Six days in Lebanon

The repair continues on the beautiful orthodox church in downtown Beirut


The 'gang' in front of pigeon rocks off Beirut's pier


Dara and Tareq strolling through the snows at Faraya


It is only when I am two months shy of 30 that I have my first ride on a sled!


The statue to the martyrs in downtown Beirut


Ksara - the heart of Lebanon's wine industry


The official statement about the stone


The largest stone in the world



At the steps of the temple - I forgot my temple attire


The six remaining towering columns of the once grand Jupiter temple at Balbeck


The Caliph's summer home


The sheep and herder of Angiers

The wee one has moved to Beirut leaving the shopping trips to Barcelona a memory of the past. But better opportunities lie in the Middle East construction market these days as Europe and North America run out of money (before they ran out of space!). We headed off very late on Friday night arriving into Beirut airport very early Saturday morning. Here I was to 'enjoy' my first experience of discrimination based on a name: my second name is Rachel, which is a biblical name, but the immigration officer decided it was a Jewish name leading to a fine teeth inspection of my passport and a grilling of where I was from!
Well it could only get better from there and it did. Tareq picked us up and on the way back top Dara's new flat we stopped to try my first maanaeesh (cheese bread Lebanese style). Being that Lebanon is the home of cheese bread, I had high expectations and I was not disappointed.
After a few hours sleep we set off to explore downtown Beirut which lead us to a quaint coffee shop where we had lebnah, olives, croissants and amazing coffee. Afterwards we drove down to the Corniche to see the famous pigeon rocks, drink amazing juice and hang with Rafi and Mural. A quick trip home home to shower and change and we hit Gemmayzeh, the party street of Beirut. It is definitely a town where the people know how to have a good time. I found it difficult to place myself - I could have been in a bar in London, Paris or Dublin. It got me thinking about Lebanon and the people, and this thought stayed with me throughout my days there; I will return to it later.
On Sunday we left the streets of Beirut and headed up to the mountains and the ski resort of Faraya. It was amazing that only an hours drive out of the city and we were up in the snow covered mountains. Unfortunately we were too late to start skiing for the day, but we managed to rent a sledge and had a lot of fun with that! Following our fun in the snow we headed back down to beirut where Tareq treated us to a night a the theatre Lebanese style. Entitled the return of the phenix or AWDAT AL FINIK in Arabic, it was a musical about the legend of the town of Byblos where the people set the fortress on fire rather than surrender to the enemy, but they were reborn and continue to be so. A symbol of Lebanon ability to recover from trying times.
On Monday I explored the newly constructed arts quarter, Saifi village. An area of designer shops and cobbled streets, i found it beautiful but empty and artificial. The same description would apply to the downtown area which houses all the designer shops and restaurants. I did enjoy wandering around the streets and was very impressed by the wide range of books in the virgin megastores bookshop.
Tuesday too me out of Beirut and into the beauty of the Bekha valley. We first stopped for the best mid-morning snack ever: honey and labneh (a liquid yogurt) wrapped in a thin arabic bread. Soon after the snack we stopped at Ksara which the best vineyard in Lebanon. Here we were taken on a tour of the ancient caves which store the wines and were treated to a tasting session of the best wine and cognac they produced; all this at 10 in the morning! Slightly tipsy we were back on the road and on the way to Balbeck - the pride of ancient Lebanon. The great temples date from the 3rd century BC, and today are on the edge of a predominately hezbollah town. We were treated to a wonderful Lebanese lunch in Zahle, the capital of the Bekha valley. Our final stop of the day was the town of Angiers. Today the town is almost all armenian Lebanese, and they look after the historical artifact that lies at the town's edge. The ancient town of Angiers was the Caliph of Damascus summer home - the border with Syria is a mere 3 miles away. Although the ruins have been very badly restored, beautiful mosaics were uncovered and are housed in the National Museum in Beirut.
My final day in Beirut, and after a lazy morning Dara and I were treated to an amazing lunch at Mural's house. We ate traditional Armenian food amidst a family that were such a joy to be in the company of. After lunch I set off to wander around Hamra and the area around the American University of Beirut. Unfortunately it was a public holiday and therefore many shops were shut, but the walking tour made the city enter my psychic and lay the path for future visits.
This final day experience ties in with my overall thoughts on the city: a city recovering from terrible horrors and yet remains divided. The centre of the city which experienced the worst of the fighting has been rebuilt in the fashion of Dubai - pristine and sterile. Locals enjoy meals and shopping in the clean reconstructed buildings as the memories of divisions float beneath the surface. But then who am I to say how a country or a people should recover. A political system and an urban plan that operates on religious divides, but don't divides exist in every country. Some people choose to party, others to shop and enjoy the good life, others still such as my wonderful tour guide just want the country to be viewed as a place of peace, history and life. Recovery from past pain takes decades, as we in Ireland well know, sometimes it may take a lifetime.