So, it's been a while but here's a little update: Last weekend, Zibby and I
went to Baalbek. On Friday July 23rd, we took the bus to Beirut to the Cola
Intersection. Which is kind of like a bus station, but it's really just a
parking lot where all the buses hang out and wait for passengers. So we got in
a bus and we were off. We drove over the mountains and we got to this town
where there was a traffic jam. The bus driver kept asking people if there was
another way to go. He turned around and we went up further into the mountains.
Until, we got to an incline that the bus couldn't make it up. He tried several
times, until all the men had to get out in order to make the bus light enough
to climb the hill. I thought we would have to push, but no. (Actually, as I was
leaving Rabat (Morocco) last year for the train station our bus broke down and
all the men did get out to push to try and jump start the bus. It didn't work
and we waited for the next bus to come.) Anyways, that was a little nutty and
the driver was a mad man. It was not a fun ride. It also took us 4.5 hours to
get there (On the way home it only took 2 hours!). We got to where we had to
transfer buses and we did and at that point were in the valley (Baalbek is in
the Beqaa Valley).
That area was really different for two reasons: Like I've said before, on the coast it's hills and mountains and in the valley, obviously it's totally flat, which was cool. The second reason why it was different is because it is a more conservative, and I think, Shiite area. I kid you not; every twenty feet on the highway were pictures of Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah (The Grand Ayatollah who died a few weeks ago). There were also lots of pictures of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah; you know, with his fist raised, things like that. And finally, there were Hezbollah flags everywhere. And if you haven't seen the Hezbollah flag, it is yellow with green letters and it says "Hezbollah, (Party of God)". In Arabic the "A" looks like a straight vertical line. And extending from the A in Allah on the flag is a fist holding a Kalashnikov (AK-47). There was also at one point a huge replica of the Dome of the Rock and some posters around it, which I didn't have time to read. But, anytime I see posters or things with the Dome of the Rock, I keep moving because there is no way that they have a positive message. (The Dome of the Rock is in Jerusalem and is the second holiest site for Muslims. So, usually things with the Dome of the Rock on them deal with destroying Israel). I didn't take a lot of pictures of those things, but I wanted to. They recommend you don't.
Ok, so we got there. And we went to the hotel, which Zibby booked ahead of time, and the guy was like, sorry we are full. And Zibby told him she called the other day and booked a room. But he was just like, we are full. So, two tourists who were there told us where another hotel was and we went there and luckily they had rooms. Then we went out to find some dinner and stuffed ourselves on falafel. We got two sodas and four falafel sandwiches for 6 dollars, which was awesome.
Anyways, Saturday morning we went to the Roman ruins and it was really cool. It is, I guess, the best preserved Roman ruins in the world and they are really impressive. (Soon, I'll put up some pictures). We kept running into those same tourists, whom we saw in the hotel the first night, which was kind of funny. So we wandered around and took a lot of pictures. There was also a Hezbollah museum right outside of the ruins, which is interesting that whoever decides those things let them put this thing right near an international site where lots of Europeans and other tourists come. We didn't go in it, Zibby didn't want to, but the guys in my Arabic class went another time and they said it was just like pictures of dead children and stuff. And again, it had like Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in gun sights on the outside, so you know. It also said, in English: "If you come back, we'll come back". And I don't know exactly what that means, but I took it to mean if Palestinians return to Palestine/Israel, Hezbollah with send in the troops?
So anyways, there was also this really awesome mosque in Baalbek, and I'll put pictures up of that too. Well, we spent the morning and then we took the bus back to Beirut. On the bus was a very nice woman who lived in the U.S. but had returned to Lebanon to take care of her sick parents. She helped us figure out the best way to get where we were going and all that. There are so many Lebanese, whom you meet, who have lived in Europe and Australia and the U.S. They are everywhere!
Well, we got to Beirut and we went to Hamra, which is kind of a trendy area. If downtown is like a European city, Hamra is like New York City in a way. Lots of stores and restaurants and it's nice. Zibby and I went to a sushi restaurant where they have a conveyor belt and you sit in front of it and just take plates that you want off of it. So that was cool. Then we walked to the Pigeon Rocks and then went back to Zouk Mosbeh.
Phew. Okay, that was last Friday and Saturday and soon I'll update you on this past week.
That area was really different for two reasons: Like I've said before, on the coast it's hills and mountains and in the valley, obviously it's totally flat, which was cool. The second reason why it was different is because it is a more conservative, and I think, Shiite area. I kid you not; every twenty feet on the highway were pictures of Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah (The Grand Ayatollah who died a few weeks ago). There were also lots of pictures of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah; you know, with his fist raised, things like that. And finally, there were Hezbollah flags everywhere. And if you haven't seen the Hezbollah flag, it is yellow with green letters and it says "Hezbollah, (Party of God)". In Arabic the "A" looks like a straight vertical line. And extending from the A in Allah on the flag is a fist holding a Kalashnikov (AK-47). There was also at one point a huge replica of the Dome of the Rock and some posters around it, which I didn't have time to read. But, anytime I see posters or things with the Dome of the Rock, I keep moving because there is no way that they have a positive message. (The Dome of the Rock is in Jerusalem and is the second holiest site for Muslims. So, usually things with the Dome of the Rock on them deal with destroying Israel). I didn't take a lot of pictures of those things, but I wanted to. They recommend you don't.
Ok, so we got there. And we went to the hotel, which Zibby booked ahead of time, and the guy was like, sorry we are full. And Zibby told him she called the other day and booked a room. But he was just like, we are full. So, two tourists who were there told us where another hotel was and we went there and luckily they had rooms. Then we went out to find some dinner and stuffed ourselves on falafel. We got two sodas and four falafel sandwiches for 6 dollars, which was awesome.
Anyways, Saturday morning we went to the Roman ruins and it was really cool. It is, I guess, the best preserved Roman ruins in the world and they are really impressive. (Soon, I'll put up some pictures). We kept running into those same tourists, whom we saw in the hotel the first night, which was kind of funny. So we wandered around and took a lot of pictures. There was also a Hezbollah museum right outside of the ruins, which is interesting that whoever decides those things let them put this thing right near an international site where lots of Europeans and other tourists come. We didn't go in it, Zibby didn't want to, but the guys in my Arabic class went another time and they said it was just like pictures of dead children and stuff. And again, it had like Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in gun sights on the outside, so you know. It also said, in English: "If you come back, we'll come back". And I don't know exactly what that means, but I took it to mean if Palestinians return to Palestine/Israel, Hezbollah with send in the troops?
So anyways, there was also this really awesome mosque in Baalbek, and I'll put pictures up of that too. Well, we spent the morning and then we took the bus back to Beirut. On the bus was a very nice woman who lived in the U.S. but had returned to Lebanon to take care of her sick parents. She helped us figure out the best way to get where we were going and all that. There are so many Lebanese, whom you meet, who have lived in Europe and Australia and the U.S. They are everywhere!
Well, we got to Beirut and we went to Hamra, which is kind of a trendy area. If downtown is like a European city, Hamra is like New York City in a way. Lots of stores and restaurants and it's nice. Zibby and I went to a sushi restaurant where they have a conveyor belt and you sit in front of it and just take plates that you want off of it. So that was cool. Then we walked to the Pigeon Rocks and then went back to Zouk Mosbeh.
Phew. Okay, that was last Friday and Saturday and soon I'll update you on this past week.
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