Lebanon

Downtown Beirut

So, technically I've been living in Paris for the last four weeks.  However I'll be spending just my second weekend here this weekend, as I had one lightning trip back to Mossley (I nearly wrote "home to Mossley" there, will have to work on that) and of course one glorious week in Beirut!



Jenny and Roland at our apartment

Lebanon is just beautiful.  Landing on an airstrip so close to the water I could have dived in from the plane, I was left scrambling for my camera (or at least for the new blackberry - not the best camera in the world as you will see).  Beirut is set on the hills around the Mediterrean and with sparkling blue skies it was just mint.



Neighbours overlooking the roman ruins

I was there with a few other friends for the wedding of Roger, who had worked with us at Canga.  And didn't they look after us!  We had the use of a holiday apartment in the hills not too far from his home village, and Jenny and I had a real struggle to be allowed to pay for anything at all.  We ended up having to play tricks just to pay for lunch occasionally.  The apartment was stocked with food, Roger had bought us new pillows, we were ferried around everywhere; perfect hospitality.  Including at his family's home the night before the wedding, which was just lovely (although perhaps they could have been a little less generous with the whiskey!).

We got around a bit and went site seeing, particularly in "Downtown".  Although it's still called the Souk of Beirut (Souk is a kind of arabic market), it felt more like the Champs Elysée than the more traditional sort of crowded market place.  As you can see from the top photo, this is a city well and truly recovered from the war (practically ancient history now - it finished in 1990 after all.  Apparently the young things these days refer to Baghdad rather than Beirut as a synomym for murderous chaos).  What was also noticeable is that it was a perfectly liberal country.  I particularly liked the cosy way that the churches were cuddled up to the mosques, as in this photo.



Best wedding music ever



The wedding itself was just amazing.  Roger and Yara are christians, so it proceded more or less in line with any other church wedding, at least a first.  Having said that, our french friend commented on how odd it felt for him to watch a catholic service conducted in arabic!  Across Europe being arabic is widely seen as synonomous with being muslim, which of course it not always the case.

Anyway church, beautiful flowers (which mandatorily have to match the bridesmaid's dress), lots of exceptionally well dressed and coiffed people... and then after the service it was off the reception.  Here's where it got really cool - the food (all Lebanese specialities) was amazing, the venue was great, the black label jack daniels on every table went down well, but what I really loved was the dance floor. The couple entered the area to the tune of the Pirates of the Carribean theme song (you know that bit when Captain Jack Sparrow makes his entrance on the mast) and immediately started dancing.  Everyone soon joined in, and so it went, wandering back and forth between the ever changing buffet on the table and dancefloor (with fireworks!).

The next day was nice and cruisy, we took in the Jeita Grotto, an amazing cave complex, went through to Byblos, reportedly the oldest town in the world (part of the Phoenician empire in case you were wondering) then a late lunch in a beautiful restaurant by the sea.

One last night in Beirut and we made the most of it in the best nightclub I've ever been to - All White, with the top open to the air, the lights of Beirut behind us, great music and an amazing crowd.  Breakfast Lebanese style then it was back to the airport and "home" to Paris.

Paris

And once more a new blog title ....