05/04/2010 Bekaa Valley / Baalbek

Harrissa – High above Jounieh bay is a gigantic white-painted bronze statue of the Virgin of Lebanon with her arms outstretched. Around her are churches and cathedrals of various denominations.

In typical Lebanese fashion there are hardly any road signs to get to this place so we ask some man for directions to which he tells us to follow him and he drives us there! Once we get there the area is heaving with pilgrims as it is Easter time.

On the way out, our car is really boxed in and whilst I am trying to get out of the tightly packed space I accidentally hit into another car. I am mortified, but someone comes up and says it doesn’t matter. They probably just think Japanese people are bad drivers!!!!








We drive through Bekaa Valley, which despite its name isn’t actually a valley but actually a high plateau. We are on our way to Baalbek, where you need to drive high up into the mountains through the Yebel Sannine Mt Range. Again, in typical Lebanese fashion the roads are full of bone shaking pot holes. We drive high up into the mountains and there is snow still up here!





Baalbek is infamously the Hezbollah’s strategic headquarters , where back in 2006 took a battering during the Israel-Hezbollah War, with up to 20% of it’s building destroyed. And although there are many yellow Hezbollah flags flying across the region, the town’s population is mixed Christian and Muslim.



Baalbek is the home to an incredibly impressive ancient Roman site in Lebanon. And unlike Rome, where the ruins are full of tourists, there are surprising hardly any here so you basically get the site to yourself!





The drive home along the busy mountain road is yet again very stressful. Cars over take on blind corners head onto oncoming vehicles and the potholes are immense! Some of the potholes take up the entire road and you have to drive really really slow, but at the same time cars are trying to over take head onto other cars on the other side of the road. It's mental!

The night ends with us smoking more shisha at the café we went to on our first night.

04/04/2010 Qadisha Valley

Moussalayha Castle : used to defend the only land route between Beirut and Tripoli. It stands on a rocky outcrop and stands on the summit in such a way as to look like part of the living rock, it’s entrance at the top of a steep- cut stairway.



Along our drive the roads are very windey and I get incredibly motion sick. We stop off in a little town to allow me to recover. Whilst there a lady who owns a shop sees I am not looking to well and invites us to her shop where she introduces us to the whole family and makes tea and coffee for us. Hospitality in this country is amazing!

Qadisha Valley is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful spots in the whole country. A long, deep gorge, the valley rises beautifully and dramatically. The drive to the valley floor is incredibly steep with tight turns and room enough for one car. It is quite scary especially when there are no barriers to stop say a car falling over the steep edge! In the valley the monastery of Mar Elisha (St Elisues) is built into the side of the cliffs.






Drive home in the mountains where we see an amazing sunset which looks as if you could be in Africa. The sunset is breathtaking with the most amazing red/orange colours!



Driving at night on unlit mountain roads is incredibly tiresome. Whilst passing an army checkpoint I end up driving onto the wrong side of the road, to which thankfully no other car was coming the other way!! A soldier comes running up to us and sees that I am ‘Japanese’ and just waves us on. The traffic back into Beirut is absolutely horrible and we get stuck in traffic for many hours. What should be 3 lanes turns into 5 or 6 lanes and basically its if there is space drive into it - non of this if a car breaks down hard shoulder nonsense! I am exhausted and almost at breaking point where I am so tempted to stop of at the next MacDonalds for dinner when all of a sudden the traffic disappears and we are on the move again.

Go for a meal at a fish restaurant down the road from us, which we have been eyeing up since we arrived. The food is amazing.


Along the way home, we walk along the promenade where we can hear shouting and beeping of horns. We get closer to see it is a Palestinian wedding. The family members sees us and come charging up to us, grab us and drag us over to the bride and groom where they proceed to take our photo’s!!! It is amazing…so this is what it feels like to be a celebrity!!!

03/04/2010

02/04/2010 Beirut

For most outsiders, Beirut’s history begins and ends with its bloody civil war. After the war Beirut’s downtown was beautifully reconstructed and is a triumph of rejuvenation over disaster. Although most buildings have been bulldozed since the war, there is still some evidence of the savagery of war, with bullet ridden buildings. This place is not what I was expecting, with huge mosques sitting along side equally huge churches both seemingly harmonious. The city centre is a collection of designer shops ranging everything from Dior, to Chanel – if it’s designer its here!




We wander the city taking in the numerous churches and mosques. One mosque in particular has quite possibly the largest chandelier I have ever seen! Even though I cannot go inside I can still see that this thing is MASSIVE!!!





In the evening we head out to the vibrant neighbourhood of Gemmayzeh, with it’s ultra hip bars. Drink Almaza, a Lebanese beer before going onto cocktails. Randomly meet a Cannuck and Aussie in one of the bars where the night descends into shots of tequila and jagermeister and then a club on the outskirts of Beirut called B018, which is located underground. The club is amazing and the most spectacular aspect of the club is revealed when the heavy beats kick in and the ceiling entirely opens up to the night sky….home at 10am…oops!

01/04/2010 Tripoli (Trablous) / Byblos (Jbail)

Tripoli is 85km North of Beirut, and is Lebanon’s 2nd largest city. The contrast between this city and Beirut is very noticeable. This city is far more tightly packed, demure and down to earth compared to the ultra slick Beirut.

We wander the medieval souk, talking to the locals and getting greased up by people who seem to want to keep putting home made perfumes all over us. Smelling highly potent to the point where I am feeling nauseous we stop off for strong Turkish coffee and baklava (very sweet pastries), which Tripoli is famous for. Yummy!!!





Byblos (Jbail)

With its picturesque ancient fishing harbour, Roman remains, and crusader castle , this place is simply beautiful!

So imagine this…. sitting by this amazingly beautiful fishing harbour, the sun is setting, with the most melodic Arabic chanting for Easter playing in the background.




Have a lovely meal at Pepe the pirates Byblos Fishing Club, which used to be famed for its stream of famous film stars before the civil war.



After go and sit and in a lovely square eating crepes and smoking Shish pipe. The area is ‘buzzing’ with people paying pilgrimage for Easter at the numerous churches and temples in this town.

31/03/2010 Sidon (Saida) / Tyre (Sour)

“Coffee should be black as hell. Strong as death and sweet as love”

Wake up and open curtains to bright blue skies and the ocean…amazing!! We have decided to drive along the coast towards the less visited South to Sidon (Saida) and Tyre.

The port city of Sidon (Saida in Arabic) is located 40km South of Beirut. We arrive and walk around the souks (markets), taking in the atmosphere and amazing sea views. The people seem to be amazingly friendly…which is a little unnerving. Hey I'm a city girl - city folk like us are miserable!!





Head on further south to Tyre (Sour), which is 81km south of Beirut and not to far from the Palestinian border. Many army check points along the way . This city suffered dreadfully during the civil war and the city remains full of UNifil troops.

Sit along the coast drinking very strong Arabian coffee and smoking shisha pipes, whilst watching the sun set. Have dinner on the fishing harbour at a great little seafood restaurant called Le Petit Phoenicien, before heading home along unlit, pot holed roads.





Rules to driving in Lebanon:

• Beep your horn whenever you can
• Don’t signal
• Run red lights
• Don’t turn your headlights on at night
• Be prepared for the biggest potholes ever!
• Speed limits are just a suggestion and should never be obeyed!
• Over take the car in front and break suddenly
• Overtake head on into the traffic on the other side
• Each to their own!!

30/03/2010 London – Beirut, Lebanon

Spend day at work doing bugger all, but clock watching…tick tock, tick tock…until clock hits noon and then holiday time!!

Plane ride I am sitting next to a cute little toddler. Her mother plays Sound of Music on the portable DVD player for the entire 4 hour journey. ‘Doh a deer, a female deer…” After each song the little girl claps. Ah, a child after my own heart!!!

Question: why do passengers feel the need to clap when the plane lands???

In Beirut. Draw out cash. I am a millionaire!



I have read in the Lonely Planet that driving in Lebanon is where ‘anarchy rules’. Pick up the hire car. Neither or us have driven in the Middle East before. What can I say, but arrrghhhhh!!! So I am driving in a foreign country, no idea what the speed limit is, people beeping me, can’t read Arabic, no idea how to get to the hotel…. Until Rayhan randomly says, ‘turn right here’, and bingo we are at our hotel.

Check into our apartment, which has the largest balcony ever. Go to the local café next to us where we eat lots of steak humus, cheesy chips (??!!) and blissfully smoke Apple flavoured Hubbly Bubbly.