How to lose all credibility with a single word

In the process of gathering the necessary information on a master's thesis (finishing up the first chapter of my thesis and citing a few last sources for my bibliography), I come across this dedication:

"To my wife [name redacted], thank you for constantly motivating and inspiring me with your awesomeness"

Umm...

Professor Strikes Again

"Well, falling off a cliff and falling in love are kind of similar"

-Arabic professor, explaining how the structure of a sentence could be misconstrued but wouldn't be that far off.

Quote of the Day

"Professors make mistakes.  So do prophets"

-My arabic professor, trying to put his errors into perspective.

Denial

Is a state of existence sometimes.  Right now, I don't have a paper and problem set due Thursday.  No, I definitely do not.  And I'm not a college student far away from Oklahoma.

Which is why I'm reading a blog about a woman in Oklahoma who lives on a working cattle ranch and takes the most beautiful pictures of her basset hound.  This picture highlighting their awkward proportions has convinced me I am meant to have one of these animals:

Also, note that doleful expression.  I think I'm in love.

The blog in question is a great read that I discovered after a trip to a ranch earlier this year that almost convinced me to move out into the middle of nowhere and commune with horses, cattle, and cowboys for the rest of my life.

Also, her basset hound does this:

My dog will never ever ever be that calm around another animal.  Cheers to basset hounds.  One of you will be mine someday.

Quote of the Day

"We are like octopus"

-My arabic teacher, arms outstretched like tentacles, trying to explain all of the directions that our class will be heading in this semester.

The View from My (Car) Window

A beautiful car ride.  Except for the fact that I was so car sick my brain and stomach's dialogue went something like this:

stomach: "I can't hold on anymore.  Stuff's comin' up!"

brain: "no! wait! there's other people in this car"

stomach: "it doesn't matter"

brain: "yes. yes, it does. throwing up on other people rarely makes friends"

stomach: "Fine. I will hold onto my contents for another five minutes, and then we will have this conversation again"

This lasted for an hour.

Why Google?

Why are you so smart??

I'm just taking a break and checking email, not trying to get majorly nostalgic and too distracted to think at all.  Now my mind is in a million different places.  Instead of the usual couple thousand.  Hence, I'm blogging.

Khellas!  This thesis proposal won't write itself.

The View from My Window

Into the courtyard in my dorm.  It looks nice, but let me tell you, sound carries and echoes a lot here, when two roommates across the way start screaming at each other (no idea why, but it lasted a LONG time), I get to hear the whole thing.

And no, there isn't normally a rug on the lawn, but another room in the courtyard's toilet overflowed and flooded their room and they're drying it out until it doesn't smell like 'an old sock'.

Nothing like the vagaries of dorm life to ruin a nice picture.  Ok, fine, maybe not-so-nice picture.  But it's still been ruined.

I've Clearly Suffered a Head Injury

Talking about what I ate this summer (or didn't, as was the case for a while there), I struggled (and ultimately failed) to come up with the name for my favorite sandwich in Lebanon.

For the record its schwarma. Schwarma. Schwarma.  Schwarma.

A moment of reflection

I don't remember exactly what I was doing in the summer of 2006 besides working for this lovely gentleman, but I do remember telling myself that I wanted to go to the World Cup in 2010.  I had it all planned out, I'd study abroad at the University of Cape Town and then stay for the summer to watch some football.

Flash forward to a summer 2010, and while I did not stay in the US of A, I was nowhere near South Africa, and couldn't have been happier.  (Well, I could have been, but I'm pretty good with where I was).  The driving force of my summer was studying a language, but I got to do so many other things while I was in Lebanon and met so so many amazing people.

The older I get, the more inspiration I find in the people around me.  Some of the people I met (especially the girls) were such dynamic, interesting people who are going after what they want in life.  I hope I can be as brave as them, especially over the next few years.  I do not want to blink and find myself unhappy in the near future because I didn't have the guts to take the chances I should have.  That's probably my biggest fear in life right now.

So that's the theme of my life for a while now.  No regrets.  After all it is far easier to do something and apologize afterward than ask for permission beforehand.

We'll see how this goes.  I don't know how much of my life I will be writing about here, but we'll see.  I've enjoyed writing a lot this summer, but at the very best will be posting much less frequently in the coming months.

Salaam [peace in Arabic] out for now my friends.

Republic of My Sexist Heart

First heard this song on a boat up in Tripoli.  I liked it a lot, the melody was catchy and it had a lot of energy.  Come to find out (after translating it in class) that it's about how women should not want to do anything more than 'be the president of their man's heart'.  There's been a big to-do in Lebanon about it, but despite that I heard it EVERYWHERE while I was there.

The music video makes it a little better, because it's a man talking about his daughter, but I still don't like the message.

But I might have it on my iPod.

Defining mundane

If you've been reading the blog all summer, you might remember this entry.  Take a close look at the fourth and fifth steps and you'll know exactly what I'm doing this afternoon.  Told you my life was exciting.

My Comedy Hour

Just had my biannual appointment with my dentist, which I have to say is something I actually look forward to.  Allow me to explain why...

My dental hygienist should be a stand up comedian.  She is a forty-something mom who works part time at my dental practice, but I swear to you I spend most of my 45 minutes in the dentist's chair trying not to laugh too loud.  She doesn't talk about anything remarkable, but everything from her son's Korean lessons to her children's inexplicable adoration of the movie Julie & Julia makes me crack up.  Which is not something you usually find yourself doing in the dentists chair.

I would go to the dentist every week if I had the time.  No joke.  (Well, actually, they're a lot of them to be found there).

A Visual Metaphor for Lebanon

 

There are two types of cars here: expensive, new, and foreign and very old.  There really doesn't seem to be a middle in Lebanon, but the two live and drive side by side.  Some like to say it's charming...I guess time will tell.

Second place is the first loser which makes third place...

[This is dated, but I found it in my drafts and thought it was worth sharing]

No, it's obviously an important match and should be a good one.  Before the final happens I wanted to share the place where I watched the Netherlands game a few days ago, the Duke of Wellington at the Mayflower Hotel, with a group of rabid Dutch fans.  It was perfect.

As if the name doesn't give it away, the Duke of Wellington is an aspiring English pub decorated with some folksy touches.  It was decked out (not by the management, just well prepared fans) for the game:

A close up on my favorite decoration:

Another student in my program is from the Netherlands, and I'll probably be rooting for them purely because of him, my teams (USA and Ghana) left too long ago.

Home

I'm here.  It's nice.  I'll be back in California in four days.

If my tone didn't make it obvious, I'm a little bittersweet about my goodbye to Lebanon.  I feel like my time at home is an awkward limbo between my summer and my school year.  I'm happy to be here, and obviously I love seeing my parents and friends but for now I am spending as much time as I can with a certain somebody and looking forward to feeling more normal once I'm back in California.

I've got a few more posts coming up that I've found among my drafts, but that will about wrap up this blog.  Forever.  The end of an era approaches...

Remnants

Still finding evidence of my hospital stay on my skin.  What is it with medical tape adhesive that just won't be scrubbed off?

A Step in the Right Direction

One of many that needs to be taken, but bravo to the Lebanese parliament for this recent and much needed reform.

A Trip Downtown

My friend E and I (new E to the blog! E's a big letter in my life here apparently) walked downtown a few days ago and I thought I'd pass along a few of the sites that I don't think I've mentioned  before.  The Place de l'etoile, better known to me as Beirut's clock tower, has corporate sponsorship (click to enlarge if you can't see the Rolex logo):

Downtown Beirut is absolutely stunning, and I kind of wish I'd spent more time there.  Except than I remember why I haven't, the place is crawling with tourists and a place to walk around and shop, not chill.  A better view of the area around the clock tower, apparently called Nejmeh Square.  The Lebanese Parliamentary building abuts the square, and it's a great area to walk around in (no cars).

The reason E and I walked downtown was to visit the Virgin Megastore, which I didn't take any pictures of.  Perhaps I should have? A plaque in the store's elevator:

Honestly, it looked like the rest of the buildings in the downtown area to me (not that they're not beautiful).  If you're thinking, f*&@ you Anna, I have no idea what that means, too bad.

Alright, I've had pity on you. I went back through my old pictures and found some of the store in a shot when I was trying to get the soccer ball patterned dome of the building behind it. 

 

That's all for now, I need to go to sleep.

Coming up: a follow up with my surgeon, AUB museum, and possibly a rock concert.  I will blog about only two of those.   Guess which one will be omitted? (this blogger acknowledges the existence of a phenomenon known as tmi)

Italian and roses

I was about to leave this great Italian restaurant a few days ago when our waitress started laying out rose petals and roses on a table nearby.  Dying of curiosity, I asked her and she said a man had dropped off all this to propose to his girlfriend later that night.  Their table:

No, I did not stay and wait to see the proposal.  But I kind of wish I could have.

Bread Republic

A fantastic little cafe next to Radioshack on Rue Hamra in Beirut.  Great food, great staff, great ambiance.

My dessert (about a week ago, back when I ate food):

It's kind of hard to notice tucked away on Hamra, but Bread Republic is well known.  When I was there today, my waitress pointed out the man who does Nancy Ajram and Haifa Webby's hair and makeup (for us Americans that's like seeing that man who does Britney Spears' hair).  Exciting!?!

There's No Place Like Home

And I'm not quite there yet.  But I am happy to report that I am back 'home' at my dorm and resting comfortably.  Five days at AUH was more than enough, one can only wear a hospital bracelet for so long:

My favorite thing about the bracelet?  Thomas isn't my middle name.  It's my father's name.

Another thing I don't miss:

I enjoy being able to walk around  (a more accurate word for what I am able to do right now is hobble, but no matter) without a tether.

That's all for now, I've got some pictures from before my trip to the hospital for the next few days.  A romantic moment in Beirut, a Rolex clock tower, and a little culinary blogging.  Hurry up and wait for it.

My New Favorite Thing

Just an afternoon at the pool

A lovely friend of mine, E (not to be confused with any other E mentioned on this blog), invited me to the pool a few days ago.  This was my view for the afternoon:

As always, Beirut is a city of contrasts, and one of the nicest hotels in the city can't help but be surrounded by the realities of this city's history.  If you remember this post, you recognize that building in the background as the old Holiday Inn.  All was not non-repaired destruction from the civil war, a store down the street as seen from the balcony:

That was far from the coolest thing you could see from the balcony, front and center was the Rafic Hariri memorial (he was President of Lebanon until 2005 when he was killed by a car bomb in front of the hotel):

Haven't guessed the hotel yet?

I was so ready to go...

And then I wasn't.  I started experiencing pain in my lower right abdomen on Monday afternoon but ignored it.  It was still there on Tuesday morning and not getting any better, so I took advantage of the good medical facilities here in Beirut before my planned departure for Syria on that same day.  In my mind, I was going to walk into the American University Hospital (AUH), be called a hypochondriac and sent on my way.  How wrong I was.

After blood tests and a CT Scan I was told I needed surgery.  My operation was around 8 on Tuesday night, and it turned out to be much more complicated than they thought (you don't want to now the details, but what was supposed to be 7-10 minutes took two hours and the word perforated was involved).  The complications have led to a much longer hospital stay (5 days instead of 2), so I'll be here at AUH until Saturday. Tortuously watching little bits of food on TV and longing for something to be in my stomach besides sips of water, which is all I'm allowed for the moment.

Don't you wish you were me?

Honestly though, this is a great hospital and they're taking good care of me.  I'm going back to my dorm tomorrow (hopefully) and will update more often from there.

Please Don't Go

[This is a pre-scheduled post]

My trip to Syria should be well underway, and I've been getting a little nostalgic.  'Please don't go' is the title of my power ballad to Lebanon.  But then I realized I'm leaving Lebanon, not vice versa.  And then I'm coming back pretty soon.  Oh well.

Mike Posner also did a great song by the same name.  Take a listen:

If you've never heard of Mr. Posner, I'd highly recommend downloading his free mix tapes from iTunes.  Please Don't Go is from his first album, which comes out soon.  I've yet to hear anything else from his new album, but I'll definitely be looking it up once I've got internet that moves faster than a glacier.

Yella bye Lubnan!

Ancient Olive Trees

A brief stop on one my trips about two weeks ago was some old olive trees.  The sign said they're from 4000 BC, and our tour guide was telling us they're in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest olive trees in the world.

They were, as one would expect old trees to be, quite knotty and kind of feeble looking:

If you're dying for more pictures of these old trees, check out this site.  There's a cool picture of the group of them there.

Still don't like your fruit, sorry ancient olive trees.

Only interesting if you're interested

Good article about the increasing number of Americans studying abroad in the Middle East.  Two (medium sized) problems:

1) Why is this article in the fashion and style section?

2) Many, many Arabic programs refuse to send their students to AUC (American University in Cairo) because it was moved out of the city several years ago.  They built a new campus outside of Cairo (I've heard about 2 hours with traffic) and it's like living on a compound, not living in Egypt, so to have the article focus so centrally on AUC is unfortunate and highly unrepresentative of some of the more established Arabic programs in the states.

The Origin of Lebanon

Not the people or the country, just the name.  According to my tour guide last weekend, Arabs came to Lebanon and were amazed by its snow covered peaks.  Wow, they thought, that looks just like labneh [a local dish that is basically white yogurt with chick peas in it], we shall call this Lebanon.

Who knows if there's any veracity whatsoever in any of that but it makes a good story.  Lebanon is named after yogurt.  Who knew?

Doing Much Better

For three reasons:

1) I just found this picture, which is just perfect.  Except for the stage pieces in the background, I can just imagine a little girl playing with the fountain a hundred years ago:

2) I got a new pair of headphones, ending a terrible week of silence.  Sorry eardrums, your reprieve is ovah.

3) My appetite has returned, along with my energy, and all is clearly on track for a clean bill of health for Syria.

To State the Obvious

This never happened.  For a number of reasons, the most important one being that I don't feel that up to walking around the city, so hiking 25 miles is a no go.  Unfortunately, a variety of other things I was thinking about doing today won't happen either, but I'm feeling much better and might (not completely sure yet) actually have an appetite.  So today's looking good, however, the sheer number of things to do, people to see, and places to go this weekend is looking a little overwhelming so blogging might not happen.  I'll do my best.

p.s. Did anyone else just think of a certain quote from this awesome movie? (hint: winners go home and...)

Dear Lebanon

We were friends.  And now we're not.  You know why.

A list of everything I've eaten today:
-half a piece of falafel

fml

More blogging when my health/sanity/happiness return, I promise.

Very Current

A great article by Rami Khouri (who came and spoke to SINARC) in today's NYT.  The money quote:

How to balance two worthy imperatives — justice and stability — is Lebanon’s great challenge today. A huge dilemma for the country is that most of the levers that will drive this process are in the hands of outsiders, including Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United States, Israel and the Security Council. Events in Lebanon, as always, mirror wider tensions and regional and global deal-making.

Sorry I've been such a terrible blogger lately, the end of school has been hectic but I promise more to come before I go to Syria.

It's the Little Things

If you watch TV, read the newspaper, listen to the radio, or generally don't live under a rock you're probably aware there's been a little excitement down south.  Over a tree.  Of course, I am not mocking the deaths of four soldiers but it all seems a tad ridiculous.  Incredibly tragic, but ridiculous.

The part of all of this that made me smile was while reading Ya Libnan, a great blog all about (you guessed it) Lebanon.  At the end of a lengthy article about today's events and the reactions of leaders around the world was an automatically generated ad:

Yes.  Yes, I am planning to go to Lebanon this summer.  Right after reading an article about escalating tensions with Israel.  Definitely a good plan.

Amusing ads aside (alliteration too), I am perfectly well.  Watching a certain speech on television right now and having a normal (my last!) week at school.

The South

 

Or the Caribbean? My trip this past Saturday went to Sidon and Tyre, two southern coastal cities in Lebanon.  More to follow on them, but for now I'll say the south of Lebanon is gorgeous.  Most of the beaches are covered in trash, but those that are not were absolutely stunning.  When I could smell it, the ocean breeze was just what the doctor ordered.  There is far more to see than the coastline, so get excited for a crusader castle, a soap museum (I know, more soap...but I'll be brief), lots of beautiful ruins, and a hippodrome.

Also saw a little bit of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) going through a checkpoint.  The troops I saw were from the Korean contingent.  Not going to lie, it was a little strange to see Korean soldiers all the way over here in Lebanon, but I imagine that is how people feel when they see American troops all over the world.

Musee Nacional

Also known as the National Museum, I went about a week ago to see the sights, and this is what I found.

Lots of mosaics:

But I saw a lot of those in Tunisia.  Lots and lots and lots.  The sculptures were a highlight, all very well preserved especially considering the conditions the National Museum has existed through.  Beautiful detail on a column:

The most memorable parts of the museum were it's idiosyncrasies.  I've seen lots of busts and sarcophagi, but I've never seen so many hippopotamuses (or hippopotami, depending on your preference):

They only came for a day, but it was an important one

This post is a tad belated as the King and the Syrian President were here on Friday, but it was a very important visit to discuss the STL (the UN's Special Tribunal for Lebanon) which has been in the news recently because its investigation is focusing on senior members of Hezbollah.  There wasn't too much coverage of the meeting here, oh, except for the live, daylong television coverage and the multitude of welcome signs (however not nearly as many as for Obama in Ghana last summer).

I'm not up on my Lebanese political blogs, but I do know one good one, Qifa Nabki.  It had two quality entries about the summit.  The first, a solid parsing of the positive changes in the dynamics between Saudi Arabia and Syria.  The second appears to confirm that the Saudis and the Syrians do indeed have a common interest in Lebanon's stability and both know that the STL has the potential to make Hezbollah feel cornered.  What does a 'cornered' Hezbollah result in?  Think 2006.  Bottom line, the Saudis are going to see what they can do about shutting down the tribunal.  There's a lot of rumblings in Lebanon right now, but here's hoping that everyone here wants peace and will talk before they start shooting.

Or at least wait until I leave in late August.  I kid, this is an incredible country with some serious problems,  but more than anything it deserves leaders who are invested in successfully coexisting with their rivals, not maneuvering for power regardless of the cost.

(As a side note, I watched a little bit of the live coverage at a cafe across the street from my dorm and I tried to engage the owners there in conversation about why the King of Saudi Arabia and the President of Syria were in Beirut, and they weren't telling me anything.  They definitely understood me, but were obviously convinced the blue-eyed girl standing in front of them would believe their categorical denials of any problems in Lebanon.)

Note to Self

Never let anyone I know climb Mt. Everest.  1 in 10 chance of dying is not an acceptable level of risk.

However, this article is inspirational and I sincerely hope the gentleman's trip goes off without a hitch.  If any country deserves a little bit of inspiration, it's Afghanistan.

As a side note, this could be an inspiration for all.  Despite the oft-heard cynicism, Afghanistan has the potential to be a model and inspiration for the rest of the world.  It was quite disturbing when I read recently that some people believed the US should abandon its mission in Afghanistan because nothing that happens there reverberates anywhere, while a success in Iraq would set an example for the rest of the Middle East.  I believe that inspiration for governmental reform can come from anywhere citizens of Middle Eastern countries decide.  But perhaps I'm not educated enough to know that discrimination against the Afghan people and their country is an accepted norm.

Because Asking Your Daddy for a Pony is So Cliché

I want a camel.  Long story short, I've been obsessed with camels since getting a stuffed camel I named Humphrey as a little girl.  I was super excited to see my first camel (I might have seen a few at fairs, but never up close) in real life in Baalbek last weekend!

Having been warned in the past that the real-life creatures are nowhere near as cute and cuddly as my Humphrey I was totally prepared to be disappointed, but the camels I met were really nice and let me take lots of pictures and pet them quite a bit:

Want more camels?  Click past the jump.

WTF Mahmoud?

You're just jealous because Paul is a better psychic octopus than you are President.  Not that the governmental structure of your country puts that much real power in your hands, but people listen when you open your mouth, don't be trivial.

Not My Idea...

But perhaps a good one? Ma b'arif (I don't know).

Baalbek: The Sun City

I might be saying this about everything on this blog, but my trip to the Roman ruins of Baalbek was truly a highlight of my time here in Lebanon.  The ruins are massive, and you can walk, run, and climb all over them.  Some members of our group perched themselves on an old altar in the middle of the Great Court:

We were at Baalbek late in the afternoon (that's why all my pictures are a bit washed out), the last stop of a busy day, but this was all forgotten as I wandered around the ruins of what used to be a massive temple and city in the Roman empire.  This isn't a history blog, so if you'd like more information about Baalbek (and you should), head on over to Wikipedia.

Considering the scale of the building at Baalbek, the details are stunning,

An eagle, the symbol of the Roman Empire, on the keystone of the arch in the Temple of Bacchus:

Some architectural features I need on my house, the gutter spouts were lions mouths:

If It's Not One Thing

It's another.  I love that every article about Lebanon operates under the assumption that any tension must be a prelude to war.  I'm not denying the existence of a strong precedent, but still...

Lebanon in the News

Lebanon made the NYT homepage recently with this article.  There's been some talk of this here, and the consensus isn't on a peaceful outcome, but it's all based on rumors.  Only time will tell.

In the meantime, please don't worry about me, Lebanon has been nothing but great to me.

I Can See Syria, Lebanon, and Israel from my House

If I built it on top of the mountain I climbed last weekend, that is.  Take that Sarah Palin!

Seriously though, climbing Mount Hermon was a great adventure.  Much better than hiking by myself, we all remember what a disaster that was (actually, I guess I never quite finished blogging about that *bad word*. Nevermind then).  Hiking Mount Hermon is not an endeavor that can be undertaken casually, I had to sign up for my trip ten days in advance in order to get clearance from the Lebanese Army.  I didn't actually go to the Lebanese army myself, the group I went with took care of all that for me.  More on them later.

Why did I need permission?  Mount Hermon is in a slightly strategic location, nestled between Syria, Israel, and Lebanon:

The beginning of the day was uneventful, I caught a taxi to Antelias, a district on the outskirts of Beirut where I met up with the rest of Vamos Todos, the ecotourism club who planned the days activities.  And then we drove a long way south until we reached the end of the paved road.  That's when things got interesting...

No Opinions Here

And there's a reason why.

Next July, You're Invited

As my regular readers know, I'm a big fan of the Tour de France, which is why I was so happy to see the event mentioned on this website.

(630) The drunken tricycle race really added some class to the Tour de Franzia. Until everyone wiped out and started puking.

Now that is a good theme party. Or was before the puking part.

I Don't Just Take Pictures of American Things

I've been thinking about how to write about my trip last Sunday for a while, but I'll just preface the entry by saying that it was epic.  My view for a part of the day:

Yes, I was standing in the back of a pickup.  For about an hour and a half each way.  I know that must sound terribly boring, but it was not.  Trust me.

Jabal al-Sheikh/Mount Hermon entry coming up in T-24 (ish) hours.

Does this Blow Your Mind?

'Cause it blew mine a little the first time I saw it.  An American trademark.  In Arabic.

And if you're wondering if I went, you clearly don't know me at all.  I ran inside that place.

Yeah, right.

A Subject of Humor all over the World

What's the fastest animal in Lebanon?

A chicken running away from a cop.

[Hawa chicken : Lebanese policemen :: Dunkin' Donuts : American policemen]

A Stop for Aspiring Sommeliers

The quickest stop of my Saturday trip, the Ksara winery was nevertheless a great twenty minutes.  We walked through the front doors:

Hurried past a movie about the history of Ksara, glancing at some exhibits about how wine is made (and has been made there since 1857):

 And went straight back into the caves where they store the wine:

An Amurrican Moment

Driving through the southern suburb last night, what comes on the radio?  Justin Bieber.  All I can think of is this.  My apologies to any of you who are fans of his/hers :-)

p.s. No, I didn't misspell the title.  It's a real word.

Beiteddine Palace

After our short visit to Deir Al-Qamar, we headed to Beiteddine (well, we stopped at a famous Lebanese poilticians house inbetween, but after waiting for a bit we found out that he had no time to meet with us...and I wasn't even allowed to take my camera inside so I'm deeming that part of our day unblogworthy.  Yes, that's a word).  The highlight of Beiteddine is the palace, which was absolutely stunning.  I could have spent all day wandering the courtyards and gardens, but we made quick work of the two-thirds we were allowed to see because someone is living in the private quarters this summer.

My favorite part about visiting historical sites is wandering around to get a feel for what it would be like for the people who lived there, so I tend to wander off on my own in search of places without too many people and beyond the booming voices of tour groups.  Consquently, I miss some of what the tour guide says, and can't recite too many interesting facts about the palace.  I do have one fact though: when the tour guide pointed out rooms that the prince used for 'secret meetings' that had waterfalls outside so people couldn't overhear what was being said inside I don't think anything was actually being said inside if you know what I mean.  But I digress.

The palace was stunning, my favorite picture of the day:

The palace wasn't easy to photograph, and much of it is being preserved in its slightly worn down condition, but it is still well worth seeing.  A well preserved ceiling in the Prince's public meeting room:

A picture of a Greek vase from the museum (which housed far more modern weaponry than I expected for a nineteenth century palace):

Deir al-Qamar

The first stop on my trip last weekend, Deir al-Qamar, was short and sweet.  Our bus stopped in the town square and we had about thirty minutes to check out the Fakhreddine mosque and the souk next to it.  Truth be told, there wasn't that much to see in the immediate area, but I did get a few good pictures.

The Fakhreddine mosque, built in 1493 (it is just me or is your first thought that's exactly a year after Columbus sailed to America?), behind the fountain in the town square:

Across the street from the town square was the house of a well known Lebanese family from the area.  I don't remember the name of the family, but I do remember that the lions on the facade were far more intimidating than the men standing in the entrance.

I'm on Strike

I have litany of complaints against you, my dear readers.  Actually, it's just this:

You have no opinions.

Obviously I'm not actually on strike because I've written this, but I do have a bone to pick there.  The real reason for the lack of blogging is that I've had a full weekend and am too tired to tell you, my dear reader(s?) about it.  Never fear, I have plenty to share.  I climbed all over Roman ruins, saw Syria and Israel from the top of a mountain, drank Lebanese wine, and saw a camel for the first time.  There's a ton of pictures and not too many words, get excited.

On the opinions front, leave some comments?  Even if you do it anonymously, I'd really like to hear what you like, don't like, want to see more of, etc.  I won't feel as though I'm writing into a black hole of semi-anonymous blabber.

Seriously, leave a comment.  Right now.  Or sometime this week.  Anytime but never works for me.

Cable Cars Outside San Francisco!

Part of my Saturday trip last weekend was a cable car ride up to the Lady of Harissa, a giant white statue of the Virgin of Lebanon at the top of a hill (mountain?) overlooking Jounieh bay.  Finished at the end of the 19th century, the Lady of Harissa is right next to one of the most famous churches in Lebanon and quite a sight to behold.

The most remarkable part of the Lady of Harissa is the way that you get there (or at least the way we did), which was by cable car from the center of Jounieh up to Harissa.  Called the telepherique, the cable car ride is about ten minutes long and was quite an experience.  Surprisingly, my fear of heights didn't really kick in, but it was a little too early in the morning for me to be thinking of anything at all really.

I've seen the cable cars several times from the highway now, and they are always beautiful:

Faced with the prospect of actually getting on one, they started to look old and rundown.  But as I said it was early, and I didn't care so much.  I got in car #22, and headed uphill for a ride that ended up being about ten minutes long.  A view from the car looking down on the bay:

Only in Lebanon

Starbucks and a mosque, taken when I got lost on my way home from the post office:

Le Tour

This year, it shouldn't be called the Tour de France.  I'm renaming it the Tour de Disappointment.  Or however you say disappointment in French (Tour de Déception according to Google translate).

While I won't go so far as to say Lance is out, because you just never know, I think it's safe to say that the chances of an 8th win for him are getting narrower by the day.  And they haven't been very big since he moved down to thirty-something in the overall rankings.  I like this Andy Schleck kid, but I will not be happy if Alberto Contador wins.  I just didn't like the way he acted on Armstrong's team last year.  I'm probably biased, but that's where I stand.

If you're wondering what in the world I'm talking about, and actually care to learn more (I know I'm talking to a small audience here), follow Lance on twitter and read this NY Times article to get up to speed.

How to Rappell

Since the pictures of my rappelling showed exactly what not to do, I thought I'd post one of my favorite pictures from the weekend which is how to rappel if you are not scared out of your mind, generally uncoordinated, and just hoping to live through the experience.  Guess which one I was?

If you guessed all three, you'd be correct.

A Little Old But Still Good

Written on my cellphone for safekeeping during my trip to the Cedars, a great sign along the highway:

"For once, war is just a game"

-On a billboard for the biggest indoor paintball arena in Lebanon

Why Can't the Truth Be Funny Too?

This is intended to be a lighthearted blog, but it has come to my attention that the video I posted of Israeli soldiers dancing to Tik Tok in Hebron has quite a bit of important and unexplained context.

Andrew Sullivan over at the Daily Dish has a good take on the issues.  The NY Times Lede Blog does as well.  I highly recommend both.

Yes, fear of heights and all, that's me

One of the highlights of my weekend was the rock climbing I did on Saturday with my roommate, E, and our friend E.  We drove up north to Kfardebian, about an hour outside Beirut to a nice valley with a natural stone bridge and lots of routes all over its walls.  Everything here is beautiful, and this valley was no exception:

The final activity of the day was rappelling down from that bridge onto the valley floor below.  It was really high (about 100 feet), and I didn't think I could make myself do it.  But I did.  Eventually.

Don't believe?  I probably wouldn't either, here's the proof:

For the record

Beirut - t + f = Beiruf = Lots of fun
Thanks to E, R, M, and K for a great night.

Pigeon Rocks

They don't sound like much, but the Pigeon Rocks were a highlight of my week.  My roommate E. and I walked down to the coast heading south on Tuesday and we found them quite easily.  They're well within the city limits and quite hard to miss:

We walked around above, taking pictures and watching the people swimming around and climbing up them.  Then a gentleman (well, several of them after a while) approached us offering to take us out in a boat around the rocks.  It was way too expensive at first, he wanted 37500 (about $25) to take the two of us out, but we talked him down to 15000 ($10) and we walked down the cliff to his boat.  The hike was a little treacherous, but Abu Mustafa was a great and jovial guide:

The boat broke down after that picture because he took his hand off the throttle, but he got it started again quickly enough.  The view from underneath one of the rocks:

The Cedars

It was the last stop at the end of our epically busy day driving north from Beirut but we eventually got to the Cedars, best known as a ski slope but of interest to us because of its small reserve of cedar trees.  After some bus trouble, we arrived maybe an hour and a half before sunset.  I'd like you to remember that when you look at my photographs.  Please.

The Cedars is directly above Bcharre, where I spent some time after my hiking trip at the beginning of my time here in Lebanon.  The view from so far up is quite something, but once you know that a thousand years ago all the mountains were covered in cedars, everything starts to look bare.  Beautiful, but bare.

Some factoids: The cedars of Lebanon were mentioned in the Old Testament and were a source of enormous wealth for the Phoenicians, who sold the valuable wood to Egypt and Palestine.  The original Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem was built of Lebanese cedar, and so were many Egyptian sarcophagi.

But enough history, back to the this millennium.  Once we got to the reserve at the Cedars, we walked around the whole area in about 20 minutes.  There are not a lot of cedar trees left, and regrowing them is extremely difficult.  They grow very slowly, needing irrigation and care until they are 8 years old, and not producing cones until they are 35-70 years old.  Climate change in Lebanon (I mean this in the sense of climate change through millennia, not the Al Gore type although I'm sure that has affected the region too) has made summers longer and winters shorter, meaning that the trees have to grow for longer and longer times before their roots reach water.

The trees in the park were very dramatic, but Cedars don't look like the tree you see on the Lebanese flag until they are much older.  Here's an old cedar tree:

The Souk Soap Shop

A souk is a market, but in very different sense than market as we can conceive of the world in the U.S.  A typical souk is a very (sometimes very, very, very) long alley with stalls on each side where merchants sell their wares.  I had a souk near my dorm in Tunis, and it began with a hardware section, then bread and cakes, trinkets, fruit, meat, and sweets.  Then you walked through a plaza area to continue along your way to find clothing, plates, and just about anything you wanted.  There was no English, no price tags, and no apparent logic to its organization, but I loved going to the souk.

One of the stops on our tour to Tripoli was the Khan al-Saboun, a world famous soap-maker.  We didn't stay at the shop for long, but we got a chance to smell a lot of different soaps and read their creative grammar:

Sorry, I spend a large portion of my days getting laughed at on the street when I open my mouth and speak Arabic so I couldn't resist that picture.  There was also a Quran made out of soap:

Next up: the Cedars.  The pharaohs used them to build support structures for their pyramids.  They used to cover almost all of Lebanon.  And most importantly they are a blog entry not to be missed.

Funny, Current, and not Stereotypical

First You Tube video of the day was terrible, this one should balance it out.

UPDATE: This video has its issues as well.  More here.

Corruption in Lebanon

A great story my professor told today, after introducing the topic of corruption by explaining that other Arabs come to Lebanon to learn all about it:

There once was an old minister who retiring in a few weeks, and he set up a meeting with the man who is going to be the new minister at his house.  His successor, a thirty year old man, arrives at his house and is shocked by the opulence.  How, he asks, did you afford all of this on a government salary?  The old minister points to a bridge in the distance connecting the airport to the city, you see that bridge?  Yes, the younger man says.  I built it and 18 percent of the cost is in my pocket, replies the minister.  You know the road between Tripoli and Hasroun, 18 percent in my pocket.  The old minister continues like this for a while, explaining to the younger man that a palace like his is not possible on a government salary.

A year later, the retired minister meets the current minister at his house and is shocked to see that it is three times as big as his, and after only a year in government service.  He can't believe it, it took him decades to accumulate his house and cars, and after only a year the younger man has more than he ever did.  Astounded, he asks the younger man how he did it.  Well, says the younger man, you see the three new bridges connecting the airport and the city?  No, the older man says, I don't.  You've seen the new road connecting Beirut and Tyre?  No, I haven't seen that either, replies the older man.  Exactly, replies the younger minister, one hundred percent of the costs in my pocket.

This speaks for itself...

I think it says 'I'm a terrible advertising executive with absolutely no creativity to speak of so I resort to stereotypes', but what do you hear?

Citadel of Raymond de Saint-Gilles

My first stop in Tripoli (طرابلس) was this old fort, built in the 13th century.  It has been built and rebuilt through the centuries, the last addition made in the 19th century.

Our weekend tour was clearly planned out, but none of us (the fifty students who the trip was planned for) had any idea where exactly we were going to be stopping and when.  After visiting the most famous sweet shop in Lebanon, Abdul Rahman Hallab, we headed to the old citadel.

My first thoughts are the citadel were (in order) 'god, it's hot', 'wow, this is huge', and 'why are there tanks and soldiers in here?'.  The entire country of Lebanon is a mixture of historical eras, and there were moments this weekend where I could have gone back in time and absolutely nothing would have been different.

Enough of me, but in case you haven't heard enough about the citadel, here you go.  And most importantly, here are some pictures.

The holes they used to pour boiling oil through onto invaders only have sunshine passing through these days:

The citadel was huge, I could not take a picture of the whole building from the outside, this is a general idea of what the inside was like:

The fort's renovators each brought their own architectural styles to the building, but few of the details remain today.  One of my favorite pictures of the day, some detail that remained:

First Group Trip Finished

It was a very full weekend, and I've got lots to share, but that will happen over the next few days.  For now, I will post my favorite photo from the weekend which I took from a boat just off the coast of Tripoli.  In case you know a little about Tripoli's recent history, I'd like to reassure you that I had absolutely no problems.  I also visited the citadel and souks in Tripoli, the Cedars forest and hiked up the tallest peak in Lebanon, Kornet el Sawda, so there should (emphasis on should) be a lot good pictures coming soon.

I'm going to close by saying that boy was quite brave, because I must have seen more jellyfish on that  short boat ride than I have ever seen in my entire life.  They were big and just a few feet below the water almost everywhere in the bay.