We were in Lebanon for 6 days and I think it rained on every one of them. We still had a great time, but it really would have been better without all the rain (and the wind, thunder and cold). The first thing we noticed on entering the country was the rather ever present security presence. Police, army and security guards (in Beirut anyway) were everywhere. Which is almost understandable given the history of the place, but personally I think having occupied tanks all over the place a little excessive.
We arrived in Beirut and noticed the difference from the rest of the middle east as soon as we hit the centre. Walking around the downtown area, we immediately felt like we were back in Europe. And after being sick for a while and with not much of an appetite it was a refreshing change to suddenly have options for dinner that didn’t involve kebabs of some description. Despite the reputation of Lebanese cuisine our first two dinners were at Mexican and Japanese restaurants. Apart from, eating and hiding in our hotel room watching movies during the storms, we also went to the great national museum, wandered along the beachfront and then took a daytrip to Jeita Grotto. These caves were the most impressive we have ever seen, plus we got to take a cable car and a boat ride inside the caves. Unfortunately we couldn’t take photos. (If you are interested http://www.jeitagrotto.com has some photos.)
We then took a trip up north to Tripoli. Unfortunately we timed this rather poorly. The main things to see are souqs and mosques and the like, but we were there on a Friday afternoon – basically the Muslim weekend. Just as we decided there was nothing else to see around town, it started pouring so we went back to the hotel. The next morning we went to Byblos to check out some ruins, however no one had mentioned that they were very ruined ruins and after all we’ve seen we were a little under whelmed.
We then returned to Beirut (a change of plans after losing my keys and then extremely luckily tracing them through the hotel’s taxi) to make a daytrip the next day to Baalbek. Yes, it was more ruins, but much more impressive. We even got a small window of sunlight to enjoy them in.
The next day we headed off to Amman (Jordan), via Damascus (Syria is the only way in or out of Lebanon). It was quite an adventure. Firstly at the Syrian border we had to buy a whole new visa ($100 each!) because our old ones were two days old and they don’t extend them or have transit visas. It reeked of slightly shady goings on, but you never really know. Then our driver between Damascus and Amman was less than fantastic. First of all, we are flying along the highway to the border in the dark and wet at up to 150km/h (conditions appropriate I would think). I suspect that was just to get there as quickly as possible for the shenanigans he had planned. Syrian border, no problems. In between borders there is a duty free shop selling all sorts of things presumably, but all anybody bought was cigarettes. Our driver came out with several bags full, chucked them in the car and then went back in for more. He came out and then started hiding the excess (there are obviously some customs requirements) all throughout the car – in the glove box, centre console, in the boot, under the seats (he asked to use us but we were having nothing to do with it), in his socks and finally under his tucked in shirt. Quite impressive in its own way. He also met up with other drivers and seemed to be arranging something. We get to the Jordanian border and the car gets a thorough(ish) searching, with a discovery made in the (locked) glove box. A bit of yelling, arguing and then dealing behind the car later we were free to go. 100 metres past the border we stop and meet back up with some other drivers, cigarettes are distributed and we’re off. When we got to Amman he insisted that a random hotel was our hotel and we couldn’t be bothered and got out of there, the pouring rain was a better option. Quite an adventure really.
That’s it, here are some photos. I’m annoyed we didn’t get any photos of the legendary traffic though. For a known car hater, the traffic in Beirut was unbelievable and inexplicable – why would you drive when you can’t go anywhere without being stuck in a traffic jam? Unless of course you like using your horn…
Oh and we are in Egypt now, have already gone through Jordan, a blog post to come on that in a few days. Quick summary – Petra is absolutely amazing! We are in Dahab to be exact and soaking up the beach after a few desert experiences.
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