Safita Cham Palace

... Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city, is also known as a politically intense city. The area suffered a lot of damage, including an oil-spill, during the Israeli-Lebanon/Hezbollah war in 2006, and there was fighting here between the Lebanese military, Al Qauidea, and Palestinian refugees in 2007. Thankfully things were very peaceful for my visit, aside from an intense political climate. I picked up a tourist brochure from an office, but I mostly wandered the streets of ...

... to imagine what the halls looked like in their prime. <br> Now, where getting to Krak (maybe 50km from Tartus) was only slightly difficult, getting back to Tartus was insanely difficult. A taxi that took me down to the highway wanted to charge $20 to take me back to my hotel, which would've set me way above my budget, so I decided to hitch alone for the first time. After waving my hand on the side of the highway for about 5 minutes, an incredibly generous young guy ...

... from the bus were almost as impressive as the ones in Beirut. There was a casino on the way. Hizbollah must be hating this. Greater Beirut is very different from all the other Middle Eastern cities that I have visited. Desert has been replaced by a a lot of green; there are very few ladies with headscarves, and men no longer wear the traditional Arab dress. The moment I set foot on Tripoli, I noticed the stark contrast to Beirut. The chador and the ...

The road to Crac De Chevalier is a yellow one on the map. In reality it is a narrow, windy route through a hillside town up to the summit where there is perched one of the biggest and most impressive castles I have ever seen. With Jim at the wheel and people hanging out of the door and the terrace, watching for low wires, cars and buildings we wound our way slowly up through the town to the amazement of the population who turned out to watch and applaud. Jim needed a couple of runs at one ...

... was extremely friendly and didn't charge us an entry visa, saying it was a welcome gift - perhaps in return for being brave enough to visit at all! We then negotiated a price with the taxi driver to take us to Tripoli as it was already getting dark. We knew there had been some clashes between opposing groups in the outskirts of Tripoli some weeks back, but it's hard to imagine what this means in reality. As we approached the city along a ...

... and expanded between 1150 and 1250 and eventually housed a garrison of 2000. The castle held out against several attacks and was never besieged or taken by storm, but was eventually lost to the Mamluk Sultan Beybar in 1271 after he forged a letter from the Crusader commander in Tripoli, telling them to surrender. Tricky Sultan! The castle has two parts: an ...

... natural beauty... but I must say, it's not that bad and the island is interesting - streets hardly wide enough for two people to pass each other. Plus, it's near the mountains as well... I can look down the coastline to some snow-capped mountains in the distance... Anyhow, I'll think I'll stay one more day even though there's pretty much nothing to do here but eat good food and "people" watch ;-)

... provided easy access for attackers heading to or coming from the Mediterranean. The bus dropped me at the crossroads. From there, I began to walk, with spring in the air. The snow-capped Lebanon Mountains to the south peeked through developing clouds and the fields were green, with my goal--Krak des Chevaliers--looming above. Krak des Chevaliers, the largest castle in the Holy Land, is also known as Hisn al-Akrad. It was originally ...

... water, it turns cloudy ('louched'). This occurs because the oil from the anise remains suspended in higher concentrations of alcohol, but is released when the concentration decreases. The taste is very similar to Italian Sambucca, Greek Ouzo and Turkish Raki. Interesting when you consider that Arak is also made in Syria/Jordan/Iraq, you can draw a contiguous line through these countries on a map.

... did not stop each of us from trying to cosy up to him in a pathetic attempt to secure a 'part' in the movie. He looked each of us over pretentiously perhaps sizing up whose back would look best in the background of the shot, or who could best walk across the camera line! Then Orphee, my fabulously-French (by which I mean wonderfully arrogant) French friend, stepped forward and announced to Smug ******* that he was actually Serbian and should by rights be first in the ...