Scuba diving on rise despite lack of life in Lebanese waters

By Philipp Breu (article)

The world of scuba diving in Lebanon is no stranger to paradox: it’s a sector that took shape during the 1975-90 Civil War and it’s one where environmental degradation has a macabre “benefit.”

And as the summer season nears its end, there can be only good news for diving aficionados.

In general, diving is on the way “up,” according to Walid Noshie, who began professional scuba diving in 1978.

Three years later, he founded the Beirut-based National Institute for Scuba Diving (NISD).

“The NISD is one of the best clubs here, there are only very few professional clubs,” the 52-year-old says.

Noshie is one of a handful of instructors who train and dive with every customer enthusiastic about an underwater excursion. He says that diving tourism has been growing rapidly since the end of the Civil War: There were only a few diving centers prior to 1990, while today, the country can boast 20 small facilities and seven to eight larger ones.

“The NISD is diving with about 150 people every month, including professionals and beginners,” says Nasser Saidi, the manager of the NISD, who also doubles as an instructor.

An instruction session precedes every dive and the session is tailored to the knowledge of the divers, who can include complete beginners or veteran, professional divers who are only interested in the peculiarities of the Lebanese underwater world. These include very limited visibility in the summer (1-20 meters), a situation that improves during the fall (15-100 meters) when the sea currents clean the water and wash the impurities in the direction of Cyprus.

“The temperature of the water gets up to 30 degrees [Centigrade] in the summer, and even in winter it never drops below 16 degrees, making diving all year round possible,” Saidi adds.

Divers say that Lebanon offers the perfect environment for practicing skills, although the reason won’t please environmentalists and won’t please lovers of underwater beauty. Situated at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, the marine life is poor, with some sites best described as “moonscapes” rather than landscapes. On some days, divers should avoid inspecting the detritus floating in the shallows too closely.
 

 

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