John Fer in Lebanon

John Fer arrived in Lebanon just in time for our Spring Break. His first two days here he joined each of us at school. Then the fun began. We showed him the sites of Beirut, stopping often for falafel sandwiches. Of course we pointed out the infamous Holiday Inn, used by snipers during the Civil War shortly after the hotel was opened. Built to sustain earthquakes, it is still standing today relatively unharmed (if you don't count all those bullet holes.) We brought him to the beautiful port town of Byblos. We had been once before in September, but it was a totally different place in the spring. The grounds of the castle were decorated by the colorful wild flowers, which also provided a brilliant fragrance to top of the fresh smell of the sea. And it just so happens that there is a delicious little Mexican restaurant (run by Lebanese people) overlooking the old port. Nothing says a Mediteranean sunset like a Margarita and fajita!





















We got a ride back to Beirut from a newly engaged couple. In typical Lebanese fashion, I asked directions for a bus back to the city and they offered us a ride! They were both in university, and had gotten engaged the previous weekend. When the Lebanese get engaged, it's quite an affair. The first set of rings are exchanged on this occasion, and the event is top notch- catering, professional photographer, fancy suits and dresses. Lebanese women expect at least a diamond ring and a matching accessory such as a bracelet or necklace. The rest of the set will be expected at the actual wedding. But I digress....our lovely new friends dropped us at the edge of the city. We meandered back home, stopping along the way to wet the whistle. Walking back through downtown we stopped in admiration of the glowing Hariri mosque. Just behind the mosque is a Christian church and at Christmas time the huge Christmas tree sits in between the two. It's a powerful symbol of religious diversity in Lebanon .

John was such an easy and delightful visitor. He was happy to do anything or nothing. We spent our mornings drinking coffee and discussing politics, literature and philosophy. We ate a lot of delicious street food and we jumped at every opportunity that presented itself. We saw an incredible concert of Arabic fusion jazz played by a newly formed 14 member band. The entire event was in Arabic, which was refreshing. There's so much English in our part of the city that it's easy to forget where you are. One morning- after our political coffee hour- we decided to try our luck at the Syrian border. None of us had procured visas, and the rumor mill suggested Americans were forced to wait a few hours before getting across. But what the hell. It was worth a shot. Finding a bus to get there was cheap and easy. The ride to the border was cheap and easy. Getting out of Lebanon was free and easy. Getting into Syria was.....


not so easy. This picture was taken during one of the several visits we made to the conveniently located Italian restaurant during our SEVEN HOUR WAIT. When we arrived they told us to wait 1, maybe 2 hours. Not a big deal. 3 Hours later we were told "Ma barif" which means, "I don't know." I noticed our passports sitting in a pile on the desk. We weren't the only ones waiting. A few other American girls were there when we arrived, and they were waiting as well. Every hour or so one of us would take a turn to check if there had been any progress. "Ma barif" was the continual response. Until suddenly (7 hours later, mind you) the mood changed and we were welcomed with open arms. From that point on, every person we met in Syria was an absolute pleasure. We crossed our fingers and headed to one of the hostels listed in Lonely Planet. When we arrived the man told us "I am so happy you are here! I have no rooms. But I can help you!" Well actually he had a room that would be free at 1:30am, and we were welcome to it if we wanted to wait. Since we had already spent our entire day waiting, what was a few more hours? So again, we waited.
But it was all worth it. Damascus has a beautiful Old
City, similar to Tripoli but much larger and even more beautiful. The souq is the same style, covered alley ways woven into the neighborhoods. The spices and perfumes mixed with the hanging carcas and freshly baked sweets make for very interesting aromas wafting through the streets. Almost all of the women in Damascus wear head scarves, unlike in Lebanon where it is probably only half of the women. The driving seemed a bit more civilized, although there was much more evidence of poverty. I mentioned this to a colleague at work and she replied that Syrians aren't poor, but appearance is much less important to them than it is to the Lebanese. She said Syrians spend all their money on food.

Tripoli, Lebanon

About a month ago we took a bus to the north of Lebanon to the second biggest city, Tripoli. The city is known for its historic markets, handmade soaps, and sweets. The ride up was fairly easy. Because it was a Christian holiday the buses were running less frequently. The one we happened to be on found itself empty half way to our destination, so the driver pawned us off onto another bus. We often feel very lucky that we experienced Moldovan transportation before this. We are always prepared for something to go askew.

Tripoli felt much more Middle Eastern than Beirut. Most of the signs were only in Arabic, and very little English was spoken. The people there were delighted when we attempted to speak with the little Arabic that we know, as opposed to the foolish glances given to us by Beirutees. Everyone we met in Tripoli was kind.

The city is known for their market- called souq-and for very good reason. In the old part of the city, there are alley ways between the buildings. It is in these alleys that they have built their markets. You can walk and walk, weaving in and out of neighborhoods while admiring the clothes, jewelry, vegetables and handicrafts that fill the very small shops. The city is also famous for the soap that they make. There is an old factory tucked away in one of these souqs. Inside are low doorways that lead to different soap shops. These soaps- all handmade from local and natural ingredients- are carved into faces, logos, balls, birds, everything. The most beautiful were the ones like the Muslim prayer beads hanging from the ceiling in every color and aroma. It felt like being inside a rainbow.














We roamed the streets and markets, in awe of the population. The coast of Lebanon is so incredibly overpopulated. It's pretty much city sprawl from North to South. The other interesting thing we noticed was the amount of politicians being supported in every neighborhood. The Lebanese are very political, and just about each Lebanese person belongs to a different political party. The elections should be very interesting.

By the dirty river there is an old citadel from the Crusaders that is actually still being used by the Lebanese army (Tripoli tends to erupt in political dispute from time to time). Like in most historic ruins in Lebanon, we were free to roam around the grounds unsupervised. The citadel was pretty large and we did a pretty good job of seeing it all. We even found a set of stairs in one of the turrets leading way down below the dungeons. With only the flash from the camera as a source of light, we went exploring. Our friend Rodrigo described it as the "bowels of the castle". When we reached the bottom it stopped. There were 2 different tunnels that had been blocked by builders. Maybe it had caved in, maybe it was done on purpose. Perhaps Indiana Jones would have pushed his way through the rocks, but we were satisfied with out excursion.