If I have a layover somewhere that I’ve never been before, I’ll usually try to extend it by at least a few hours or even a few days. I did this with great success in Dubai and more recently in Latvia on our return from Lebanon and Syria. Latvia and Dubai were not exactly at … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Justin Ames
India’s Nameri National Park
Picturesque Nameri National Park was not officially established until November of 1998 (although it began to receive some degree of protection as early as 1978). Access to Nameri is from Potasali, 2km off the Tezpur-Bhalukpong road. So, in other words, it is on the border of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh… According to the government of … Continue reading
Photos Of The Day: Dueling Umbrellas In Damascus
I was amused by the fact that during a heavy rainstorm in Damascus, these kids chose to play with their umbrellas rather than use them to protect against the rain: Continue reading
Photo Of The Day: A Phoenician Tomb
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: Continue reading
Moussalayha Castle, Lebanon
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
The Bekaa Valley
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
The Northwest Run: Lebanon
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
The Velvet Rocket 