The Lancaster Beirut

... came and went and I asked how much longer. He again said "ten minutes" and I started to walk away. Keep in mind the plane was only in the air 20 minutes and finding a ride was taking longer than crossing over to the Middle East. He immediately jumped on his cell phone and started yelling at someone I presume to be the driver. At 11:20pm waiting around just isn't what I have in mind so I made my way to the taxi stand. <br><br>After negotiating with 8 ...

... the fingers of my left hand. In the car on the way back to Rawda's parent's place, Rawda and her mother filled me in on what had happened. There had been a general strike called by the unions to protest about a low cost of living adjustment to wages and the protest had been hijacked for some political purposes. Rawda's family had known about the strike the day before, but as they were watching the news unfold this morning, they were getting more and more alarmed about how to get ...

so my mom and dad were super nice last night and got us a hotel near the airport. it was nice to sleep in a real bed and not be kicked out early in the morning. We had room service, like 3 showers between last night and this morning, and were able to get to the airport on time this morning. now i'm in Beirut ...

... find a way to find a reliable guide because that is the only way to see a country. Having Maher with us, I felt so comfortable and informed everywhere we went. His history of Byblos was a bit rusty, but just having a Lebanese person with us was nice, plus he was a lot of fun! After Byblos, we shopped a little and I got a box for mom and dad and some prints for me. John and Nancy (from last night) had a couple of paintings that I ...

... In antiquity Byblos was renowned for the Phoenician temple of Baalat Gebal, as the place where Isis carelessly mislaid her husband, Osiris (later found dead in a temple column) and for the development of the efficient linear replacement for cuneiform script. It was an important trading port exporting cedar and transiting papyrus. As you crunch along the overgrown gravel paths among the wild flowers, the tombs, the temples, the truncated walls of houses and ...

... from Beirut almost up to Byblos. After the sun set the clouds started to roll in and we could actually see them forming around us as we sat outside. So overall, it was a fairly low-key weekend. I saw a side of the people of Lebanon that is completely different from what I see everyday at work, not to mention completely different from my social circles back home. I guess that's what happens in a country with a very small middle-class and huge upper- and lower-classes.