Impressions of Lebanon

All I can say is 'Wow!' Well, okay, that's not REALLY all I can say or this would be a very short journal entry. Lebanon far exceeded my expectations. But, then, I didn't really know what to expect before I arrived. Other than the Lebanonese civil war and Palestinian refugee camps, I didn't know anything about modern Lebanon. From the dim memories of long-past history classes, I could only recall Byblos as the source of the word 'bible' and Tyre and Tripoli as Phoenician ports. So I wasn't prepared for the scenic coastline, snow-capped mountains, fairyland caverns, Byzantine monasteries, Islamic palaces, Crusader castles, alpine villages, cosmopolitan Beirut and the amazing Roman temples at Baalbek.

For such a small country, Lebanon has a rich diversity of geography and cultural history. Many Lebanese I met boasted of their ability to ski in the morning and sunbathe on the beach the same afternoon. However, given some of the traffic around Beirut and its suburbs, I would guess that such a day trip is a lot more difficult now than it used to be. Still, we visited two ancient Phoenician cities (Sidon and Tyre) in one morning and still had time to visit the national museum before lunch. We also drove from Muslim-dominated cities through remote Druze villages and on to predominantly Christian areas in the course of an hour. Because of the short travel times between the major sites, we had a lot of time at leisure in Lebanon and it was a very unhurried week.

As much as I enjoyed the coastal cities and marvelled at Beirut's reconstruction, the highlight of the week had to be Baalbek. This temple complex takes its name from an ancient temple to Baal that once stood on the site and the scenic Bekaa Valley in which it is located. With the growing popularity of Christianity in this region during the 4th and 5th centuries, the later Roman emperors set out to build an enormous temple to Jupiter and, thereby, demonstrate the superiority of their gods. Although never completed, it is estimated to have been the largest temple anywhere in the Roman empire. Unfortunately, much of the main temple collapsed in the earthquakes that plague the region so only first story walls and decorations remain. Six soaring columns have managed to resist the earthquakes and are the most recognizable image from the site.

While the six columns are nothing to sneeze at and the main temple must have been incredible when it still stood, the real gem of Baalbek is the adjacent temple to Bacchus, the god of wine. This temple is almost completely intact including sections of the decorated stone ceiling panels between the main building and the surrounding colonnade. (A classics professor in our group informed us that this is the only example of extant Roman ceiling anywhere in the world.) Although it doesn't have the dramatic setting of the Parthenon in Athens, I would put this temple near the top of my list of Greco-Roman buildings. After visiting Baalbek, I was perplexed as to why I'd never heard of it before.

I also enjoyed Baalbek for another reason entirely - after visiting the temples, I spent about an hour discussing the Palestinian refugee situation with a local cafe owner, himself a refugee for the past 50 years. This is the first time I've ever talked to a Palestinian and it was fascinating to get the perspective of at least one man who had lived through the entire period and could offer a first-hand account. I learned more about Palestinian refugees in that one hour than I had from all the nightly news programs and their 1-minute segments over the past 38 years. Either I wasn't paying close enough attention or the coverage we get in the U.S. is somewhat limited. I was left with even more questions and a resolve to find out more about the opinions of people living in the area.

Finally, a word about my tour group in Lebanon. The fact that they may be reading this won't impact my comments ... much. This was the largest group (22) I've travelled with so far. At first, I wasn't sure I was going to like being on the big bus that pulls up and unloads its bevy of gawking tourists. However, having the chance to meet the people in the group was a pleasure in itself and overcame any reluctance I had felt at the outset. Mostly British, I had several lessons in the Queen's English (and all its many variants) along the way, not to mention a briefing in the more esoteric aspects of a strange game called 'Bowls'. (Thanks, Unty Woms.) Expertly-led by the best tour leader in the Middle East, we found our way through Lebanon with nary a glitch and lots of wonderful experiences. And I have more invitations to Great Britain than I will ever be able to take advantage of. Maybe this tour group thing isn't so bad after all.

Photo Album: Lebanon

http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=c931oof.2491vblj&x=0&y=p1zf9u