Found in a narrow valley in the foothills of Jebel Libnan ash-Sharqiyya, Maaloula (also known as Maalula) is an appealing little village in which yellow-stone and silvery-blue-painted homes are stacked up against a sheer cliff. The mainly Greek Catholic village is one of the last remaining places where Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ, is … Continue reading
I’m not sure who is responsible, but the mountain town of Bcharre is filled with these severely modified Volkswagen Beetles: They look like they could take a serious beating… Actually, they look like they already have taken a serious beating. But, they look like they could take another one: They are an interesting local specialty. … Continue reading
A view down the Qadisha Valley… The Qadisha Valley is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful places in Lebanon. With its trails set amid steep cliffs, waterfalls, rock-cut tombs and monasteries it is hard to argue with this impression. When we visited we had the valley almost entirely to ourselves – there were … Continue reading
I’m not the biggest fan of this place for a variety of reasons, but the collection of art assembled in Vatican City is truly remarkable: Continue reading
This is an abandoned Roman quarry (which I thought was interesting by itself) found within the Lebanese city of Baalbek: Off in a corner of the quarry… …can be found what is billed as the largest stone in the world, measuring in at 21.5m by 4m by 4.5m: It was the Romans that carved out … Continue reading
The windshield was dirty and cracked, the picture is blurry… I didn’t care because I was so pumped up to actually be entering Syria: I should mention at this point how unexpected taking the above picture was for me. We met a number of people in Lebanon that were refused entry to Syria on suspicion … Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 