Dove Rock

South of Beirut's main strip is one of the city's landmarks, Dove Rock. These isolated stacks lie in a beautiful bay and, because they are so difficult to climb, the local rock pigeons and sea birds have made them their home.

The film ends with some shots of Beirut's promenade; alas, gone are the beautiful and sophisticated women who strolled and swam in their bikinis, and in their place shrouded figures swathed from head to toe in yards of cloth. I recognise the right of women to dress modestly; I don't recognise the right of men to insist that their women folk dress in a particular way. It does annoy me to see some man strolling along with open-necked shirt enjoying the cool breath while beside him, sweating and panting, walks what looks like an animated sleeping bag. That's not modesty: that's oppression.