beirut

Day 14 – Beirut

Posted on April 6, 2018

And we will come back home, home again.

Our final day in Lebanon started fairly slow, with a bit of a sleep-in, then breakfast at the hotel. We heard that Fadi’s family had decided to drive to Beirut to see us one more time before we left which was a nice surprise.

We booked a nearby restaurant for a late lunch (on the hotel’s recommendation), and got ready and rested for their arrival. It was around 4pm when they arrived, and after some greetings, we all walked down to the restaurant, which was a seafood place down on the water (crossing busy streets with over 20 people is fun!).

It was good to have one final meal with everyone, though the restaurant wasn’t great. Probably the worst meal we had on our trip, so that was a nice way to end things! Afterwards we walked back and hung out in the hotel lobby, while chatting and ordering some sweets for dessert.

Once it reached 9pm, our taxi arrived to take us to the airport, so we had another extended goodbye, followed by the dreaded beginning to our long journey home.

Our first flight, from Beirut to Doha (4hrs) was at 1:30am, and I somehow managed to sleep through most of it (rare for me). Then we had a few hours wait until our Doha to Sydney flight (14hrs), which again I managed surprisingly well (slept for maybe 6 or 7 hours of it). I think it’s because on both flights there was an empty seat next to me, so there was a lot more space.

Lastly, we had a couple hours until our Sydney to Sunshine Coast flight (supposed to be a little over 1hr, but delays made it 2-3hrs). It’s good to finally be home though!

Overall, not a bad holiday. In fact, I would go as far as to say it was a good holiday.

Day 11 – Beirut

Posted on April 2, 2018

Hotel, sweet hotel.

An early start today, as we had to pack our things, clean up, get showered, dressed and ready by 8:00am. Oh and our electricity wasn’t working all morning, so that made things even more fun!

A scramble later, and we were picked up and driven to Beirut, to the hotel we’ll be staying in for the remainder of our trip. Oh and we picked up some kanafeh sandwiches on the way, which was unexpected, but pretty good. We only stopped to check in, drop off our bags and meet up with Zena, before heading back out for the day (Zade was sick and stayed back).

Our first destination was an old mosque located up the mountains a bit. There wasn’t a whole lot to see, but there was a nice man who showed us around and explained the various historical significance of each room.

Next up was Moussa Castle, which was built entirely by Moussa Abdel Karim Al Maamari and houses many of his creations, as well as historical items and weaponry from different periods.

From there, we went to lunch at an outdoor restaurant, surrounded by trees, a lake and a waterfall. There was live music and a set mezze/meat/fruit menu (no complaints here) which made for a nice atmosphere. Though when you’re eating under a tree, you have to be prepared to have random leaves and things fall onto your plates. But an otherwise great meal.

Everyone was pretty tired by this point (not to mention I had begun another sneeze attack), so we headed back to the hotel to get an early rest before our tour tomorrow. I took more photos than I thought though, so no early night for me!

Day 3 – Lebanon Tour

Posted on March 25, 2018

Kimono is come from the Greek word himona, is mean winter.

Today was a big one. We had booked a day tour yesterday, and set out nice and early this morning, eager to venture outside of Beirut and see more of the country. Our first destination was the ancient city of Byblos.

Byblos

Byblos is the oldest city in Lebanon, dating back to 6000 BC. It has been invaded and conquered many times over the years, and the result is a mix of ruins and excavated structures from many different civilisations.

We explored the fortress, walked around the main site, learned about its history, and got to venture down a tunnel where a huge sarcophagus had previously been buried for a king.

Outside of the main archaeological site, there were a few picturesque streets with markets and shops surrounding. We didn’t get too long there, but may return another day.

Unfortunately during this time, Zara got progressively more ill. Zade’s a good brother though.

Jeita Grotto

After Byblos, our next stop was at Jeita Grotto. This is two large caves, an upper cave and a lower one, which is naturally formed, millions of years old, and features some amazing stalactites/stalagmites, all formed purely by water and time.

Much to my dismay, no photography was allowed inside the caves. You’ll have to just use Google for that I’m afraid.

They were really amazing though. The upper caves had a path you could walk through, which led to an area I would liken to the Mines of Moria. Huge, deep pits, and openings far above too, with distant lights showing the depth of the caves. There were crazy formations and shapes formed by the water over the many many years (the water is rich in calcium, and it drips, slowly building up and forming these bizarre solids – roughly 1cm is added per century).

The lower caves were fairly similar, though you had to take a boat to see them, as there is somewhat of a lake below. It was a nice peaceful glide through, once again though, no photos.

Outside the caves, we had a short journey to our final destination, Harissa.

Harissa

Harissa is way up in the mountains, and had a few things to see. Firstly, there was the big basilica constructed there, which is shaped like a Cedar tree when you look at it from above (again, Google will have to prove this one). It is fairly modern, but still quite nice, inside and out.

Just behind this, is Our Lady of Lebanon, which is a large statue of Mary which faces out over Beirut. There is also a great panoramic view of Lebanon from up there, though it was a very foggy day, so it was a struggle to get clear photos. There were also a few Cedar trees up here, which were cool to see.

The final stop for our tour was a nearby restaurant for some well-deserved lunch. Lebanese meze and mixed grill – classic. From there, we journeyed back to our hotel, tired and ready to rest. Tomorrow we leave Beirut for Tripoli, but might be stopping at some sights on the way, we’ll see.

Right now it’s currently only 9pm and I’m struggling to stay awake… what has this place done to me…

Day 2 – Beirut

Posted on March 24, 2018

What defines a nap? Is it duration or time of day?

You already know how today started, if you read the previous post. If not… too bad. Our first destination today was Raouche, which is apparently a quite famous area, specifically for the rocks located there (pictured above). We walked the ten minutes or so along the waterside road to get there.

We ate breakfast at a great restaurant overlooking the rocks and ocean. Orange juice report – amazing. Slightly less so than the first place, but still far above the norm. More orange juice reports to come.

After breakfast, the others went to some spa/facial type thing they had booked yesterday, which left me some time to catch up on photos/blog/internet things back at the hotel.

When they returned, we had a short break before dressing up and heading out to another strip along the water, lined with restaurants. We had another great Lebanese meal, (this time with much meat), and some intense philosophical questions (what defines a nap? Is it duration or time of day?), followed by dessert and subsequent food coma.

Oh and the orange juice was great, but a little on the sour side. A bit sweeter and it would have been perfect. I want to try some from a juice bar to see if a specialty in juice is a contributing factor.

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