Yesterday is but today's memory, tomorrow is today's dream. -Kahlil Gibran
My transit visa for Lebanon was only for three days, but I was having so much fun that I decided to overstay my visa... with my fingers crossed that the consequences wouldn't be too serious. Everything always seemed to work itself out, so my plan was to ride on this high tide of optimism. My idea to get the 48-hour visa started with the nagging desire to go to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, so I thought that a 3-day visa would be plenty enough for me to transit through Lebanon. But... as usual, my plans changed and I decided to stay in Lebanon for several more days instead, so I was stuck with the expired visa.
On Sunday, Chi and I headed over to the ancient Roman ruins of Baalbek, which is charmingly referred to as the City of the Sun. It was known in the ancient times as a place for Romans to worship their god, Jupiter, so you can imagine how massive this place used to be in its glory days of 1st century BC through 3rd century AD.
We got a late
start, probably because I lagged. We rode a taxi to a local bus station...called Cola! Hmmm, first the McDs, then the American cookies and chocolate, and now this? I'm beginning to (wishfully) think I've found a place that likes Americans.
We got dropped of somewhere in Baalbek town and the vague Lonely Planet map guided us to the ruins. Some people complain that the LP maps are utter crap, but from my experience I've been able to navigate my way through towns and cities with it, finding accommodations, resources, etc. Needless to say, I'm still a fan of it b/c it serves its purpose as being a
basic guide book offering helpful suggestions. Alright, that's my PR push for LP... haha, this ain't the "No Spin Zone"!
Since we arrived late in the afternoon, as the sun was headed for its daily retirement, we unexpectedly came at the best possible time of the day! The temperature was mild since the sun wasn't shooting down on us, and the rays were gently basking the ruins with a glowing orangish hue. It was absolutely stunning to see the ruins look so alive and vibrant. It still amazes me how the
sun can effect the appearance things so significantly. The ruins were scattered around a large area, some well-preserved and some unrecognizable, but my two favorites had to be the remaining pillars of the Temple of Jupiter and the very well-preserved Temple of Bacchus (the god of wine, though some sources say that the temple is actually dedicated to Venus-- goddess of love, lust, and beauty).
As I've mentioned in past blogs, I have seen so many ruins so I can be a bit of a siteseeing-snob, but this had to be one of the most magical and spiritual moments I've had. I think that several factors played a role-- things that crossed my mind, the time of day, the emptiness of the place, the pink tank top I wore, the way the planets were aligned, the way the cedar trees looked, etc; meaning that if I come back here later on in life, it might not feel as special and intimate as it did this time around. There was one point where we sat and chilled on top of what used to be the Temple of Jupiter, and I thought that if one of my fav Beatles or Dylan
song started playing at that moment, this day would be remembered as one of the most blissfully enlightening moments of my life. Either that or I would just start crying!
We stayed there until the sun set and made our short walk back into town. We checked out a local eatery and had a delicious plate of shwarma, fattoush and grape leaves. Yuuuum! Walk into any local hole-in-the-wall in Lebanon, and chances are that it won’t disappoint!
We rode a bus (a four-row van) back into town. After everyone had been dropped off, the driver asked us, through the help of a semi-bilingual Lebanese man, where we needed to go. After we sorted that out, he invited us for dinner. Although Chi and I had stuffed ourselves at Baalbek, we couldn't refuse his offer for some reason. After we ate (shwarma), the man paid for the meal before we even realized it and I felt extreeeeeemely grateful to his friendly gesture. We sat around puffing away a few smokes before he helped us catch a taxi (and negotiate the rate) for the rest of the way home. What a wonderful day.
When we got back to our
guest house, it turned out that Heather (Korean girl studying in London and traveling through the Mediterranean countries) and David (Australian student doing independent journalism work while on summer vacation) were going to go to the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp the next morning with an aid crew, in northern Lebanon. I wanted to join but David had a snobby “this ain’t a field trip” attitude about it and so I missed this chance to learn more about the reality of the tens of thousands of displaced Palestinian refugees. Oh, that idiot. Who is he to say what my intentions were in all of this!?!?! Even I don’t know!
Aside from that, there are two more things that I regret skipping. One, is a visit to Kahlil Gibran's museum... the man who wrote one of my favorite books, The Prophet, which I've carried with me since I first received it as a gift from Leon, back in February in Nepal. Two, is a visit to BO18, the hottest club in Lebanon (very LA of me to say that, I know. Oh the shame!). Next time... and there definitely will be a next time!
And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation. -Kahlil Gibran
Lebanon's Flag
Map of Lebanon