Monday, October 28: Istanbul to Beirut
Around noon, I took a flight on Middle East Airlines (Lebanon's national carrier) from Istanbul to Beirut, where I was met by a tour guide and driven to my hotel.
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| Reading departure signs in some big airport reminds me of the places I've been... |
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| Central Beirut from the air |
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| Some poorer neighborhoods, near the Beirut Airport |
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| On the way in from the Airport |
While in Beirut, the group stayed at the Gems ApartHotel, in a neighborhood called Hamra, not far from the American University in Beirut.
As soon as I got to my hotel room, I turned on the TV for some coverage of the demonstrations.
After walking around the neighborhood, I stopped for dinner at a local bar.
Tuesday, October 29: South to Tyre and Sidon
In the morning I met my (two) tour mates and guide, and we started on the tour. The tour was originally supposed to start in the northern part of the country in Byblos, but the roads to the north were being blocked by demonstrators, so instead, we headed south, to Tyre and Sidon.
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| Along the shoreline in Beirut |
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| Pigeon Rock, a Beirut landmark |
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| The coast, near Pigeon Rock |
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| Southern Beirut--note the curtains on the exterior porches |
Along the way, we still had to take several detours. Although we encountered lots of troops and police, we didn't see any demonstrators.
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| Lebanese troops directing us |
Our first stop was the ancient city of
Tyre, one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. Most of the ruins at the site are from the Roman period
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| Floor mosaics from the Roman period |
A large part of the area is a necropolis with burial chambers and sarcophagi dating from the Byzantine period (4th century AD)
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| Sarcarphogus |
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| Burial chambers |
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| Roman Arch |
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| Roman road |
There is also a Roman-area hippodrome (horse track) with grandstands.
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| Tiles in the Roman bath |
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| Roman-era sculpture |
We then drove through the countryside, and encountered lots of signs for Lebanese parties. Lebanon is about 50% Christian and 50% Muslim (with various sub-sects), and has several political parties, including Hezbollah (not my favorite)
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| Political signage |
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| Not the Peace Party |
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| The yellow flags are for Hezbollah |
On the way, we passed by a Palestinian refugee camp. Lebanon has had Palestinian refugees since 1948, and the camps, which originally started out as tents, have developed into "regular" housing. According to our guide, the Palestinians are second-class citizens in Lebanon and are not permitted to hold certain jobs.
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| A Palestinian area outside of Tyre |
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| This is either Yassir Arafat or Ringo Starr, outside a Palestinian camp |
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| More political signs along the road |
From Tyre, we proceeded to
Sidon, the third largest city in Lebanon, and famous for its Crusader castle.
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| Along the coastline in Sidon |
First we visited the caravansary in Sidon, which dates from the 17th century, and then went to the local souk (market).
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| The caravansary |
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| Courtyard of the caravansary |
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| In the local market |
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| Locals watching news about the demonstrations |
Next we visited the Crusader castle, built in the 13th century.
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| Another view of the coast in Sidon |
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| Basic Lebanese transportation |
On the way back to Beirut, we were detoured due to demonstrators blocking the highway.
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| Lebanese troops redirecting us |
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| I think this may have been a tiny demonstration, but I'm not sure |
Arriving back in Beirut, I went to a restaurant near my hotel called
Ferdinand, and spent the evening being entertained by the bartender.
Wednesday, October 29: Central Beirut, Deir el Qamar, Beit ed-Dine, and Zahle
We began the day with a visit to central Beirut.
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| The view from our hotel |
Central Beirut turns out to be much more modern and pleasant than I (or probably anyone) expected. However, if you considered that the center of the city was pretty much destroyed in the 1990's, the modern (and reconstructed buildings make sense).
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| Site of the old souk, which is now a modern shopping area |
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| Shopping at the old souk |
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| Some French Colonial architecture |
We tried to visit the Roman ruins and the Parliament building, but the police had the area blocked off due to the protests.
Oddly enough, they did block off the area where the protests were taking place. Since it was 10:00 AM, and all of the protesters had gone for the night, we were free to walk around
Martyrs Square, the center of the protests.
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| Martyrs Square |
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| Another view of Martyrs Square |
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| Power to the People! |
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| Like I said.... |
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| A leaflet passed around at the demonstrations |
After leaving Martyrs Square, we drove around central Beirut and saw a few buildings that had been damaged during the Lebanese civil war, and kept in their damaged state.
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| The Egg, a theater that was never completed due to the war |
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| A destroyed building |
On a brighter note, we headed next to the
National Museum of Beirut, one of the best museums I have ever visited.
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| Exterior of the museum |
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| Interior of the museum |
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| Stele of Rameses II, from the 13th century BC |
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| Skeleton of a woman from 15,900 BC |
From the museum we headed for some other towns east of Beirut.
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| On the streets of Beirut |
Our first stop was the town of
Deir el Qamar.
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| Fakhreddine Mosque, built by Fakhr-ad-Din in 1493 |
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| Maronite Church of Our Lady of the Hill, dating from the 1500s |
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| Inside the church |
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| A copy of the New Testament in Arabic |
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| Town center of Deir el Qamar |
Our next stop was
Beit ed Dine. a town whose main attraction is the
Beiteddine Palace, which was built in the late 1700's. Some shots from the exterior and interior of the palace are below.
From there, we went to the city of Zahle, where we spent the night.
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| The bridge is part of the highway from Beirut to Damascus |
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| More political signage, this time involving Putin |
In Zahle, we stayed at the Grand Kadri Hotel, which served as French military headquarters during World War I. Very elegant (but empty) hotel.
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| Entrance of Grand Kadri Hotel |
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| In the lobby |
Thursday, October 30: Zahle, Anjar, and Balbaak
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| View from my hotel window |
On our way to Anjar, we passed several Syrian refugee camps. Since these are of more recent vintage than the Palestinian camps, they are more like tent cities. Several of them were on farms, with the tents being near the main house.
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| Syrian refugees working on a farm |
Our first stop was in
Anjar, where there are numerous ruins from the 9th century.
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| Our "group" and guide in Anjar |
From Anjar, we returned to Zahle, and visited a winery there.
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| Zahle |
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| Caves in the winery |
From the winery, we headed towards Baalbek.
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| About $6.30 for a Big Mac and a cheeseburger |
The ruins at
Baalbek include Greek and Roman temples, and are some of the most impressive in the world.
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| Entrance to the Baalbek site |
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| Great Court of the Temple Complex |
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| Temple of Bacchus |
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| Museum at Baalbek |
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| Hezbollah t-shirts at a stall in Baalbek. I didn't buy any. |
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| Local children playing at Baalbek |
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| More local transportation |
Next to the Baalbek ruins is
The Great Mosque, one of the tackiest mosques I've ever seen.
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| Exterior of the mosque |
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| Interior of the mosque |
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| Ceiling and lighting in the mosque |
From the mosque we went to a local restaurant for an excellent lunch.
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| I opted against the raw liver |
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| The bread is a lot bigger than what you get at Lebanese restaurants in the US |
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| The whole shebang |
Next:
Days 14-16: Beirut and the Mountains
