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.

Someone's reading my blog!

The nice folks over at zgharta.com recently linked to my blog and I thought I'd return the favor.  Exciting!

Out for the Weekend

Heading up north for a little excursion, will be back on Sunday with lots of pictures.  In the meantime watch Le Tour de France, it starts today!  Here's hoping a certain American wins for the eighth time.

Holland Wins!!

Half of Beirut is distraught, because that means Brazil is out.  The other half is happy because that means Brazil is out, and Germany won't have to face them.

One guess which half honked when we were walking home like this:

But we weren't the only Holland fans...

Hotel Riviera - My First 'Beach'

As I wrote yesterday, I went to my first beach in Beirut (I'm going to leave off the quotations for this entry, but don't forget that beach does not mean sand and salt water here in Beirut.  In fact, there is nothing natural whatsoever about beaches here).  It was at the Hotel Riviera, a seafront hotel that lets non-guests pay to use their beach.

It was hard to get pictures of the pool area, it was sprawled on three levels.  A big saltwater pool farther away from the sea, with a small freshwater pool down by the sea where my group situated ourselves.  There were tons of beach chairs and more tanned and sculpted bodies than I've ever seen in one place before.  A glimpse of what life next to the pool at the Hotel Riviera is like:

A moment of [fill in unflattering adjective here]

I'm at the gym for the first time.  On the elliptical, but getting bored so I switch to the treadmill.  I plan to run for a short time, starting at a good pace I glance down at the display to see that I'm getting close to a mile.  I finish said mile in a little over six minutes.

I'm surprised, I'm not in such terrible shape as I thought.  I feel good for about 45 seconds...

Reasons I'm an idiot:

An afternoon in the life

Without homework, a test tomorrow, and any other plans, I went to the beach today.  What you don't know is that 'the beach' in Lebanon is actually a swimming pool with sea water pumped in.  The 'beach' I went to today was pretty amazing.  More later because I'm off to experience what happens after people go to the beach in Beirut, but here's about what to expect:

No, I did not have a martini, but that's where I went today.