut. Recovering from recent unrest, the country and its capital are ready to welcome tourists and travelers to discover their historical, geographical and culinary wonders.
Lebanon has many activities to offer to its residents and visiting foreigners such as: trekking in the desert, rafting, skiing (2 hours from Beirut), sight seeing and hiking, mountain biking, and of course scuba diving in temperate waters allowing diving year round.
Beirut has amazing dive site close by and all diving activities are conducted by speed boat, making the farther dive site a mere 25 minute ride. From a spectacular drop off (400 m down), just 200 m from the shore in front of the American University in Beirut, to world class wrecks such as the "Alice B" and one of the most amazing wreck dives in the Middle East ;Le Souffleur was a French World War II submarine torpedoed by the British before it surrendered to the Nazis under the Vichy government. The submarine lies in two pieces at 37m on the sandy bottom, and is a dream dive for Nitrox divers as bottom time can be extended. Marine life on the wreck is simply amazing and it is not rare to see huge sting rays inside the wreck and around it, eagle rays , moray eels and groupers.
One of the highlights of the place is "Shark Point" in the summertime, where every year from July to August, following some mysterious migrating patterns, small tooth sand tiger sharks (a harmless species related to the grey nurse shark) gather in the area to the complete delight of local and foreign divers.
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Site Info.As you browse through my site you’ll find links to Dive Operators,Dive Sites,and useful Diving, Fish Identification Books and Travel Books relevant to the Lebanon.
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Book of the Month
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Getting ThereTravel to Lebanon is a lot easier these days. A growing number of airlines service Beirut, which has frequent connections to Europe, Africa, Asia and the rest of the Middle East. The national airline, Middle East Airlines, also flies to Australia and Canada.
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