When the dates for the Eid al Fitr holiday was first announced at the beginning of May, I wasted no time in booking flights to Beirut. With 4 days off work and the prospect of a Mediterranean city, there was no way that I would be staying in the sandpit sauna that is Dubai in the summertime (I checked the weather, and it is still 37 C at 10pm… Somehow it didn’t feel that hot just a week ago!), especially after a toasty weekend in Muscat during Ramadan.

With my bags packed, Janelle and I headed out Monday, landing around 4pm local time. We were met by our driver, Zacharia, who is a wealth of knowledge. It turns out that the hotel we are staying at is less than 500 m from his parents and one of his 7 sisters! (He also has 5 brothers, including a twin, Yehya, who is driving us around for the remaining time, as unbeknownst to us, 2 other teachers from our school also called on Zacharia to be their driver! Small world. It also goes to show you the power of word of mouth recommendations. If you would like his contact, message me!

We settled into our room at the Bella Riva, and then headed out to walk the Corniche (which I learned is: road built into a ledge). It is the place to be if you want to exercise. Everyone was out walking/running/cycling etc with friends, family and pets. Many people were swimming and enjoying the water as well. Despite the cooler weather (only 30 C!) we were dripping in sweat by the time we made it to the seafood restaurant I wanted to try (Feluka). I thoroughly enjoyed my grilled octopus and wine while looking out onto the ocean.

Day 1 – Jeita Grotto, Our Lady of Lebanon and Byblos

On our first full day, we were picked up at 9am by Yehya, and we started our day tour. Our first stop was the Jeita Grotto, a massive cave system with stalactites and stalagmites dating back thousands of years. We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but it is beautiful. We went through 2 caves. In the first one, you follow a walking path, and the second is a boat ride over aqua water. It was beautiful!

Our next stop, was to the town of Harissa, on Mount Lebanon, to visit the shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon. Instead of taking the gondola up, we were driven to the top, where we visited the shrine and the church of the Maronite Catholics, and then rode the gondola down. There was a miscommunication however, and we seemed like silly tourist when we took the first part of the gondola, and stayed in the car at the first stop. There was lots of commotion, and we realized that we needed to switch cars to make it down to the bottom (sea level)… Eventually we clued in, and stopped holding up the rest of the passengers.

To finish off the afternoon, we headed to the beach town of Jbeil, or Byblos. It has beautiful stone houses, and was very charming to wander around. After a bit of lunch, we wandered through the streets, and to Byblos castle, where I was first introduced to Phoenician history, and the alphabet.

Day 2 – Castles, Palaces and Cedars

It was another “early” morning, as Yehya drove us south-eastwards from Beirut, towards Moussa Castle. This was created by a poor, eccentric artist, who dreamed of owning a castle after being ridiculed by his classmates and teachers. It took him his lifetime, but he built and filled his castle with moving mechanical figures depicting different scenes of Lebanese life. He also had quite an impressive gun and sword collection. It was quite a site, and I suggest you go in with an open and wondrous mind, and to just allow yourself to experience the castle without questioning too much! The hillside where it is built is also beautiful.

From there, we continued on to Beiteddine Palace (قصر بيت الدين bayt/beit being the Arabic word for house, qasr for palace). The courtyard is massive, and outside the gates, there is a fountain of pure drinking water. It was refreshingly cool. Inside, we were met with beautiful Arabic architechture. The palace used to be the seat of one of the ruling dynasties of Lebanon. Inside, some of the rooms are restored, along with the baths. The gardens were stunning, and such a nice retreat! If you are in Lebanon, I definitely recommend visiting Beiteddine.

Afterwards, we continued our drive to the Shouf Cedar Reserve where we walked among the trees, enjoying the nature. I really miss having treed areas in Dubai. I felt at home amongst the forest, and even found my own “throne” in the trunk of one of the gnarled cedars. After wandering through the reserve, we stopped at a nearby eatery for lunch. I cannot remember the name (edit: Al Kooz), but the lady had a gorgeous garden, with roses, and many of the vegetables that we ate at lunch.

As we arrived back to Beirut reasonably early (4pm), Janelle and I decided to explore the downtown area. We headed to the Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque (Blue Mosque), a Sunni house of worship. I really appreciated how they provided covers for tourists, free of charge, on a clothes hanger outside. You simply had to choose one that fit, and go in (shoes off). Alt

hough the chandelier, and the sheer size of the mosque was impressive, compared to the Grand Mosques in Abu Dhabi and Muscat, this one wasn’t as impressive inside. The outside, however, was really cool.

We continued to wander around the Beirut Central District (BCD), seeing the clock tower at Place d’Etoile (Nejmah square), shops, the souks (modern) and several churches, although I cannot remember their names. For dinner, we tried different bites from the many food stalls set up outside. It felt very European!

 

Day 3 – Phoenician ruins (UNESCO), Soap, Conflict zones and more Castles

For our last full day, we headed south, towards Saida (Sidon) and Sur (Tyre). However, before leaving the city, we took the opportunity to stop at Raouche Rock, to take our photos.

Our first stop was to Saida, the 3rd largest city in Lebanon, and home to many ancient Phoenician artifacts. We drove along the waterfront, to the Sea Castle, exploring the rocks, before going through the maze of streets in the souks of the old town behind it. Yehya led us to the Khan Sacy, which was a private hammam, and has now been restored for the public to visit. It apparently dates back to the Crusader period (1400s?). From there, we went to one of the more interesting sites (in my opinion), the Soap Museum. Here, they walked us through all the traditional steps of making soap, and gave us a paper with the ingredients needed to make it (like a recipe). We saw all the different ways that soap was molded and made, in all the shapes and colours that you could imagine! The soap towers were also really cool. Near the end, we watched a documentary on a few of the Lebanese and Syrian soapmakers, who are continuing the traditional way of making their soaps. They also explained where many of the different natural ingredients come from (with many of the soaps coming originally from now war torn Aleppo, Syria). By the time that we were finishing in the Soap museum, we were getting hungry. Yehya recommended some of the best falafel I have ever eaten, from a “hole in the wall” type place, Falafel Abou Rami (looking out towards the Sea Castle). Fantastic!!

After lunch, we continued to the southernmost part, passing through a UN checkpoint to get to the town of Tyre (Sur). Also a former Phoenician stronghold, Sur holds a large UNESCO world heritage site, with the ruins at the Tyre Necropolis taking centre-stage. Although it was getting quite hot out, we explored the massive ruins. I can imagine the ancient civilization roaming through the stadium type ruins, and all the burial grounds. We virtually had the site to ourselves, with maybe 4 other people around. I don’t know a lot about the Phoenician society, however, the similarities to the Greeks and Romans.

From there, we headed east into Hezbollah territory as we went to Beaufort Castle. Although nothing was happening while we were there, it was interesting to see the huge banners for both parties, showcasing their representatives, hung up along the road. Once we arrived at the castle, we were treated to a gorgeous view. To one side, we could look towards the Mediterranean. To the other, over the next mountains, sat Syria and Israel. It is crazy to me, how close everything is here (a mere 2 hours and change from Beirut to the border), especially coming from Canada, where 2 hours doesn’t even get you to the next main city in many provinces (unless you are flying)! The castle itself is in ruins, but it was amazing to visit. The size and the position of this fortress would have made it ideal for any army to control, as it is on the top of a steep mountain. It would have taken a great effort to build. As far as I know, there are efforts underway to preserve the ruins for future generations.

 

With that, our whirlwind tour of Lebanon was completed. Aside from the northern part of the country, we were able to see everything and more than we had planned, thanks to Yehya and Zacharia. Although this post took me a long time to actually publish, and the situation is not as good anymore in Lebanon, if it stabilizes, I recommend a visit!