The southern city of Tyre, Lebanon, during the 2006 war with Israel: The use of the word “Sour” in the title is not a commentary on the taste of Tyre, but rather is an alternative name for Tyre… Tyre’s origins are thought to date to around the 3rd millennium BC, when the original founders are … Continue reading »
As my Italian and I discovered the hard way after being turned back from a number of roadblocks, one must have permission from the Lebanese government to visit certain regions in the south of Lebanon. After some confusion with soldiers that did not speak English, we were informed that official permission can only be obtained … Continue reading »
In the hills above Bcharre can be found a large stone obelisk thought to date back to 750 BC. At the base of the obelisk is a burial chamber and ledges for four coffins:
About 3 kilometers past Batroun, in the narrow valley at Ras ech-Chekka, is the attractive Moussalayha Castle, which used to defend the only land route between Beirut and Tripoli. It stands on a rocky outcrop and is built on the summit in such a way as to look like part of the living rock, its … Continue reading »
Reclining on cushions, sipping mint leaf tea and gazing out across goat-strewn valleys peppered with biblical-looking mud houses… Despite its name, the Bekaa Valley is actually a high plateau between the Mount Lebanon Range and Jebel Libnan ash-Sharqiyya (Anti-Lebanon Range). For thousands of years the Bekaa Valley, called “hollow Syria” by the Greeks and Romans, … Continue reading »
In the style of the original Northwest Run, my Italian and I pulled off the Lebanese version. We were forced to take this route because the short route from Bcharre to Baalbek was still closed due to immense amounts of snow keeping the pass closed. Rather than backtrack (the worst kind of defeat), I opted … Continue reading »
Baalbek has long enjoyed a reputation as home to some of the finest Roman ruins anywhere in the world. However, even without the Roman ruins, it would still be an interesting town… To reach Baalbek, one passes through the hot, dry Bekaa, not so much a valley as a high-altitude plain, with its Hezbollah flags … Continue reading »
