Blogs from Lebanon, Middle East - page 13

About 40 km north of Beirut, you will find Byblos or Jbeil, the oldest inhabited city in the world. Historians estimate that the first settlers date back to 6000 B.C. After investigating my transportation options, I decided to head to Jbeil by public bus. The journey takes about an hour, but depends on traffic and on the way there only cost me $2 or 3000 Lebanese Lyra - my taxi ride to the bus station cost more ($5)! Officially the bus goes to Tripoli, but you can ask the driver to drop you off on the highway at Byblos. The bus itself was comfortable and had functioning air conditioning, essential with Lebanon’s humidity. The drive to Byblos is pretty amazing because you drive at the foot of the mountains with apartment buildings built on the sides ... read more

When we started planning our trip to the Middle East we knew we might receive mixed receptions from the people we would meet and that Americans are not well regarded in this part of the world. We had been to Jordan and Egypt a few times and had always been warmly welcomed, but we did not know what to expect in Syria and Lebanon. We knew the US pulled Americans out of their Embassy in Syria, we knew that the wounds from the 2005 altercation with Israel would still be fresh in Lebanon, and we knew that our image in Middle East was not favorable since the Iraq war, but we did not know how this would affect our day-to-day interactions on our trip. In Syria, there was nothing negative to speak of--we were welcomed with ... read more

Dix jours en famille De beaux cadeaux du ciel se préparent d'eux mêmes bien avant qu'on s'en préoccupe...Flash Back Nous sommes le 5 juillet, jour du départ, (il pleut des cordes), c'est un dimanche, nous sortons de la messe quand nous découvrons que St Nizier, notre parroisse lyonnaise, est jumelée avec l'église maronite St Elias dans la banlieue de Beirut. Le Liban nous parait bien loin, toute une mer nous en sépare! Nous décidons pourtant de laiser un message aux réponsables de cette association inter-paroissiale. Le coup de fil est vite passé, nous l'oublions sans nous douter que ce jumelage allait être pour nous l'occasion de d'une plongée dans la vie quotidienne d'une famille libannaise eu coeur plus large et plus profond que la mer méditerranée ! La famille Thomé nous reçoit donc, un peu l'improviste, ... read more

Hi all, I arrived on Tuesday at 4am into Lebanon with only a mild sweat on, until of course I walked outside and its baking. The driving in Lebanon is quite insane. There are no lanes, no lights, no seatbelts, no right of way, no horn not worth blowing and most important of all; no rules. So far nothing has been done without a great deal of noise! (Rich, I'm not sure it's your cup of tea) There is an expression is Lebanon - "Smile, you're in Lebanon", it sort of means "like it or lump it" or maybe "shit happens". Tariq has been a great host taking me round with his family, who assure me that I will get ill soon! It's supposedly common due to the change in diet, yay. Word of advice to ... read more

Ok, so a brief update I think. Mary has been beavering away at her blog entry for almost an hour so I suspect she'll be done soon - I'll make it snappy. In fact, even better, I'll make it themed. Middle Eastern Food: An Odyessy. Tripoli is supposedly the home of Arabic sweets and this has certainly been a theme of our stay here. After this entry we are heading to Le Palais, a tea-shop with an extensive range of baklava, cakes, ice cream and chocolate. This will be the fourth time we have paid it a visit (though we have only indulged in sweets once) and we are quite familiar with the staff. Yesterday we had ice cream - all through the Middle East you can get the most delicious flavours. The standard one - ... read more