Baalbek

Trip Start Jun 21, 2008
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15
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Trip End Jul 24, 2008


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Flag of Lebanon  ,
Monday, July 14, 2008

The three of us headed north into what New York Nick calls Hezbollah HQ.  The scene in northern L ebanon couldn't be more different from Beirut.  The streets were pretty much barren, souvenir shops that would have normally been bustliing were near closure.  Never in my life have I seen men so desperate to sell you somethiing, to the point where they literally looked pained when you repeatedly refused.  And of all things, they were shoving Hezbollah things at us.  T-shirts, flags, banners, you name it, they wanted us to hear the "Word of God".  And then they were surprised that no one was buying anything.  At the Baalbek ruins, there were  museums for the Hezbollah leaders, and blaring over the grounds was some sort of Hezbollah audio tape.  And what a shocker, we were the only backpackers there.  While the ruins of Baalbek were impressive, all of us were more blown away by the Hezbollah propaganda and the absolute desolation of a once healthy tourist economy.

The drive through nothern central L ebanon took us back over the mountains and through the Palestinian refugee camps the toilets that were endured..
the toilets that were endured..
 .  In some they'd go on for maybe half a mile, in other parts they were more scattered.  While at first glance they looked like Bedouin tents, there's definitely not that many Bedouins in L eb.  This also became a common sight in parts of Northern Syria and even southern Turkey. 

From camp spotting to tank spotting, the whole experience was a wake up call that the entire country is on pins and needles.  Whıle no one area of L ebanon felt dangerous, the real risk lies ın the fact that any day I srael could decide to target L eb, or Hezbollah could reek havoc against armed forces or even civilians withın the country. Indication of the intra- and ınternatıonal conflicts that exist can be seen everyday from the bullet holes on the buıldıng sıdes to the tanks that man every corner. It was a different feeling of 'dangerous', more unexpected and ominous than actually fearıng the L ebanese themselves.

The next morning Nikolas and I were headed north through Trıpoli, L ebanon, and across back into Syria. Pierre had another day ın Beırut, thus it was tıme to say goodbye.  I really enjoyed our time together and was sad to leave. I'm glad to have met an amazing person who has made himself a life nothing short of exhileratıng.  L ebanon was an experience of all sorts and whatever way you slice it - an unforgettable trip..

Nikolas and I headed for Tripoli, where we saw entire streets and rows of buildings that had been destroyed.  It was hard to believe.  We of course didn't stop, we were now on a mission to get back into Syria. I don't have time to write about the whole thing here, but in a nutshell, they held me at the border for "could be 1 hr, 2 hr, 24 hr."  Our taxi left, we just sat and waited, talking about IKEA and those Swedish meatballs. Nikolas, who spent 14 months in the Swedish army, refused to abandon me although I told him to just continue onwards. Of course I was so glad he stayed, he's a stand up guy and it meant a lot to me.  We waited for hours while they faxed my info to Damascus. Finally the paperwork came back, we got 3 day transit visas. Had tea on the money exchange dude's house, another friendly Syrian surprise suprise. Those Syrians are good people.

We eventually got to Hama after a long day of travel. Beautiful small city ın northern Syria.  We met a man on the bus who invited us to stay with his family.  He gave us figs and walked us 1km all the way to our hotel.  The entire town welcomed us too!  All the kids would wave Hello, we were even welcomed by a soccer team.  What a good feeling. 

Syria was an incredibly pleasant experience and all the visa trouble (BOTH times) was well worth it. Not many Americans get opportunity to visit Syria OR L ebanon... for that reason I count myself as incredibly lucky to have been given that chance. They are both beautiful countries full of beautiful people.
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