I forgot to mention the bats in Tripoli. How could I forget?! Adjacent to where we were staying was a couple of buildings that had been bombed a long long time ago and in the twilight, out came the bats from the ruins. They looked incredible and masses of them swooped and ducked around in the air until it got darker then most headed off to wherever bats go overnight. Some however, stayed closer to home and throughout the night squeaked and chattered away – a very comforting sound to wake to in the night strangely enough.
Before heading up to Bcharre for the night we headed down the coast to Byblos which is an old old port, first settled in 5000 BC and has the reputation of being the oldest city in the world (but we’ve figured that there are a few of those around the Middle East!). To be completely honest (and apologies to any Lebanese reading this), we were slightly under-whelmed by Byblos. While its incredibly old and the ruins are in a stunning position right on a point by the sea, they are very spread out and are just so ruined (fire and earthquake helped bring them down) its really difficult to picture what was what. It really depends on what cranks your handle as some people loved it but we’re glad we didn’t take days out to stay there. Perhaps if we’d organised a guide to talk us through it we might have a different view.
This is how ruined Byblos is (obviously the intact building is new!)
Beach down the coast from Byblos. There was loads of kite surfers out having a ball in the wind.
After Byblos we headed up to Bcharre on a minibus that had zero suspension (some of the bumps really hurt!). Our packs were shoved in the back space with the spare wheel and greasy crank handle (some of the minibuses need to be jump or crank started) and when the bus filled up and over filled, we knew exactly why they were so determined to squeeze our gear in the back. That bus driver was on a mission to pack as many people into that bus as possible and he even had someone jammed between his left-hand side and the drivers door. At the back we had good ventilation from the shot-out back window that had some glass only just hanging in there.
Bcharre. The cliffs into the valley drop away vertically from the other side of the town
We’d broadly arranged with the guys we’d met the day before to rock up later in the day but didn’t know where we were going other than to a place by one of the churches. Bcharre is a small place and there aren’t many travellers in Lebanon at the moment let alone Bcharre, so it wasn’t any surprise that we bumped into one of them by chance. These guys were so good to us. They took us to their place, gave us a key then left us to our own devices for the night which suited us fine. We were absolutely stoked to have somewhere to hang out and did just normal everyday things like watch telly, cook some dinner, clean ourselves up etc. We didn’t realise that the power was rationed and I was in the shower when the lights went out just after midnight. Left in the pitch dark I was fine for a bit but when there was silence in the house after calling Euans name, I got a bit worried. I got a bit panicky when he still didn’t answer the second and third time but it turned out he was still stumbling round a strange lounge in the pitch black looking for the way to the room we were sleeping in to try and find a torch.
The place we stayed in was one floor in a five-story building with a massive flat deck. The house had seen some action in the past as there was a bullet hole in a high window then a bullet hole in a big mirror. Their grandfather/father had been asleep and there had been sniper fire from just up the valley and the bullet went through the window, into the mirror on the wall dividing the bedroom and the lounge. Not sure what the outcome was but it didn’t sound like the event was anything too unusual around that time. The guys weren’t home until well after midnight and one of them had to take his fiancée back over to the Bekaar Valley, an hours drive away up and over the pass where we were at yesterday. Once you’re over the pass you’re definitely in Hezbollah territory so he had a hand gun with him as its not safe to drive at night in the mountains. I don’t know why, but handguns make me much more nervous than big guns. I think it’s that they’re more mobile and seem to be waved round in the air more than bigger guns.
We went hiking in the valley the next day and that was great fun. The really rough path led along the side of the valley and passed quite a few ancient churches dug into the mountainside. One had a monk that had been living there for the last 20 years in isolation. I thought they were taking the mickey at first but they weren’t, he really was there and he’s not even from Lebanon; he’s from Columbia. I somehow managed to walk forcefully into an rock overhang and cracked my head something chronic. At least Euan, who was behind me, knew to look out for it and didn’t do the same thing. The path we were walking on was very narrow with a very very steep drop off so I was head down looking where I was going and my cap blocked my peripheral vision. I’m happy to say I wasn’t pole-axed but I did give it some and the bump on my head as a result was rather large. My cap was very nearly biffed into the valley in disgust.
Before heading up to Bcharre for the night we headed down the coast to Byblos which is an old old port, first settled in 5000 BC and has the reputation of being the oldest city in the world (but we’ve figured that there are a few of those around the Middle East!). To be completely honest (and apologies to any Lebanese reading this), we were slightly under-whelmed by Byblos. While its incredibly old and the ruins are in a stunning position right on a point by the sea, they are very spread out and are just so ruined (fire and earthquake helped bring them down) its really difficult to picture what was what. It really depends on what cranks your handle as some people loved it but we’re glad we didn’t take days out to stay there. Perhaps if we’d organised a guide to talk us through it we might have a different view.
This is how ruined Byblos is (obviously the intact building is new!)
Beach down the coast from Byblos. There was loads of kite surfers out having a ball in the wind.
After Byblos we headed up to Bcharre on a minibus that had zero suspension (some of the bumps really hurt!). Our packs were shoved in the back space with the spare wheel and greasy crank handle (some of the minibuses need to be jump or crank started) and when the bus filled up and over filled, we knew exactly why they were so determined to squeeze our gear in the back. That bus driver was on a mission to pack as many people into that bus as possible and he even had someone jammed between his left-hand side and the drivers door. At the back we had good ventilation from the shot-out back window that had some glass only just hanging in there.
Bcharre. The cliffs into the valley drop away vertically from the other side of the town
We’d broadly arranged with the guys we’d met the day before to rock up later in the day but didn’t know where we were going other than to a place by one of the churches. Bcharre is a small place and there aren’t many travellers in Lebanon at the moment let alone Bcharre, so it wasn’t any surprise that we bumped into one of them by chance. These guys were so good to us. They took us to their place, gave us a key then left us to our own devices for the night which suited us fine. We were absolutely stoked to have somewhere to hang out and did just normal everyday things like watch telly, cook some dinner, clean ourselves up etc. We didn’t realise that the power was rationed and I was in the shower when the lights went out just after midnight. Left in the pitch dark I was fine for a bit but when there was silence in the house after calling Euans name, I got a bit worried. I got a bit panicky when he still didn’t answer the second and third time but it turned out he was still stumbling round a strange lounge in the pitch black looking for the way to the room we were sleeping in to try and find a torch.
The place we stayed in was one floor in a five-story building with a massive flat deck. The house had seen some action in the past as there was a bullet hole in a high window then a bullet hole in a big mirror. Their grandfather/father had been asleep and there had been sniper fire from just up the valley and the bullet went through the window, into the mirror on the wall dividing the bedroom and the lounge. Not sure what the outcome was but it didn’t sound like the event was anything too unusual around that time. The guys weren’t home until well after midnight and one of them had to take his fiancée back over to the Bekaar Valley, an hours drive away up and over the pass where we were at yesterday. Once you’re over the pass you’re definitely in Hezbollah territory so he had a hand gun with him as its not safe to drive at night in the mountains. I don’t know why, but handguns make me much more nervous than big guns. I think it’s that they’re more mobile and seem to be waved round in the air more than bigger guns.
We went hiking in the valley the next day and that was great fun. The really rough path led along the side of the valley and passed quite a few ancient churches dug into the mountainside. One had a monk that had been living there for the last 20 years in isolation. I thought they were taking the mickey at first but they weren’t, he really was there and he’s not even from Lebanon; he’s from Columbia. I somehow managed to walk forcefully into an rock overhang and cracked my head something chronic. At least Euan, who was behind me, knew to look out for it and didn’t do the same thing. The path we were walking on was very narrow with a very very steep drop off so I was head down looking where I was going and my cap blocked my peripheral vision. I’m happy to say I wasn’t pole-axed but I did give it some and the bump on my head as a result was rather large. My cap was very nearly biffed into the valley in disgust.
We were carting quite a bit of food with the intention of having a BBQ and Euan managed to get the pack with the meat in it, surrounded by ice to keep it cool. The plastic bag leaked and Euan had water running all down his legs and as one of the guys said, looked like he’d “done it in his pants”. Very silly and childish but it was all rather funny at the time (except for E of course!).
View up the Qadisha Valley
We were trying to get to river at the bottom of the valley but couldn’t find the path down we went off road instead. Brilliant fun. Down a steep steep bank with all these (thorn as I discovered) trees and all sorts of fantastic stuff to hang on to that came away in your hand just as you got a good grip and then down you went! I was in my element but managed to rip more holes in my shirt (another one ruined) and slid most of the way and got down well in time to watch the others coming down. One of the guys still had the damn handgun that was being waved around in the air as he helped his fiancée down. At the bottom, Euan grinned, shook his head and said he thought he was going out for a nice quiet hike and BBQ and didn’t expect the manic scrambling and rather dangerous decent. I asked him what else did he expect going hiking with two Aussies and a Kiwi?!! Then we managed to lose one of the guys and before we knew it, out came the handgun and BOOM into the air. Quite what that was going to achieve I have no idea but it was enough to give me a damn good fright anyhow.
We eventually found a nice spot by the river, made a good fire and proceeded to throw on whole onions, whole garlic bulbs, potatoes and patties of heavily spiced beef mince (after I objected to eating the raw stuff smeared onto flat-bread). All this went on the embers and tasted so good once the ash had been blown off it and was washed down with whisky or arak – a locally brewed Lebanese aniseed liquor that blows doors off (but somehow made me want to sleep!).
That milky-looking drink is arak
Raw mince in flat bread with a whisky to wash it down. Nice!
Round the barbie
All in all, a fantastic day and by the time we stumbled home (the car kept bottoming out on the gravel road so three of us had to walk some of the way) we were absolutely shattered but man, did we have a great day.
We happily stayed another night there and once the power came back on just after midnight, did some washing which I was quite excited about stupidly enough. I’m thoroughly sick of doing hand washing and the clothes did need a really good wash.
Breakfast while we were there was these flatbreads baked fresh while you waited. The baker took the dough, flattened it and sprinkled whatever you wanted on it (I had crumbly white cheese but you could have mince or stuff that was like oregano pesto) then stuck it in a wood oven for a few minutes to cook. When my one came out of the oven it was all crispy round the edges with the cheese soft in the middle and the baker folded it in half, wrapped it in a bit of paper and handed it over. YUM!! The baker was very religious and when Euan went down there with one of the guys, the baker made the sign of the cross then asked if Euan was Christian. When Euan let on that he was Roman Catholic, the baker came rushing round the counter, saying something in Arabic then grabbed Euans face between his two hands and planted a big smacking kiss on his forehead. Those of you that know Euan will know he’s not particularly tactile even with those he knows well so to have a strange man rush him must have been quite terrifying. The look on his face would have been priceless!
It was with reluctance that we left and while we were tempted to take up the offer of staying a few more days, we had to move onwards so swapped addresses and will catch up with both the guys when we arrive in Sydney in late November.
NB. I've had some emails asking for maps showing where we are and while I've added a route map to the main page, I'm trying to insert a link in each entry that shows where we are in the world. It would appear that some countries, like Israel and Lebanon are not 'recognised' on some of the world map sites - for eg, in one, the map of Israel is blank but is called "No Mans Land" and in Google Maps, Lebanon is blank. I'll keep trying to find a way of showing you where we are though!
View up the Qadisha Valley
We were trying to get to river at the bottom of the valley but couldn’t find the path down we went off road instead. Brilliant fun. Down a steep steep bank with all these (thorn as I discovered) trees and all sorts of fantastic stuff to hang on to that came away in your hand just as you got a good grip and then down you went! I was in my element but managed to rip more holes in my shirt (another one ruined) and slid most of the way and got down well in time to watch the others coming down. One of the guys still had the damn handgun that was being waved around in the air as he helped his fiancée down. At the bottom, Euan grinned, shook his head and said he thought he was going out for a nice quiet hike and BBQ and didn’t expect the manic scrambling and rather dangerous decent. I asked him what else did he expect going hiking with two Aussies and a Kiwi?!! Then we managed to lose one of the guys and before we knew it, out came the handgun and BOOM into the air. Quite what that was going to achieve I have no idea but it was enough to give me a damn good fright anyhow.
We eventually found a nice spot by the river, made a good fire and proceeded to throw on whole onions, whole garlic bulbs, potatoes and patties of heavily spiced beef mince (after I objected to eating the raw stuff smeared onto flat-bread). All this went on the embers and tasted so good once the ash had been blown off it and was washed down with whisky or arak – a locally brewed Lebanese aniseed liquor that blows doors off (but somehow made me want to sleep!).
That milky-looking drink is arak
Raw mince in flat bread with a whisky to wash it down. Nice!
Round the barbie
All in all, a fantastic day and by the time we stumbled home (the car kept bottoming out on the gravel road so three of us had to walk some of the way) we were absolutely shattered but man, did we have a great day.
We happily stayed another night there and once the power came back on just after midnight, did some washing which I was quite excited about stupidly enough. I’m thoroughly sick of doing hand washing and the clothes did need a really good wash.
Breakfast while we were there was these flatbreads baked fresh while you waited. The baker took the dough, flattened it and sprinkled whatever you wanted on it (I had crumbly white cheese but you could have mince or stuff that was like oregano pesto) then stuck it in a wood oven for a few minutes to cook. When my one came out of the oven it was all crispy round the edges with the cheese soft in the middle and the baker folded it in half, wrapped it in a bit of paper and handed it over. YUM!! The baker was very religious and when Euan went down there with one of the guys, the baker made the sign of the cross then asked if Euan was Christian. When Euan let on that he was Roman Catholic, the baker came rushing round the counter, saying something in Arabic then grabbed Euans face between his two hands and planted a big smacking kiss on his forehead. Those of you that know Euan will know he’s not particularly tactile even with those he knows well so to have a strange man rush him must have been quite terrifying. The look on his face would have been priceless!
It was with reluctance that we left and while we were tempted to take up the offer of staying a few more days, we had to move onwards so swapped addresses and will catch up with both the guys when we arrive in Sydney in late November.
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