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We love the tourists that visit our beloved Lebanon in the summer… but when they bring their own cars with them they become less tourists and more traffic causes––not to mention they don’t help the economy that much either by bringing their own cars and spending less on transportation. It’s been very, very hard dealing with this. In all cases, have a lovely week and stay tuned for a MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT tomorrow 😉
Here’s a nice song for you:
Comments
21 responses to “The gods of traffic are angry”
Cool post Super Maya 🙂 i love the ageing effects between each frame 🙂
It’ll be interesting to know the percentage of tourists that drive their cars to Lebanon, or even the ratio of tourist that drive their own VS those who rent a car ( i own a car in lebanon since i’m there every year).
Wayneldawleh.com Blog sums it up really well, (http://www.wayneldawleh.com/?p=691). Basically it’s not the tourists fault, it’s the government’s fault. They have all 9 months to prepare the roads, add news ones, fix traffic in anticipation for the tourists coming.
What other choice does the tourist have? there are no trains, no reliable/safe buses (i would rather walk than use the bus in Lebanon), cab drivers slug you for every penny since there are no set fairs or counters that charge you per Km.
If only we had Jet packs 🙂
But what else are they to do? It’s not like public transportation is pristine in Leb. I mean, I know I only spent four months there, but I was severely limited in where I could go because I didn’t have a car.
Still, haha!
I’ll pick up your second book when I go back this fall!
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Bardees S, Nadine Chemali and Nadine Chemali, Maya Zankoul. Maya Zankoul said: The gods of traffic have been very angry this summer… http://bit.ly/9IFPec […]
We feel the same thing down here in Jordan. Although I’m pretty sure it does not compare with the traffic you must be feeling in Beirut, as Beirut is, summer or no summer, tourists or sans tourists, always a trafficky city, a fifteen minute drive is transformed into a mission. But what can you do, eh? I don’t think a law can be enforced to limit the number of tourist cars coming in…
Akh the traffic!
A33333 the traffic!
I suffer from it every single day…
Why do ppl go out on the road at the same time?!
this GMC and HUMMER trend sucks!! they are extremely big (Lebanese loves that, they can be easily seen !!) and our roads extremely small!
they pollute a lot,they take too much space and above
all you find only one person inside of this “bosta” !
It’s quite simple – we have 2010 vehicles (i.e. big and polluting) invading a 1960s roads infrastructure!
Add to that the unruly driving ethics of Lebanese drivers (not to mention our “beloved” tourists who leave their discipline in their countries and allow themselves to be unruly since… well… Lebanon is the region’s playground)…
And voila – your recipe for traffic madness!
Unless we develop a) more roads that can b) accommodate more efficient and reliable buses without forgetting c) the development of a coastal railway linking the North to the South, you’ll need to bring along books to read and snacks to nibble on in your car on your way home Maya 😉
The slow traffic did not start with the tourist season.
I direct the blame on the locals who completely lack civilized behavior, on the lack of regulation enforcement and on the lack of road infrastructure to handle the traffic.
I am not surprised that the tourists bring their own car. Who wants to pay a shitload to rent one?
I’ve been really hating the traffic. All times, all day. I kind of miss world cup season, at least I could go out during game times!
haha omg i love that lebanese God of traffic ♥
Has anyone thought of a little thing they invented in London called the Tube/the Metro/the subway?
I absolutely agree with those who say that it is not the fault of the tourists, but rather that of the government and the Lebanese.
Our general infrastructure is one that got frozen in time, and Beirut in specific needs a bold revision of its urban planning (one that does not attempt at flying above the organic structure of the city using highways and tunnels, but rather revises the very organic structure of the city – in case this sounded too Hausmannising, then at least ban private transportation within Beirut -).
But let’s get real, the government will not be doing anything in the coming century, so it is the duty of each and every one of us to avoid private transportation. Public transportation is not pretty, but there is no other way forward.
Sorry for sounding like a manifesto.
Looool ma3ik 7a2 Rachel ,it’s the Hummers Jeeps and SUVs that are taking a lot of space
There is biggest traffic problems in Syria, really 🙂 In Lebanon is paradise 🙂
Haha SUPER Maya ! 😛 nice way of expressing you’re anger towards the traffic jam in lebanon but really i don’t think its the tourists that tourists are the main reason of the traffic jam as much as we are ; The tourists just add up . If you actually look outside the window as on factor of entertainment while stuck on the road , notice how many people there are in each car and you’ll notice that pretty much theres just one person in each car ! Lebanese don’t even know what carpooling is ! The taxi drivers have a mind of their own !!And the public busses are horrible (they’re old and they don’t come on time , the government needs to invest in public transportation in every aspect in order for us to see results , expanding roads isn’t going to solve anything , its just going to add more traffic !
You can see how much i have anger built up from this issue ! :p
Akh ya Maya your freakishly amazing…
Traffic during summer is as chaotic as it is during winter.
Best regards, w shedde el hemme!
HommusBetheeneh, Lebanese 100% 😀
damnnn its beeeen a long time since i visited ur blogs.. i miss them sooo much. w 3anja d now i can relate more n more to the shit that goes on in this country. eno am a tourist bess 3am nafi3 el taxis 😛 shi bemawiiiiiiiiitttttttt……………….. hahaha u become a skeleton 😀 shayaboulna sha3ratna.
o btw i liked ur title here very creative 😀 3anjad mmm bess i think the reason theres so much traffic in lebanon is cz its the only freakin country that has shops doghre 3al highway. other countries you take the EXIT to enter the stores and the highway is always runnning smoothly bess hon laaaaaaa2. they think they get more customers if they open directly on the highway w bye3j2ouwa wa7ad feyit wa7ad tali3 w lesh bess b lebnen khat el shmel abta2 shi ???????????? 7azzoura la lyom
[…] Gods of Traffic have unleashed their fury upon us.” With this comment, Maya Zankoul begins this cartoon strip, in which she depicts the hours wasted in traffic jams in […]
Scourge of the third world! Countries that fail to develop public transport trap their citizens in endless traffic jams, wrecking the life of cities. Sao Paulo, Istanbul, Bangkok …. and Lebanon too?
Hey Maya! Was trying to find your email but didn’t come across it. Wanted to say that it was lovely to meet you today and you are truly inspirational. Keep up the fantastic work! Looking fwd to meeting again.