Ride It, Taste It, Love It: Lebanon

Who knew a country 3/4 the size of Connecticut would have so much to offer? We did. That is why Emily and I spent our February Eid break in beautiful Lebanon, home to Beirut, or the "Paris of the Middle East" as many say.

While flying in it was surreal enough to see the snow tipped mountains pop up out of the sandy brown Arabian Peninsula. Snowboarding on those mountains with amazing views of the Syrian Jabal an Nusayriyah range to the east and the Mediterranean to the west was over the top. It was not the record snowfall pristine CO powder of 07-08. However, the conditions were absolutely delightful for two sand-locked Winter Park junkies. Lebanon had just had a record snowfall itself. We wasted no time once we arrived and were shuttled up to Faraya, a mountain town just 60 minutes uphill from Beirut. Complete with 7 lifts and 3 towropes, Faraya Mzaar boasts as Lebanon's premier ski resort. They claim it's their size that gives them such status; I think it's their coziness and the bell tower available for ringing at the top . . . if you dare to ride down through the Mediterranean clouds afterwards. Four days of making some turns, regrettable drops, and the roasted chestnuts après ski was well worth the modest expense.

Lebanon has quite the French influence . . . as Emily was clearly aware of while we were booking :). The French brought in some great additions to Lebanon after the World Wars ended. Their most notable addition, to us, was their famous grape vines, well crafted oak barrels, and art of wine making. We were taxied up through the mountains and down into Bekaa Valley to 3 different wineries: Kefraya, St. Thomas, and Ksara. Each winery was very welcoming offering a tour and tastings. Ksara may have won the most unique award for taking us through their natural tunnels where they store the oak barrels. The caves had a perfect temperature and humidity level for wine storage. As far as taste goes, the young St. Thomas winery may have had the best . . . as further proven by all of their gold and silver medals. Emily got a picture of the owner as he took a time out from pruning the vines. The day was full of tasting good wines, staring at the snowy Syrian border, and smelling the valley’s fresh green grass (all a rarity for us these days). The kicker was our Lebanese driver Bahij and his wealth of information concerning Lebanon culture and history. He treated us like we were his only priority, even though we knew he could not wait to get home to see his 10 month old girl Aya.

Currently the U.S. Embassy does not support any travel by Americans to Lebanon per the threatening political instability . . . an advisory that we took very seriously. Fortunately, that same kind of advisory also brings hotel rates way down. After snowboarding and wine touring, we were able to catch some r & r at the 5 star Le Meridien Hotel. It was a nice base to come home to after some sightseeing in Beirut. We did not see the recently renovated sections (which are real nice from what I hear). We did get a small feel for the country’s heartaches by touring the Hamra district and seeing several buildings tattered with bullet holes and shelled out from the recent civil and Israeli wars. As they worked hard to erase the Israeli bomb sites, they have left much of the civil war damage still standing . . . . . maybe as a reminder. The most famous reminder may be the 20 - 30 story Holiday Inn building along the corniche. That was a humbling site. Despite tense politics and potential war, Lebanese do know how to bring in the cheer and have a good time. The streets were alive and we could hear the party scene bumping into the wee hours of the night. The mezze was fresh and cafes were hopping on every corner. The city felt so primed for regaining its status as one of the premier tourist cities in the world. We were happy to get quick and peaceful look at a country that knows and may soon see much worse times. Here’s to hoping for a peaceful resolution in the near future.

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