Lebanon has been HIGH on my list being out here, many are often surprised I haven't been as it is again, just a mere 3.5 to 4-hour flight from here. So when a college friend said he was visiting Lebanon, I thought it would be the perfect time to visit. Thanks Kris! Plus, I felt rather comfy traveling with a guy friend for safety purposes. Contrary to a lot of thoughts and 'warnings' I saw on pretty much ALL sites related to Lebanon, I felt it was relatively safe! Maybe it was because had 'locals' with us most of the time, but overall felt super comfy.
Soo, one of the blessings of working here is the connections you make with people from all over the world. As soon as I let the word out about my upcoming visit, all of my Lebanese patients offered some kind of help. One, in particular, has a brother there, and as I was treating both her and her husband, it was a shoo-in for trust.
As has been the theme, was an action-packed 4 days!
More pics and descriptions on Day 3 and 4 to come soon!
Day 1:
- Arrive in Beirut!
- St. Nicolas Stairs - "Stairs of the Art" - cool funky area, very colorful and hip.
- Lady of Lebanon, Harissa - great viewpoints (of Jouniah) of the city and went up via a telephonique tram type thing. It's a cool area because it is a major pilgrimage site for both Christians and Muslims and is seen as an important shrine of Lady of Mary from all over the world and there literally are different Lady of Lebanon's all over the world.
Rafic and I, my patient's brother! Super nice and a great driver... kind of was a driver/guide/friend.
Gorgeous views of Jouniah
Hmm... look a little tired from the flight and... am wearing a sweater! Had to buy that just before I left as well as boots as realized I had NO warm weather (non-hiking) clothes! Haha
I just happened to be there on Orthodox New Years Day so lit a candle for my family :-)
I like Manakish anyway, but fresh out of the oven with the zaatar of Lebanon is one of a kind. Amazing and delicious!!!
- Jeitta Grotto - Wow! All I have to say is "WOW!" How is this not a wonder of the world? Apparently in the top 15, but soo impressive! This grotto with limestone caves had the lower part discovered in the mid-1800's, and the upper part not until the mid-1900's, yet the upper part now homes the worlds largest stalactite. The cave is just enormous! They told us that about 700m of the 2000+m is accessible to tourists, so one can only imagine what is to still be discovered. ! Also, the lower part has a river that actually has fresh water that supplies Beirut, it is said to be over 6000m, but the tourist part is a lot smaller..... You take this little boat to go through it and is just cool to admire it all. Funny thing about going during offseason is that there is NO one around and.... well, although not supposed to take pics, they really didn't care and we did. Of course, pics don't capture the magnitude of the caves, but I was REALLY impressed by it!!!
Whoop, there it is! The world's largest stalactite!
- Fereya mountain! Well, on top of all the things Lebanon has to offer, skiing is one of them! So in furry one day, thought I was doing one of those free cancellation booking.com reservations, but it wasn't, soo although the slopes were still closed because of NO snow, we went up there to just have a looksy at the mountains. And I'm glad we did! We stopped at this cozy "Fireplace" restaurant in Mayrouba and had really delicious local eats. Have to say Lebanese food is second to none, sooo fresh! The salads, wow! Soooo green and had REAL taste (unlike Dubai, hmph). Was really amazing!
And..... a wee bit later having some tea while our room was getting ready, all bundled up :-)
Day 2:
- Fereya mountain! It actually snowed that night and nothing like waking up in this beautiful lodge and seeing snow outside your window. So we took advantage of it and went... snowmobiling!! Was SUPER fun, although layered up all the clothes I had yet was still cold, was too awesome seeing and feeling fresh snow. Was gorgeous as well!
View from the window
Hehe, my Nepal hat. I guess inside joke for us that did Everest, no one else seemed to get it. Oh well!
Haha, nooo am not an alcoholic! Was just for show... actually was having tea yet Kris 'ordered' some homemade Arak, and had a sip - very licorice-y, but too early in the morning for this! Lol
- Faqra Site - what Lebanon isn't shy of is ancient Roman ruins. We literally stumbled upon this on our way down from the mountain....
Some view of the valley on the way down to Beirut:
- Saint Charbel Makhlouf Cathedral - Well, this is something. This Maronite priest and monk has quite a high reputation! He is known all around the world as performing miracles and also has an interesting story in that he died Xmas Eve and somehow his body is as if he was still alive, a flowing blood stream and still flexible. But he is most known for performing miracles and many have been 'cured' of varying illness by him.... even century later with 'dreams' of him 'saving' them.
- Approaching Beirut, we went to the famous Aal Bahr restaurant for seafood. It had been recommended by 2 separate patients, and well, these patients apparently come from money because 1kg of fish was $60USD! That was the cheapest. We all kind of squirmed at this and decided to stay for the fab views, NOT get fish and just get mezze. Soo.. that price NOT my cup of tea, but really enjoyed the views!!!
- Finally! Byblos in Jbeil!! I was almost getting anxious about it as you see it was almost sunset time when we had our late lunch, but it was fairly close to get to, so phew! Well, anyone that mentions visiting Lebanon mentions Byblos. Byblos has Phoenician roots and occupied between 8000 B.C. and 7000 B.C. and is a Unesco World Heritage Site. Not only known was it the first city of Phoenicia, but also one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. It has had a complex history as a port, has Phoenician, Crusader, and Roman ruins. Very beautiful and although you can tell how touristy it has become, it still has a nice charm to it. Plus, we couldn't get luckier to actually see a beautiful sunset.
The VERY popular souk area (can only imagine this being soo soo touristy in the summer!). Nice to walk through, but that's about it!
Day 3:
- Corniche - We ended up staying by the Corniche and as luck would have it, it happens to be where it is the best to go running! So started this day with a nice 10km run along the beachfront, which actually reminded me of Chicago's lakefront, sniff sniff. The weather was t-shirt and shorts weather and nice to see so many people out:
Ah ha! "Polar" bear club, lol. Okay, it wasn't that cold outside, but nice to see people still going out for swim's!
- Deir Al Kamar - aka. Monastery of the Moon. This is an interesting area as it is highly Jewish, yet has a Monastery and Maronite Church dating back to the 15th century. What was most entertaining is that we somehow ended up on this little tour with again wax figures (what's with all the wax figures?) and had this little 'ol man that... bless him, was speaking English (we think?) but literally could not understand him, which we didn't discover till after we left when Kris said, "umm... was it just me or did you have NO idea what he was saying?" So we had a good laugh about that because Rafic was trying so hard not to laugh at us pretending we understood and trying to look interested, hah ahah. Guess you had to be there, just one of those things!
Look at these cabbages!! Amazing!!!!!!
Drive to the Moussa Castle.... the valley so pretty!
- Moussa al Mamari Castle - This man for 75 years built this Castle, all himself. It is full of wax statues and figures of his lifetime that represented his lifetime! It actually tells his life story, buuuut unfortunately, not too many English translations, so we had a little fun trying to be creative to make up stuff, he he.
- Beiteddine - Best known for the Beiteddine Palace, built in the late 1700's/early 1800's and used by the Ottoman's, which you can definitely see. Had beautiful mosaics and very well intact... could definitely invision myself as a princess there! lol (that's what the boyz said, he he)
- Hamra Street! A more thriving area, quite busy, but nice to see a bit of action as so far we have been out of Beirut. We had a nice dinner at Al Hamra Cafe and was a good wind down to a busy day!
- Downtown and Grand Mosque - We went for a stroll and although Kris has seen this Big mosque before, right in the heart of the city, he wanted to show me and I'm glad he did! It's soo interesting how the mosque is wedged next to a church, which is next to another mosque... which is right by these ancient Roman ruins! What a history Lebanon has!!!
Statue of Rafic Hariri
Day 4:
- Morning rainbow! It had been raining at night and thank GAWD Kris noticed it, buuuut literally just outside our balcony was this GORGEOUS rainbow! A DOUBLE rainbow too! It's the little things in life that are exciting to me, haven't seen a rainbow in.... decades???? Soo pretty and hopefully a good omen!
- Hajjar al Hibla - Roman Quarry and the world's largest stone
- Baalbeck
- Anjar - Lebanon is super interesting because of all the regions of religions. Anjar is an almost fully Armenian community and right in the Bekaa Valley. What was MORE exciting, especially to Kris, is that we were a mere 4km from the border of Syria! Not only that, but we finally got to see some normal looking cedar trees, Lebanon's national tree and what they are famous for (even on the flag). Was actually nice as NO ONE was there, it was a bit drizzly, and just walking through this bit of forest area among Roman ruins was just.... nice! I loooved the fresh air and being in nature. Too good!
- What was probably the BEST part of the day #2, is that just like the morning, we saw RAINBOWS again! A double one! What are the odds? Really haven't seen one in a decade or so, and to have TWO double rainbows in one day surely must mean good luck!!! :-)
- Chateau Ksara - ahh, now that we did all the cultural stuff, time for some R&R! Ksara is an area also in the BekaaValley known for its wine! Soo, off we went to this winery that was founded by Jesuit priests of all things to do wine tasting and have a tour of the winery. It has an interesting story in this is at least the only wine cellar at least that I have been to that is in real and natural caves! Can't think of a better place to store wine, it's naturally temperature controlled! Was quite yummy and something different to do::
- Zeiytouna Bay - our last meal at this developed area just by our hotel, had our last yummy Lebanese meal :-) I'm totally obsessed with the salads! Soooo green and sooo fresh! Really night and day difference from the salads here in Dubai (which are x10 more expensive! Grr!).
Day 5:
- Corniche run and La Rouche! Well, the other day when I ran, I literally got just about where I would have seen the famous rocks La Rouche, but stopped and turned around. Didn't actually think I could run there, but lo and behold, decided to go a wee bit further and... there it was!!!!
Overall impressions: Have to say, Lebanon is a VERY complex country. The history is something in itself, not to mention all the different religions and cultures. I did make a comment how generally people seem to get along, BUT Rafic correctly said, "it's at a tipping point," almost like if one more drop goes in, there will be chaos. I kind of got that vibe as well. BUT have to say, overall felt fairly safe but 110% agree that you really need to have someone local be with you, it does make a difference!
I thought local people there are too too lovely. Soo generous! Rafic didn't know his way around that much, and everytime he stopped, it was "habibi" this, "habibi" that, "Habibi" is a term of endearment and love, but yet used all the time over there, even with strangers. Was kind of cute in a way, also funny!
Coming from Dubai where everything is superficial and more or less man-made, no authenticity, being in a place where there is chaotic driving (they even drive without seat belts!), 'real' people (i.e. even Lebanese doing service jobs) is refreshing. The day we were driving up to Moussa Castle, etc, as usual, we stopped and asked for directions and this old man pretty much asked to have a lift, more or less hitchhiking. We said it was fine and then I asked what would have happened if we didn't pick him up? And how did he get so far away from his town? And he said not to worry, someone would have picked him up. Really? Just like that, so trusting and ..... nice! It seems the villages are more like that. Also, what we found REALLY generous is that most of the local people we met, including Rafic and Rouda (our driver to Baalbeck) insisted that they pay for lunch, snacks, etc. We kind of felt bad because we were the customers and NO WAY would this happen in North America, so I thought this was extremely hospitable and just.... nice! There ARE nice people in the world today, they all commented on how they wanted us to have a good time and that they are good people. Which they are!
Besides the amazing good, really, so fresh and green (the salads, just awesome! Love the seasonings with zaatar and pomegranate, etc), nature really is amazing - beautiful valleys, these historic ruins, forests, mountains, a lot of things compacted in one little country! Which, speaking of, we noticed the 'older' generation (hehe, Rafic's age!) was a bit more 'bitter' about Syrians doubling the population of Beirut and Lebanon and taking all the resources, cheaper labor, etc. but then the 'younger' population, like Rouda, didn't really seem to care and were in their own la la land. Rafic was funny, Mr. Nice guy the 1st couple of days, and then the 3rd day he started to let out how he 'really' felt about Syrians, Egyptians, Gulf countries, etc etc. He used to work in Saudi, just like Kris, and that was a whole field day of conversation.
So all and all, a great time!!! Am REALLY glad the weather held up, got to see snow for the first time in ages (and do a new snow activity), see and feel a bit of rain, have fresh FRESH foods (salads!), and learn a lot about the history of Lebanon, which is quite complex! Also was super to catch up with a fellow nomad, Kris is a super travel companion and we had lots of our worldly adventures to share! And some good laughs, according to him, I am like his "nana" in that I was going to be early and drinking herbal teas, lol. What's wrong with that? hehe :-)
Until next time!
No comments:
Post a Comment