By now, you will have already realized and I think we have been able to argue, the motives and reasons for how much we liked Lebanon. We have talked about landscapes, cities, food; but there was still a small detail that we always refer to and that we have not yet commented on. And the public toilets, what?
In reality, the issue of public toilets in Arab countries is a rather thorny issue, especially for women travelers, since unfortunately and usually, they are usually Turkish toilets, scarce, and usually dirty.
Although it is true that Lebanon is not exactly an Arab country, prejudices about its geographical location made us think before the trip that we would find ourselves with the same handicap as in other countries with an Arab majority. However, it was not.
The great discovery in this regard was knowing that, in Lebanon, the toilets are cup (not Turkish). But it is also that they are absolutely clean, even more so than in many places in Europe, they are free and they also have toilet paper! And this happens in cafes, bars, shopping centers and archaeological and tourist sites.
Except for honorable exceptions, in which more than dirty, they are old or poorly maintained toilets, you can go to the bathroom anywhere in Lebanon without any qualms. Well, anywhere except the bus station in sidonwhich I couldn’t even glance at because the smell was nauseating.
But of course, as in travel, one of the things that is most missed is the bathroom in one’s house; The negative side of Lebanese toilets should also be mentioned: unfortunately they are quite scarce and difficult to find.
In the ruins, museums, archaeological sites, tourist attractions and cafes and restaurants of a certain category it is possible to go to the bathroom without problems. But in the rest of the places, cafes and restaurants included, things are a bit more difficult. Above all, because the premises are tiny and do not have a toilet.
This happened to us, for example, in a bakery in Bourj Hammoud when we ask to go to the bathroom. As there was none, but Lebanese hospitality is infinite, they took us to a house – to a private floor of a building – where the man let us enter to use the bathroom. It was not very clear to us if it is the formula used by the shopkeepers in the area and the owner of the apartment as a means of exchange to earn a living, the fact is that we arrived there and used the bathroom there.
In some places, however, there are public toilets in the street: public toilets like the ones that used to be buried in parks and squares, or a small construction like the one we find in the streets of Byblos. Don’t hesitate to use them. At least, the ones we went through, are absolutely functional.
