Blogs from Middle East - page 864

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

Fethyie... read more

After a good night's sleep, we drove up to Roumieh, the mountain town where Hani and Hani's brother have a home. On the highway, I had my first realy glimpse of Lebanese driving. Driving in a lane is optional, lines don't exist, reverse is always an option, and exit ramps may or may not exist. We then turned onto a tiny, curvy road that reminded me of the back roads in many places in West Virginia. Soon we entered the village of Roumieh. The temperature was noticably cooler even though we were only 15 minutes from downtown. Instantly I fell in love with the big Lebanese homes. The homes are passed down through the family, and have distinctive details you can't find in any McMansion. The rooms are spacious with high ceilings, so they have a ... read more

Summer School 2 was over so we had the opportunity to get away for a few nights before Summer School 3 began. That meant a late evening bus from Damascus to the desert city of Palmyra. We arrived at 1130pm and were soon drinking refreshing tea in our hotel before settling down for a good night’s sleep. The following morning we set out to climb up to the citadel in the morning sun, before the heat of the day became too much to bear. It was a tough climb on rough tracks but the views over the extensive Roman ruins were worth it. Unfortunately our guidebook proved to be wrong (again!) and the castle was closed, not opening until midday!! We were not the only frustrated tourists up there though and we were given a lift ... read more

Today I was invited to a barbeque at the rug shop. Persian and Turkish rugs are one of the hot items that the Iraqis peddle. I have learned that most of the so called “Iraqis” are Turks that pretend to be Iraqi to sell their wares at Iraqi gift shops. There are various grades of rug but the best are handmade. The Iraqi Doctor that I have talked about previously is friends with the high class rug seller here in Al Asad. The Doctor invited some of the other Doctors and Nurses to the rug shop for a barbeque. I know that this was all a ploy to get us to the rug shop to see the handmade rugs. But I have come to love Kabobs so this seemed all worth it. We arrived and were ... read more