Beirut

Beirut is deserted. It's a lovely town and I've been asked to stay away from some areas, there is a Hezbollah encampment down by the Parliament which Mohsen and Khalil (my IESC contacts/minders here) drove me past.

The environment in Lebanon is difficult. Most of the people I worked with had their major clients in the Gulf states and targeted clients outside of their country due to the political uncertainty here. But, from what I could tell the IT industry is reasonably strong. There seems to be a good pool of well educated, smart people building some sophisticated applications. Unfortunately there is quite a drain on this brain power as many seem to leave Lebanon for more secure jobs elsewhere in the Middle East or in the "west".

The people I've met have been so kind and generous - everyone wants to buy me lunch or dinner.