Finally got around to finishing my piece on Lebanon. Given my passion for the Middle East, I found it interesting, but it has its own peculiarities.

The country was hit by a banking crisis even before COVID. In 2017-18, practically every bank was offering foreign currency deposits at crazy 15-20% annual rates. A pyramid scheme at the state level. No wonder those high rates didn't last long, and depositors were offered to either withdraw their money at a "fixed" exchange rate completely divorced from reality, or leave it in their accounts until better times come. Those times still haven't arrived.

COVID and the ammonium nitrate explosion in the port in 2020 completely finished off an already practically dead economy. To this day, many shops and restaurants just stand there with smashed windows because there's no point in reopening. Even 3 years later.

At the same time, the abundance of expensive cars on the streets, crowds of people in restaurants, and tons of ads saying "buy citizenship of a normal country for $100,000+" don't at all create the impression of a suffering population. On the other hand, there are plenty of beggars on the streets, and all the youth dream of moving away.

PS. If you haven't watched "Waltz with Bashir" yet, I highly recommend it. Heavy, but fascinating.