Coming Home to Reflect

This arena of a country where other countries like to battle out their problems, is so hopeful, so welcoming, and so proud to be Lebanese. Spending the past few weeks in Lebanon, specifically Beirut, I was not ready to leave (the thought of another 27hour flight ahead of me wasn't helping either). For a country of conflict in the Middle East, it is so beautiful; the people, the food, the ruins, the snow, and the sea. Now I know why everyone calls it "the Paris of the Middle East". Everything that makes up this small country, about two-thirds the size of Connecticut, continues to show how proud they are to be Lebanese and how much hope they have even though they continue to endure the worst. You should travel to Lebanon as a political act because for a country of conflict, they will never give on their pride to better their country and themselves. When I go back, because I know I will go back, I hope that the area for Middle Eastern countries to fix their problems is not longer Lebanon, so they can thrive even more than they are doing so today.

I dedicate this blog to my beloved family who lives through the conflict everyday and continues to thrive, supporting their culture while having pride and hope for their country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 3: Ruins and Mountains

Before leaving I knew I had to experience the best skiing in the Middle East. Mount Lebanon is the most famous ski resort in the region. For only about a hour away from the capital  of Lebanon, Beirut, the snow is amazing year round. The skiing is definitely the most modernized place in Lebanon, decked out with top notch ski resorts and a prime destination for tourists. My aunt and I went up early in the morning. We lucked out on a sunny day. We spent about 25% of the day downhill skiing and the rest cross-country skiing since that is the most popular.

Later during the week I went to visit old Roman ruins. What most people don't know about Lebanon, it that it is one of the few regions with roman ruins still standing. The Temple of Bacchus, said to be build in 150A.D., was definitely a highlight of my trip. It is a "Temple of the Sun" located Baalbek, a town in Beqaa Valley , Lebanon, just an hour and a half from the capital. It was one of the three main temples at a large complex in classical antiquity. The temple was dedicated to Bacchus (also known as Dionysus), the Roman god of wine, but was traditionally referred to by Neoclassical visitors as the "Temple of the Sun". It is considered one of the best preserved Roman temples in the world. The area surrounding the temple has multiple well preserved Roman ruins; therefore I felt as if I was in Rome, not in Lebanon.

Week 2: Food and Family

After experiencing the luxury of the hotel and the chaotic streets, I decided it was time to visit my aunt and her family, who live in an apartment complex within the city of Beirut. Unfortunately just hours after I arrived we had to evacuate to the family home in the mountains. This is sometimes a typical day due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. That particular day Hezbollah had launched an air attack into Israel. As the sirens alarmed, we were expecting a response, which did happen not to our surprise. This make it difficult for Lebanon to keep rebuilding after the civil war because there continues to be destruction and casualties.
Since these attacks were so normal to my family by now, they went on with there daily lives cooking while the little ones watched cartoons, if we were lucky enough to have power that hour. The power continued to go on for an hour, then off for an hour, and so on. It was a nice escape to go back to Lebanese roots, the women cooking traditional food over a fire. My grandmother and aunt had spent hours making various dishes such as tabouleh, manakish, grape leaves, hummus, labneh, and falafel. Of course I can't forget the traditional Lebanese chicken kebabs made with garlic and lemon, dipped in tahini.

chicken

grapes leaves, falafel, labneh, hummus

tabouleh

manaksih

Week 1: I have arrived!

Thank goodness I have finally arrived. That was definitely the longest flight I have even taken. After 27 hours of flying including a 5 hour lay-over in Paris, France , I landed at the Beirut-Rafic-Hariri International Airport. Definitely ready to crash at the hotel.

The hotel I will be staying at for the next 3 weeks in the Le Grey Beirut which is located in the historic downtown district, Central District, the heart of Beirut just overlooking Martry's Square just next to the Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque. From the terrace I could see the Mediterranean in front of me and the peaks of Mount Lebanon in the distance. From 1975-1990 the area was destroyed by civil war. Now the restored neighborhood, Solidere, is the new soul of the city.
After getting some time to sleep, after feeling like I hadn't slept in forever, I decided to explore the streets. A few things that I learned from the concierge was because Lebanon is part Muslim and part Christian it is important to respect the local traditions, customs, laws, and religions at all times being aware of your actions in order to not offend. Even though the dress code is more relaxed than other countries in the region it is necessary to still dress modestly when visiting religious sites and when in a place where the local people expect it. Only take photographs of tourists sites, if you take any pictures of military sites you could be arrested. Also in order to avoid armed robberies don't used shared taxis or taxis hailed on the street. Only use taxis from recognized companies. Following this advice I decided to avoid dealing with taxis by either walking or having the hotel call a known car company for me. Definitely was first car ride was terrifying. The driving standards are so poor and the accident rate is so high. I can't even begin to count how many accidents. no matter the severity, that I saw.
The highlight of my day was definitely seeing one of the most famous landmarks in Lebanon, Pigeon Rock. Walking a long the streets, I was surprised to hear so much English even though the most spoken languages I thought were French and Arabic. Which definitely made getting around the city easier and less stressful. My had mentioned that it is extremely popular to see chestnuts being roasted along the street. As soon as I walked up, the vender started to explain to me how he roasts the chestnuts. This experience made me think of Christmas and "chestnuts roasting over an open fire", especially since I have never really seen chestnuts being cooked in the States.

Preparing to Depart

Finally I gained  the guts to purchase a plane ticket to Lebanon. I will be departing the 19th of September at 6:45am PDT. I was lucky enough to find a cheap ticket through Delta Airlines for only $1277. Traveling around the fall is definitely a factor in the ticket price since the most desirable time to go is in the spring. Lebanon has a mild to cool climate of wet winters with hot, dry summers. Not matter the season though the mountains always get a lot of snow. Going in the fall the weather will be very unpredictable.
Through the planning process I discovered that visas are required for entry, however I have a Lebanese passport, so that made the process very easy. All I hade to do was renew my passport in June, 3 months in advance, no other documentation required. I also made sure to check with my GP around 8 weeks before my trip to check whether I needed any vaccinations or other preventive measures.
One major think I had to keep  in mind when planning was the area that I would travel to.
According to the map the safest area seems to be inland towards the Mediterranean. There have been an increasing number of violent incidents in the north-eastern Bekka Valley. Armed incursions and shelling across the Syria border have occurred in several locations including Wadi Khaled, Al Qaa, Hermel, Baalbek and Aarsal. These have resulted in a number of casualties and is a area I plan to avoid. Another area I plan to avoid is the southern tip because of the Palestinian refugee camps where the Lebanese state has limited capacity to impose law and order. There is a history of violent clashes in particular in Ein El Helwe camp near Saida around southern Lebanon. Based of these warnings I have decided to travel to the heart of Lebanon, Beirut which has over 2 million people, even though I am advised to avoid the southern suburbs east of the airport road since that is an area of target for terrorist attacks, bombings, and missiles from various extremists groups and the Israeli boarder due to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It seems that due to Lebanon's neighbors; Syria, Palestine, and Israel, they continue to be unintentionally in the middle of conflict.
This is a current articles that I read about the Syrian refugees during the planning process: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29755970.