When we think of hot beaches we want to hang out on, we must admit Beirut has never made the list.  Possibly until now that is.   This series of photographs by Vianney Le Caer were taken of sunbathing community of the American University of Beirut Beach, Lebanon, located beside the Corniche, a famous seaside promenade in downtown Beirut.

Le Caer shot these stunning mages back in 2016 where just two hours away fighting is raging in Ras Baalbeck with the Syrian civil war spilling over the border into Lebanon

In the winter months, the beach is occupied by local residents who come here daily to enjoy a swim and sun tan.  Like Abu Khodor, a prominent member of the sun tanners community who has been coming to A.U.B. Beach every day for the past twenty-five years and even recalls swimming while the Israeli Army was bombing the city in 2006. 

Most of those beachgoers are devout Muslims but it is not rare to see them praying wearing just a swimsuit: rather unexpected behavior in an ultra-conservative Islamic State. 

https://vlecaer.com/