Tripoli

No, I did not go to Libya. Lebanon also has a city called Tripoli, or Trabolus in Arabic. Tripoli is about an hour and a half north of Beirut along the coast. Tripoli is best known for its sweets and winding old city. I had a great time walking around the old city, exploring the citadel that overlooks the city, and sampling the cuisine. To be honest, I was not as impressed by the sweets as I had expected, but maybe that's just because I was building them up in my mind all week. I had three types of sweets from Halleb, the most famous shop in Tripoli.

Halewit l-jibin (sweet cheese) - this was the strangest thing I've ever eaten. I can't even describe it. Basically, it's a doughy bottom with salty cheese on the top, and then smothered in a syrup that smells a lot like rose water. This came the most highly recommended to me and when I told some of the girls on my floor that I didn't like it they were speechless. I guess it's an acquired taste? So I'll just have to keep eating it.

This one was delicious. It's essentially pistachios wrapped in a sweet pastry. I really liked it.

Kanafeh is a particularly well known Arabic sweet. It consists of flour, cheese, sugar, and rose water. I like kanafeh, but I've definitely had better.

Tripoli also has a citadel dating back to the 12th century. It's been occupied by the usual suspects throughout the last 900 years, but my guidebook left out the fact that it's now occupied by the Lebanese army. The street surrounding the citadel is full of humvees and part of the citadel is closed off for army barracks. It was very odd. The citadel is really dirty and there's restoration work being done all over the place. We had free roam over the entire place, with the exception of the army area, which was really cool, but I just wish someone was taking better care of it. Tripoli has had a lot of trouble attracting tourists since 2007 when a battle between Palestinians in a nearby camp and the Lebanese army spilled into the old city. 

I loved the old city of Tripoli. We went on a Saturday, so it was bustling with people doing their weekend shopping. I definitely want to go back during the next two months because I feel like I only saw the tip of the iceberg. There are so many mosques, baths, khans, and madrassas tucked away in the old city. I love old cities because there's such a variety of things being sold. In one shop you can find nice, although distinctly Lebanese, dresses, and right next door will be a butcher hacking away at some huge hanging piece of meat. Some of the stores are not very vegetarian friendly, but they also make great pictures. I bought two pairs of Arabic coffee cups for myself (all for $1.50) so now I can drink coffee back in the US. I also loved Tripoli because I had one of the best meals of my life there (sorry Mom). We were walking along the streets of the old city, contemplating heading to the sweet shop and then home, when my eyes were caught by this vendor selling some sort of sizzling dish. We had walked by once before, but I had restrained myself, wanting to save up for the sweets. However, passing by twice was too much for me and I relented. Now I wish I had a picture, but basically it was Moroccan couscous (big, white circular pieces not like couscous in the US) with a few chickpeas, white onions, and lots of oil. The whole thing was flavored with just the perfect amount of cinnamon. All this was wrapped up in pita, obviously, because every meal comes with pita in the Middle East. After I had my first bite I passed it along to my friend, who then turned around and bought himself a sandwich, and then my other friend gave in and bought one as well. They were just so good! After the three of us had purchased our sandwiches, we walked into the back of the store and sat down at the plastic table and chair set up. Like most old cities, the interior of the shops are the best part. All have arched stone walls/ceilings and it was the perfect atmosphere to chow down on my sandwich. If I go back to Tripoli for any other reason, I am definitely hunting down this place.

I tried to capture the street scene in the old city but my finger and chattering got in the way. I think it gives a decent impression of the atmosphere, regardless. Specifically, I wanted to get the guy selling veggies on film. He was sooooo loud.

Just by chance we found the soap khan. It's in the open area next to the gold shops, and immediately upon stepping into the khan we were overwhelmed with the sweet smell of flowers. It was such a relief from the constant smell of the butchers shop and cooking food. 

It's another beautiful day in Beirut, but I've shut myself up in my room to study Arabic. I have an exam on Tuesday in my formal Arabic class and the grammar is tough. It doesn't help that I don't know much about English grammar, but this definitely seems much harder. I'll just keep thinking about my trip to Turkey on Friday and that will get me through it I'm sure.