Wine, Hizbollah, Saida, and Jounieh

In Bekaa Valley you have Hezbollah, Wine, and Hash (Red Leb)...though we only got to experienced two out of the three.

From left to right: Hezbollah Secretary General Sayad Hassan Nasrallah, angels, an angel holding a scroll, a golden spirit blessing a missile, a soldier gazing at a missile, and a praying child against scattered clouds and a sparkling sky. 

 

Back to Chateau Ksara , Lebanon's largest winery operating since 1857. This year we skipped the tour and the tasting and went straight for the delicious salad bar, cheese plate, and a bottle of wine. We made our own self guided tour into the caves and found an unlocked door leading to resting bottles. We fought off temptation taking only photographs.

The Chateau had a large display of their Antique bottling equipment. 

Our goal for the day was to reach Saida (Sidon) in the south. I had the bright idea that instead of crossing the mountains back towards Beirut a better adventure would be to drive through the valley past what appears to be the only lake in Lebanon (El Qaraaoun). We past vineyards, wineries, and some goat herding along the way.

Halloween idea for 2011, maybe my brother George and I can tag team on this. You up for it?

If it wasn't those damn McDonalds collector's glasses then it was Khomeini billboards. Long story short, dusk was fast approaching as we were driving southbound and we came to a military check point. The stern looking soldiers didn't allow us to proceed forward because we were three Americans and a Brit. One of the officers took our passports and said "Hezbollah, too dangerous" and made us turn the car around. We were handed back our documents after a successful 180 and told to drive back to Beirut. So close but yet so far, this will go into the books as a two hour misadventure. But damn, seeing the lake and driving over unmarked speedbumps was well worth it.

We finally reached Sidon (Saida) only to be told that the two hotels were full. It felt like smaller Tripoli with a bigger middle finger pointed at us. We hopped back in the car and drove a few km north to the severely neglected Mina Beach "resort". Chewing gum smeared on the television speaker and duct taped glass on the balcony door was one of the amenities the resort included. On the plus side the sounds of the waves were nice and the view was decent as long as you didn't look north at the smoke stacks dumping blackness into the blue skies.

Maybe in the summer there's water in it.

The Sea Castle in Saida

Plastic only beaches.

One of the main attractions in Saida is the Musee du Savon (Soap Museum). Since it was the Eid, it was officially closed. A young lady acting as a tour guide for a small group worked her magic on the security guards and got us in. Additionally everyone bought stuff at the gift shop without a cashier. I'm sure the guards left a note with the money paper clipped to it.

Stamps for the soap.

More soap stamps.

Racks of soap. The museum is set in a 13th century building. I overheard the guide talk about how many of the buildings in the old town souq area are being renovated. This would be a fine example of one of them. 

We escaped out the back door into the souq area. Lebanese love their politicians.

Falafel sandwiches, the breakfast of champions. Here's how it is done: pull open the bread, place 4 falafel balls in the center then puncture them like they did something wrong and you're very angry at them. Next sprinkle some cilantro, slice a tomato, generously pour tahini, and roll like a burrito. Wrap with paper and twist the bottom to avoid spillage.

The master at work.

Q: What do Muslim boys in Lebanon get for the big Eid
A: Guns

Credit goes to Sonny for taking all the kids with guns photos. He called this one "Amir's first shotgun"

Gonna cap that infidel.

We said goodbye to the south only to come back to fully booked hotels in Beirut. There was nothing for the four of us thanks to the Eid. The front desk man at the Port View Hotel told us to go to 15 km to Jounieh, "where the bars and Christians are, Muslim families won't be staying there" True enough we found a room at the Zoukotel Hotel. The old man running the front desk was tops, as a bonus he was born and raised in Alexandria. The morning we left he told us that he was going to come and visit us...inshallah. The above bottles of wine are from the Don Carlos Bar. They'll open one for you but it will set you back between $500-1000 USD.  

Not only did Don Carlos have 50 year old bottles of vino, but the endless bottles of vintage cognac were displayed on almost every shelf. Sadly the establishment has seen better days. Opposite the bar are tables with all the place settings intact. Upstairs sits an out of commission kitchen. There is definite character here of a bygone era and back in the states a place like this it would be deemed a museum of sorts.

Happy campers prior to the bill, perhaps with priced drink menus and no funny business when it came to the check, this would a nice place to come back to. Let's hope the owners do the right thing.

The Zoukotel Hotel style wise is rooted in the 70's and that's a good thing! It would be Sonny's and Christine's final night. I felt a little sad dropping them off at the airport the following morning. It had been quite an experience we had together and just like that it was over. 

View from the hotel room. After our friends left the front desk man made us a deal to stay another night and that included a new but smaller room.

The ABC mall in Achrafiye had quite a nativity scene on the top floor near the duty free book shop where I picked up Off The Wall: Political Posters of the Lebanese Civil War by Zeina Maasri. It is mind blowing learning about all the warring political factions in Lebanon; it is still a true volatile mess.

Martyrs' Statue riddled with bullet holes and all surviving 15 years of civil war.  

Martyrs' statue and square is to commemorate Lebanese nationalist hung by the Ottomans during World War I. We enjoyed our last supper at Joe Pena's in Gemmayze before the haul back to Jounieh. Basically our last day in Beirut was just as uneventful as this last sentence. 

Lebanon Mountains and Bekka Valley

We made it out of Tripoli in one piece even after driving in the wrong lane for a short bit on the outskirts of town. Sonny was the navigator and told me where to go as we cut across small towns to find a road to Bcharre and the Cedars. In short, the mountain towns and valleys were scenic as the leaves were changing color. It has been awhile since we've experience a real fall.

We assumed the two people depicted in this poster are somehow involved in politics despite their resemblance to Mexican novela (soap opera) stars. Bcharre/Becharre/Bsharre/Bsharri is a stronghold for Maronite Christians (Eastern Catholic Church) and a touristic destination for hikers and skiers.

The sleepy town sits at the edge of Qadisha Valley. The vibe is reminiscent of a small mountain ski town in Colorado during the off season. It was an ideal way to spend some quiet time away from the city.

Gibran Museum. Artist/Writer Khalil Gibran most famous for his 26-poem essay The Prophet  has his tomb, manuscripts, and works of art for viewing...at least that's the word on the street. When we arrived the museum was closed.

The family run Bauhaus Motel sounded like the place to stay. Although there was no Peter Murphy at the desk, Tony the owner fit the bill just fine. Need a hair cut? Tony and his sister (?) have a salon on the ground floor. Our chalet bright, clean, and had a view. Tony wanted to make sure we had a good time and was helpful and friendly. The only problem we encountered was when the power kept going out. We called upstairs (where Tony lives) and he sent down the 7 year old electrician to show us how to use the power breakers. Tony speaks French, Arabic and a little English so some of the conversations were a little confusing. Example #1 me: "Where is your sister? Tony: "My sister in your family" sadly his sister never showed up at our door. I would love to come back during winter. To find out more about the Bauhaus click here  

We went looking for Qauisha Grotto and ended up at the Cedars. I'm not going to lie, driving up mountains in Lebanon is a hairy experience and most of the time there is only room enough for one car to get around the bend. In our hopes of finding the grotto we wound up back on the main road a few minutes from the Cedars. The Cedars are a small cluster of old trees and there is an effort to conserve and regenerate the forest. There is also an army of souvenir stands with eager sellers awaiting your arrival. We were compelled to buy a quarter kilo of nuts, figs, a round of beers, in order to relax and take it all in. Back in Bcharre we had an uneventful dinner at the lovely Chbat Hotel where we met three Swiss on holiday and invited them over sample Lebanese wine. 

At the base of the Cedars ski resort we enjoyed our breakfast staple Manoosh (bread cooked on a saj topped with labneh/cheese and zaatar. Wearing a lab coat is a must when attempting such duties. 

The saj oven doing its' magic.

In winter the mountains are snowcapped and the area becomes a popular a ski resort. We would continue up the road and over the mountain range descending into Bekka Valley. At the summit you can see the Mediterranean to the west and Syria to the east. I was too spooked to snap pictures and handed the wheel over to Sonny who drove fearlessly down the mountain.

On the other side of the mountain were several hunters blocking the road shooting birds with their riffles. I don't know about you, but people shooting guns in my vicinity makes me feel slightly uneasy. Encountering all the hunters and soldiers during our adventure made me think of Benny, my redneck foreman back in Birmingham, AL. Benny liking guns is an understatement! He'd send me to Hardee's in the morning in his pick-up to go fetch him a biscuit and told me that he had a 9mm in his glove compartment (verified) just in case the race war broke out?! He also wished for all Americans to carry guns because it would make for a polite society. Yes, we were polite and waved at all the hunters and soldiers.

Like I've mentioned before there is a mess of political organizations throughout Lebanon, politely put, a little something for everybody. Some like the Syrian and Iranian influence while other do not.

Hezbollah billboard, a common sight in Bekka Valley.

Lebanese love their billboards political or McDonalds. The country is littered with them as far as the eye can see. 

An Iranian styled shia mosque

We've returned to Baalbek and it was just as amazing as it was last year. If you missed our posting and pictures from last November, you can click here . 

When you see fallen ruins you start to think about where you're walking under hoping not to be a statistic.

Temple of Bacchus. Last year there was grass and the landscape was much greener.

Temple of Jupiter

Temple of Jupiter

Temple of Bacchus detail

Inside the museum.

Inside the museum.

Stayed tuned for the the final installment...much more misadventures coming up as we tried to drive through southern Lebanon.