In 1999 my mom, stepfather of Lebanese decent his two daughters and their respective spouses went on vacation to Lebanon. At the time pre-911, I didn’t think much of it. Mom asked if I wanted to go and I thought “what an adventure to see a part of the world that I may never get to see”. What we saw opened my eyes to the world forever in a new way. Mountains with snow skiers, temple ruins that rival the Parthenon in Greece, beaches, casinos built along the sea shore where yachts pull up from Saudi Arabia, gamble, drink, dine and depart quietly into the night. Weddings that are three day long celebrations and loving kind people that live very differently than we do in the USA. I awoke my first night suddenly. I had left the window cracked to get some fresh air and the call to prayer happened frequently and it was loud. It was broadcasted from every mosque in the country, taxi cabs and many other places. It was quite alarming at first for a Christian, American girl from the south. I thought “is that a tornado warning?” Lebanon use to be a land of three very distinct religions and populations. It use to be one third Christian, one third Jewish and one third Muslim. Now it is about two-thirds Muslim and one third Christian. Now my eyes are not closed to what else goes on politically and otherwise in this predominantly Muslim country. I am American; I am not of Lebanese decent. I saw aircraft carriers hidden by hay bales, that I am sure belonged to Hezbollah. I saw machine gunned Syrians at checkpoints from city to city and they were not very friendly. In my mind I never saw any hostility toward us as tourist. 911 changed all this for everyone that is an American. Now there are many countries around the world that my family will probably never get to visit and that is a true shame.
Towns:
Tripoli-To the North, the birthplace and home to my step father and his family. A coastal town. It had a 2,000 year old castle and a souk. (An outdoor but covered shopping bizarre). Turkish style baths, tall apartment buildings made of concrete, walled houses where you pick your own grape leaves from the front porch and make dolma’s. (Meat and or rice stuffed grape leaves).
Beirut-A bustling town with a pizza hut, hotels, businesses, a hard rock café and most anything you want. I was told to be careful of going too far south of Beirut along the Israeli border as it was dangerous not only to tourist but to everyone.
Baalbek-(The Temple of Jupiter)--Baalbek, Lebanon's greatest Roman treasure, can be counted among the wonders of the ancient world. The largest and most noble Roman temples ever built, they are also among the best preserved. As I was waiting in line to enter the grand tourist attraction I looked up on a rock embedded in the mountain and a plaque read “Napoleon Bonaparte was here”. Once part of his growing empire the Lebanese people thing very highly of France and some of the words in the French/Arabic language are even interchangeable.
Jeita–Caves of Jeita-One of the most amazing places in the world that I have ever been. The lower caves can be toured by boat and the higher caves toured on foot.
Byblos-Byblos is one of the top contenders for the
"oldest continuously inhabited city” it was founded and occupied by the Phoenicians.
The Cedars:
As most of you know the Cedar tree is the symbol for the entire county of Lebanon. It is even appears on their flag. The town where the Cedar’s grow is a magical and spiritual place, brought to life by poet Khalil Gibron.
One can now understand when you meet an American-Lebanese born citizen why they are all so proud, proud of their culture, proud of their country. It is truly one of the most wonderful places in the vast world today
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