Blogs from Beirut, Lebanon, Middle East - page 9

After five fun-filled days, we decided to spend the sixth and seventh days just relaxing. So we spent Saturday and Sunday at the day at the house in Roumieh. Hani has always raved about his mother's homemade pizza, so I finally got to taste it. And it really is just as good as he described it. So we lounged, ate pizza, and Hani and Kamil played backgammon with Saad. Backgammon is a serious event in the Saad household. Both boys accuse Saad of cheating incessantly and arguing and laughing can be heard across the house as they hash out the game. I played backgammon against Saad, and with the help of Hani and Kamil, I actually won. Though Saad complained heavily about the help that I received. On Sunday, we again relaxed with good food. This ... read more

After relaxing at the beach in Jbail, we returned the next day to check out the ruins of Jbail. The city was inhabited by the Phoenicians circa 5000 bc. It was named Byblos by the Greeks. It is located right on the Mediterranean coast with spectacular views. After Hani's sister yelled at the the worker for trying to charge me more for being a foreigner, we made it into Byblos. We spent the afternoon wandering in and out of the ruins. After exploring the ruins, we headed to the "souk" or market. The marketplace is probably a tourist trap, but I loved it. I just couldn't get enough of the beautiful hand-stitched tablecloths. Famished from shopping, we stopped at a lovely seafood restaurant with one of the most amazing views of the entire trip. At the ... read more

For our third day in Lebanon, we visited the Basilica of St. Paul and Harissa. The Basilica is Greek Catholic church, and it's amazing beautiful. The mosaic artwork is stunning. Harissa is a large statue of the virgin Mary above the town of Jounieh. She's referred to as Our Lady of Lebanon or Notre Dame du Liban. Many people will walk the long windy road to reach the statue each year as a religious pilgrimage. While we drove up the hill to the statue, we did climb the stairs to the top of Harissa. The view from the top was amazing. ... read more

From the day I met Hani, he told me about his beautiful Lebanon. Finally, five years after meeting, we traveled together to Lebanon where I met his immediate family for the first time. Our first attempt to travel to Lebanon on May 10th was squelched when fighting erupted just days prior to our departure. The airport was closed, so our trip was cancelled. We prayed the situation would calm down and soon it did. We then crossed our fingers and booked another trip for June. We drove to Washington, DC on Saturday, June 28th, flew for 13 hour to Qatar, spent 13 hours in Qatar's airport, then flew 3 hours to Lebanon. We arrived on Monday June 30. Lebanon is 7 hours ahead, so we arrived around 11 am. After a tearful greeting at the airport ... read more

Since this is my 3rd time being in Lebanon, I don't necessarily see all of the things that I might have observed the first time I was here. So I'm trying to see things as if it were my first time! *Half finished buildings; no matter where you are, in Beirut, one of the suburbs or the villages there are always half finished buildings. I'm assuming that the owner ran out of money but it could also be that they moved out of the country before it was completed. Its unfortunate because it can be such an eyesore on the countryside. When we were at Paul's villa on Sunday there was a half finished apartment building that had been sitting that way for 20 years! *Driving; even though there are lines on the roads they aren't ... read more