Ulloo8 - Lebanon
Departure
(Raj) A beer or two....? - why not we've got time on on our side. All five Ulloos manage to go this time. "Why are you going to Lebanon?" I was asked a few times by those I informed about our next destination. "Isn't it dangerous?"
Well, it wasn't whilst we were there but, the year after, war broke out with Israel! A few cross border missile exchanges did take place while we were there but no one took any notice as the news was relayed on TV one night in a cafe in Trablous (Tripoli)!
Well, it wasn't whilst we were there but, the year after, war broke out with Israel! A few cross border missile exchanges did take place while we were there but no one took any notice as the news was relayed on TV one night in a cafe in Trablous (Tripoli)!
I think I can see one coming
(Raj) What's Ashok looking out for? Not a missile I hope. He'll have to take cover under the LP Guide he's holding if one is on it's way!
Where are we?
(Raj)
"We're here."
"No, you're wrong! We're here!"
"Listen matey I'm the Ulloo Map Reader so buzz off!"
"Samji, you don't care where we are - do you?"
"We're here."
"No, you're wrong! We're here!"
"Listen matey I'm the Ulloo Map Reader so buzz off!"
"Samji, you don't care where we are - do you?"
Beirut rebuilt
(Raj) They had done a grand job at reconstructing the centre of Beirut to its orginal architecture. This is a new mosque being built. When I next went there it had been completed. The war was history and Beirut was growing and bustling.
Welcome to...
(Raj) Trablous was our first destination after Beirut to where we would return for two nights. This is the quaint hotel where we stayed. We were greeted by our friendly host who spoke no English. But we managed communicate with each other using the universal language of gestures.
We normally found him leaning on his sofa-cum-bed watching T.V. For the three days we were there he went shopping for our breakfast. Fruite juice, flat bread and eggs which he cooked for us.
We normally found him leaning on his sofa-cum-bed watching T.V. For the three days we were there he went shopping for our breakfast. Fruite juice, flat bread and eggs which he cooked for us.
Byblos
(Raj) What a ruin. "Not another one!" I hear Sudesh thinking.
Trablous
(Raj) We walked into a cafe where men were leasurley smoking sheeshas and playing cards. Plenty of coffee and Pepsi but no beer. It's about time they repainted the place and thrown away the ubiquitous plastic chairs.
Monasteries in the mountains
(Raj) We only saw our host at the Hotel El Koura, there being no other staff. The owner visited on the third morning and we got chatting with him. We told him we intended to visit the mountains, the Maronite Christian monasterise, and cross the mountains to Baalbeck. He suggested he arrange a driver for us to take us to the monasteries but crossing the mountains would not be possible due to heavy snow fall having blocked all roads. He could however take us there using the longer southern route circumventing the obstruction. So much snow in Lebanon? My initial thought was that he was trying to squeez more money out of us. But I was wrong and he was right. We would see plenty of snow. Lebanon may be a small country but it is has varied geography and, with it, climate. It is said that you can go skying in the mountains in the mroning and spend the afternoon swimming in the tepid Mediterranean. Which other country can boast such a claim?
Going to waste
(Raj) A good crop of ripe sharon fruit rotting away
There's snow here alright
(Raj) Yeeeees.....plenty of it as well! That hotel manager was right after all! Raj - you Ullooooooooo!
The land of the cedar trees
(Raj) While in the mountains we had to see Lebanon's cedar trees. Now they were white. Didn't Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, come here to slay the ogre demigod Humbaba who protected the forest? Good job he's not about now! Must read the Epic again.
Palmyra Hotel, Baalbek
(Raj) Here we are relaxing in the bar of the Palmyra Hotel. A colonial- era relic. It has stood still in time and with it kept hold of the atmosphere. A few famous guests have stayed there in the past including General de Gaulle (room no. 30). The LP Guide adds "you'll either love it or find it hair-raising.... on winter nights it's cold draughty and downright spooky". Not having much hair left to stand on end, I really loved it. The only spirits we encountered were a couple of shots of vodka before we left the place.
The heating arrangements
(Raj) "Errrr Saif, you're a Mechnical Engineer. Can you make this thing work? On second thoughts, the strong smell of paraffin suggests you leave it alone! For Baal's sake, put away those matches!"
The Heliopolis 1
"Can't you Ulloos for once leave out the ruins?"
The Heliopolis 2
(Raj) "What did you say Sudesh?"
The Heliopolis 3
(Raj) No, this place is well worth a visit. Said to be the best preserved Roman temples, the two of Jupiter and Bacchus are impressive and worth seeing. Impressive too, are the huge building blocks of stone used to construct them. How could people in those days move and positioned single pieces that weighed about 1000 tonnes?
The Heliopolis 4
(Raj) OK men, let's get these pillars up before tea break.
Beirut
(Raj) On our return to Beirut from Baalbek we spent a day sightseeing. We hired a taxi to take us to the Jeita Grotto. The driver was an elderly, well spoken, gentleman. On the way, he took us past the site where the former prime minister Rafiq Hariri had been killed by a car bomb on 14 February 2005. He pointed this out to us and we asked him a few questions about Mr Hariri and enquired who could have been behind the assassination. He would not be drawn on this matter and our conversation on the subject came to an abrupt end. Lebanon had suspected foreign involvement. At Hariri's death there had been outrage in Lebanon. After our visit to the caves we came across a marquee commemorating his death. Photographs, flowers and an open copy of the Holy Koran were on display. A few people walked about in respectful silence and we joined them.
The Jeita Grotto
(Raj) Located close to Beirut, these caves are not to be missed. Considered to be one of the best formations of stalactites and stalagmites in the world. We were reminded by an Ulloo's school geography teacher telling his students that "tites come down". Photography is strictly forbidden so this image was downloaded from a web site.
Dinner
(Raj) In central Beirut, there are no shortages of places to eat and have a drink or two. Like the locals we preferred to be seated outdoors. A large variety of superb food to choose from.
Time to relax
(Raj) Saif and I enjoy the apple fragranted sheeshas - can't miss them or the aroma of the smoke. Make the most of it, 'cos we'll be back in London this time tomorrow! (But, it will not be my last visit to this wonderful country and its people).
