I'm back!!

Hi everyone! Sorry it's been a while since my last blog. Things have been crazy here in Lebanon what with my parents visiting and midterms. To start things off, let me say that I had a wonderful birthday. Thank you to everyone for your birthday wishes (and gentle reminders for me to update my blog). I'm embarrassed to say that I went to the Hard Rock Cafe. It seems to be the Lebanese thing to do. All the bars and restaurants have specials like unlimited wings and beer or tacos and margaritas. I don't think things like that exist in the US because people would drink way too much. So, I went to the Hard Rock and had a delicious veggie burger and cupcakes.

It was wonderful to see my parents. They mostly did their own thing, but we had a few days together. One of those days, we went to the Qadisha Valley up in the north. Also know as the Valley of the Saints, this is a lush and verdant valley with monasteries and hermitages tucked away amongst the terraced land. To get down to one of the monasteries, you have to drive down this windy road with no guard rail. In the US, this road would definitely be one way, but not in Lebanon. To round a corner, you brace yourself, try and look in the mirrors set up, beep your horn (although the horn of our car didn't work), and speed on around the corner. The views on the ride down into the valley were breath-taking. Because the valley is in the Cedars, there are snowcapped mountains in the distance and the melting snow leads to gushing waterfalls throughout the valley. You can see why people were attracted to the area.

I also went to Byblos twice in the past month. Byblos (or Jbail in Arabic) is supposedly the longest inhabited city in the world (~6000 years) and it's where the first alphabet appeared. The main attraction in Byblos is the ruins of the city. There are millennia after millennia of buildings piled up one on top of another. Even though I went twice, I did not do the guided tour, although I wish I had. Byblos is particularly cool since tourists have total freedom. Sure, there are bars around the necropolis, but no one would really mind if you wandered into it. My favorite part was the old spring. It doesn't work now, but there's a winding stone ramp that goes down to the source of water. Byblos is also well know for its old harbor. Apparently in the summer you can go snorkeling there and see more of the ruins that have sunken into the water. So maybe I'll be making a third trip back to Byblos!

The next 3 shots are of Achrefieh, the French quarter of Beirut

Typical construction scene in downtown Beirut

That's it for now. This weekend I'm going to either Tyre (Sour) or Tripoli (Trabolis). And after that is our Easter break during which I'm going to Istanbul!!