Gefinor Rotana Beirut

<br>Any<br>plans I may have had to blog about how Beirut is a place that has<br>divorced itself from its past were quickly left to the same fate as<br>the first abandoned and bullet scared building we saw. This was sill<br>only in the hills behind the city itself but the signs of the bloody<br>civil war were still all too evident. But at the same time yo can't<br>help but be drawn into gazing at the many beautiful new homes on<br>green hills falling ...

... the road on either side, but most belonged to Hezbollah and Amal, another Shi&#8217;ite party. Corroborating the extremist position, a minority of the posters depicted martyrs and suicide martyrs who have died fighting (and terrorizing) Israel. These signs are easily recognizable by their sun-faded colors and pictures of grim men and sometimes teenagers staring blankly into the divine distance. But the vast majority of Hezbollah posters - and almost all of the new ones recently ...

... cavern.  I read that during the Civil War, the caverns were used to store ammo but it was cleared out and then opened to the public in 1995. Back in the car, we headed to Faraya.  This is "the" place to ski!  I was happy to see snow and we could see it all the way up the mountains as we twisted and turned to get there.  We took, basically, a one way road to get up to the ski area-what a zoo that was.  It seemed like there ...

... did was lie down on some beach chairs and shared beers and laughs together. Every once in a while we jumped into the sea to cool down. At one point we were approached by an older gentleman who said he was from Montreal (but of Lebanese descent). The man came over and started talking about religion. I expected something like this to happen in a place like Jerusalem but not on a beach in Lebanon. It didn't take long for us to realize that the guy was a Jehovah ...

... was still on the phone to Rawda, when a guy appeared at my window and said "Baksheesh?". I asked Rawda if I had to pay now or when I arrived and she said on arrival, so I waved the guy away and hung up the phone. The guy reappeared and asked for Baksheesh again, saying he was the head of airport taxis and should be tipped for helping me. By this stage I was too tired to argue (and really wanted out of there) so I gave him US$5 and he went away. The minivan took off up the ...

... say, Moose Jaw. Anyway, what a change from the rest of our trip to this point. We crossed into Lebanon through tree-lined mountains with spectacular snow-capped peaks in the distance before dropping suddenly down to the Mediterranean where the waves were lapping up against the rocky shoreline. The main thing - not desert. Our first stop was the Edde Sands resort, or as Barry insisted on calling it, with a hearty chuckle each time, just the Edde because there wasn't any sand, at ...

... Monot until we stumbled upon a small square full of bars. It was not really that busy given it was a Friday night, but we figured we hadn't reached the main nightlife area yet and so headed to the bar with the most bustle. There, a place called 'Hole in the Wall', our ears were treated to some classic 80s rock (a great way to start any night out on the ****) complete with busty women dancing around a pole on the bar and cold beer on draught. It was just what the doctor ...

... are because it's built into an extremely steep hillside that drops into cliffs not far below the village. The fountains directed all the water from snowmelt that later collected into waterfalls, which we could see from across the canyon while we drove there. The churches must have been because no one could see mountains as breathtaking as these and not have some kind of faith in whatever created something so incredible!

... of singing, dancing, drinking and sex with drums and flutes. The "luxury habits" of the town shocked even Roman contemporaries. It's little wonder really that Baalbek was the Roman settlement to hold out longest against Christianity. The Temple of Jupiter, built behind the site of Baal's temple, is immense. Due to changes in religious orientation of various emperors, sackings and earthquakes the temple is more full of pieces of itself than intact. The stones are ...

3:45 am Rooster wake-up call 4:15 am Rooster wake-up call 4:30 am Rooster wake-up call 4:45 am Rooster wake-up call 5:00 am Okay Okaaaaaaaaaay I am up!! It's my first day in Lebanon, and apparently the rooster has chosen my particular window to do his crowing at. On my first day after doing a little unpacking, Mike's parents were eager to get me started on my tour of Lebanon. Mike's Mom announced to ...