Just a Little Trip to Lebanon

Well, it’s been a while since I last blogged and for good reason.

I’ve been doing lots of traveling lately – as well as the usual going to class and studying.

My travels began a couple of weeks ago in Beirut, Lebanon.  I hooked up with two friends that I met in Amman, and jumped on their trip.  We had zero plans when we got into the country.  Our hotel room was the absolute tiniest thing that I have ever seen, complete with water that was coming, if not directly, through only a small filtering process from the Mediterranean Sea (read: the water coming from the sink, shower, etc. was salty).  What’s important though when you are searching for a hotel room in the Middle East?  Air conditioning, and quite luckily, our hotel had it.  One of the most striking memories of Beirut was cab drivers.  They are rude thieves who want to do little more than rip off a good tourist.  Several times we got in all but fist-fights with them.  Needless to say, we were glad to get back to the metered taxis here in Amman.

As for seeing the area, we had some connections and ended up being given what can only be called a grand tour of the entire country.  Our tour guides were Henry and Patricizia, and they are absolutely some of the sweetest people that I have ever met in my life.  Prior to that tour, we did some exploring on our own which included the grave of Rafic Hariri, my very first experience at Hard Rock Cafe, and various sightseeing locales within the city, which included more than a few visits to one of the only Krispy Kreme’s in the Middle East.  When we met up with Henry and Patrizia, they took us to the village that they grew up in, to Jeita Groto (in the running for one of the new natural wonders of the world – vote here!), to Byblos, to a beautiful winery, and to the ruins at Baalbeck.

Knowing very little about Lebanon before entering the country, I was able to learn so much from talking with Henry and Patricizia.  They told so many stories about their lives during the Civil War and how it has affected literally everything that they do.  It was amazing because I have never even been that close to someone who has been through real war.  Sure, it’s something that I watch on television everyday, but hearing stories from first hand witnesses brings an entirely new dimension of reality to it.

While in Lebanon, we also took a little trip south to the city of Tyre (known here as Sur).  To me, this was one of the best parts.  We were able to walk around the entirety of the town in one day and see everything from the bustling beaches to the tiniest hovels on the backside of the island to the Roman ruins in the middle of the town. 

One of the most disappointing things about Lebanon was the ironic lack of night life.  I thought it would be crazy everywhere, but the reality is that if you aren’t carrying tons of money and if you aren’t dressed in your absolute best clothes, you won’t get very far at night.  Next time.

 

We ended our trip in with the gorgeous views of Pigeon Rock.  Absolutely incredible.

All in all, Lebanon was a fantastic place to visit, and I would actually love to live there despite its…charming….people and expensive prices.  Its beautiful Mediterranean views far outweigh these aspects.  Promise.