Inside Hezbollah Disneyland (How to Visit Mleeta Tourist Landmark of the Resistance in Lebanon)

In southern Lebanon, I encounter militant propaganda and stories of war inside the Mleeta Tourist Landmark of the Resistance, AKA, Hezbollah Disneyland.

“How do you like Lebanon?,” asked the cheery Hezbollah militant-turned-tour guide as we peered over the parapet of a trench towards the contested border with Israel that lay to the south. “We are like you, man. The West wants you to be scared of us but we eat, we drink, we marry and have kids, the same as you.”

It was a surreal moment. Earlier that same day, I’d been in the trendy Beirut suburb of Mar Mikhael, where at 8 am, techno music thumped from speakers and punters lined bar stools from the night before. Now, in the afternoon sunshine, I was standing in Hezbollah-controlled territory in southern Lebanon, amicably chatting politics in Mleeta, the home of the Tourist Landmark of the Resistance.

Located on a hilltop that was the scene of fierce fighting between Hezbollah and Israel during a conflict/occupation lasting from 1985 to 2000, this unusual museum is part memorial, part theme park and part propaganda machine. Dubbed ‘Hezbollah Disneyland’ by the travellers and journalists who’ve visited before me, you’ll see heavily armed dugouts, captured Israeli tanks and even a shooting range as you’re led around Mleeta by Hezbollah tour guides.

“Please take pictures of the museum,” said the smartly dressed guide, who would remain anonymous throughout the hour-long tour. “But don’t take any photos of us,” he added rather ominously. “We will know.”

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Hezbollah and the Tourist Landmark of the Resistance

Mleeta, or the Tourist Landmark of the Resistance, was opened in 2010 to mark the 10-year anniversary of the Israeli military’s withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000. The museum is found some 50km east of Saida (Sidon), an ancient Mediterranean port city on the coast, which is itself around 50km to the south of Beirut, Lebanon’s capital.

I’d been travelling around Lebanon for the past 10 days, exploring Beirut’s sights and bars and visiting famous destinations in the north, like Batroun and Byblos. I’d seen mosques and churches, ancient monasteries and places of biblical importance. Lebanon is a crucible of religions, languages, histories and political beliefs. Maronite Christians, Druzes, Sunnis and Shias all call Lebanon home, but I’d also seen the scars of the decades-long Civil War that wracked the country between 1975 and 1990.

Hezbollah was initially founded as a paramilitary organisation intent on resisting the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. During the 1990s and 2000s, their military arm grew stronger than the Lebanese Army, and the organisation began competing politically in national elections, gaining seats in parliament and having a profound influence on Lebanese politics. Backed by Iran, many Western nations list Hezbollah (or their military wing) as a terrorist organisation, and I’d been wary of venturing south into their heartlands during my trip.

But I’d also seen the vivid yellow of Hezbollah’s flag – which features a distinctive green AK47 on its field – flying in Beirut during the run-up to national elections. In the Qadisha Valley, I’d met a driver and tour guide (a Maronite Christian) who’d been more than happy to drive me south to Saida, Tyre and Mleeta. He had no qualms about venturing into Hezbollah territory.

After all, Mleeta was specifically designed to be a tourist attraction. I had no doubt I’d be met with Hezbollah propaganda. A visit to the Tourist Landmark of the Resistance, though, would also be a rare opportunity for even the smallest of glimpses inside the history and culture of a political and militant organisation that’s shaped the modern landscape of Lebanon.

Read more: 23 Best Places to Visit in Lebanon

Lebanon: A Land of Extremes

As we drove south from Beirut, stopping first to see the ancient sea fort of Saida which was built by Christian Crusaders in the 13th century AD, my driver Adi gave me his opinion of Hezbollah.

“It’s difficult to understand Lebanon,” he said pensively. “You have so many different groups. Hezbollah are popular in the south, and they are powerful because they have weapons. When you have weapons, you have power.”

Weapons are a quick route to power in a country plagued by division and conflict. In recent years, Lebanon has endured hyperinflation on a devastating scale, a violent blast in Beirut’s port that ripped the heart out of the capital, and seemingly never-ending strikes and counter strikes with Israel that threatens to spill over into full-blown war at a moment’s notice.

The Hezbollah flag became more prominent as we left Saida behind and followed the winding mountain roads east into southern Lebanon’s interior. Atop a prominent hill, a large, geometric gateway marked the entrance to the Tourist Landmark of the Resistance. An even larger Hezbollah flag flew over the ticket office, and once Adi had parked the car up in the shade, he suggested I ask for a guide who could better explain the Hezbollah side of the story. “Take your time,” he added. “I think there’s a nice new restaurant inside!”

I paid the small entrance fee and stepped warily through the gates. Rose gardens led to a central area where a gift shop sold Hezbollah t-shirts, caps, literature and flags beneath camouflage netting. Modern buildings held exhibitions on Hezbollah’s history and the wars with Israel, while viewpoints offered sweeping views of the Lebanese countryside, the Mediterranean Sea glinting in the distance. Steep steps led to the Martyrs’ Memorial, there were life size, ‘stand-in’ cardboard cut outs of Hezbollah soldiers holding AK47s (one of them was child-sized) for photo ops, and a sign advertised the way to the shooting range.

“What a sunny day!” the Hezbollah militant who would be my guide through Mleeta exclaimed when I met him outside the exhibition hall. “Not like foggy London,” he added, once he’d established I was from the UK. “Do you like our hummus, falafel, tabbouleh? Tourists love Lebanese food. They come here once, they eat, and they always come back again!”

Lebanon truly is a land of extremes. Extreme beauty, extreme diversity and extreme hospitality. One moment you’re looking at rocket-propelled grenades, the next, you’re talking about Lebanon’s admittedly excellent cuisine before diving into the trenches with a member of Hezbollah.

Into Mleeta’s trenches

“Mleeta, this hilltop, was a Hezbollah stronghold,” said the guide, who was wearing dress shoes, chinos and a blue shirt, as we stood inside a dugout that had been built by Hezbollah fighters. “The Israelis were on those hills just 1000 metres away. We didn’t want to become another Palestine, to lose our land. This was one of the first tunnels we dug, with hammers and bare hands. We took the rubble 4km away to hide it from the air.”

The guide explained how Mleeta was the site of fierce fighting during the conflicts with Israel. By 2008, it had no more strategic value, and work began to transform the hilltop into a memorial and museum. The trenches that wind their way around Mleeta are now filled with life-size models of soldiers, complete with RPGs and machine guns, giving some sense of what the fighting would have been like.

“We turned the tunnels and stronghold into a museum to show the world how we defeated the Israelis,” he said, with visible pride as ducked through the defences and through looked over parapets. “The media are controlled by the Israelis, so we want to show the rest of the world what really happened. You can see here what is truth. You can agree or disagree with us, but Hezbollah were the only people fighting for Lebanon, and we’ve been demonised for this.”

There were serious overtones of propaganda throughout the tour. The militarism that runs rife through Hezbollah was evident in the guide’s choice of words as we made it to the central display, an open-air exhibition named the ‘Spider’s Web’ that was composed of captured Israeli military equipment, including a burnt-out tank.

“In 2006, this tank came to invade,” he said as we looked over the railings at the museum’s centrepiece attraction. “But it left Lebanon as a coffin.”

He described the ‘Spider’s Web’ as an artwork, describing the Israeli state as being as fragile as the silk web of a spider. He pointed out downed drones and the rotors of crashed helicopters, visceral evidence of a conflict that’s caused untold casualties on both sides. Inside the air-conditioned exhibition hall, Hezbollah weapons were encased in glass cabinets, wax figures of Hezbollah clerics were illuminated by spotlights and a cinema reeled off footage created by Hezbollah’s media arm.

“Mleeta is where the land meets the heavens,” he said, as we walked to the Martyrs’ Memorial and took in the views. “What do you think of the Resistance? Do you think we should have fought the Israelis?”

I explained how in the West, Hezbollah are often seen as a terrorist organisation, a hardline group of paramilitaries causing instability in Lebanon and the wider Middle East. He said simply that Hezbollah were forced to fight, forced to protect themselves. “Give us another option,” he added, “and we will take it.”

As the tour ended, I asked him if he’d fought with Hezbollah. He was a fairly young guy, but he had the build of a soldier. He also knew an incredible amount about the weapons used by Hezbollah and kept saying ‘We’ throughout the tour. “I am not in the Resistance,” he said quickly as we strolled back through rose gardens, where a series of anti-tank missiles were also on display in the sunshine. “I’m just a messenger.”

From Disneyland to reality

Mleeta truly was a Hezbollah Disneyland. A place of propaganda that expounds a military solution in Lebanon’s south. It’s a place that sits uncomfortably in my mind, a place encouraging young Lebanese to join the militants, a place glorifying the war against Israel and deifying martyrs to the cause. At the same time, Mleeta offers a fascinating insight into the politics of a militant group that makes headlines the world over.

Lebanon is an unpredictable place. Hezbollah plays into the divisions and confusion of the nations, and Mleeta serves to advance their militant cause in the region. Even as I write this story, news outlets report that Hezbollah and Iran are planning to attack Israel as the conflict in the Middle East threatens to explode.

In my opinion, all sides are to blame for the wars that rock the region. Another way needs to be found. A way to peace that doesn’t involve tanks and RPGs. But Lebanon looks like it could slide into war once more, which truly disheartens me. I was treated with nothing but respect and experienced endless hospitality by the people of Lebanon when I visited in 2022, and I hope Hezbollah doesn’t fan the flames of hatred and war further.

After visiting Mleeta, I had one more stop that day. To the southwest sits Tyre, or Sour, another ancient Mediterranean port city surrounded by Phoenician and Roman ruins. Adi, my driver, had been confident throughout the journey so far, but along the seafront, we encountered roadblocks and then convoys of pick-up trucks and cars waving Hezbollah flags. For the first time, he seemed nervous and insisted we cut the tour of Tyre short and head back to Beirut. To me, the incident spoke of the deeper divisions in Lebanon and the Middle East; the region is a tinder box, and it just needs a spark to ignite it.

How to visit Mleeta

I can’t stress enough how right now, visiting Lebanon, let alone Mleeta, is not a good idea given the escalation of tensions and the threat of outright conflict with Israel. Governments have warned nationals to leave, and major airlines are cancelling flights to Beirut.

If things calm down, then you’ll find Lebanon is an exceptional destination to visit. Mleeta is a little tricky to get to, given there’s no public transportation to the museum, so you will need to hire a car or driver to get there. The museum is around TK hour’s drive from Beirut, and I’d suggest combining a visit to Mleeta with stops in Saida (Sidon) and Tyre (Sour). The entire trip can be done in a day if you’re in a rush or on a tight budget.