The school arranged a trip for staff last Saturday to the Cedars of Lebanon. Featured prominently on the Lebanese flag, the cedar tree is very important historically in the region. Huge forests once covered the mountains here, and provided the Phoenicians and those who followed them with high quality wood for boat making and for export. The cedars of Lebanon are mentioned in the Old Testament; the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem was built of their wood. Today, most of the remaining cedars--some 1,000 years old--are in two forest preserves. The trees have a distinctive shape and though they are not tall by Pacific Northwest standards, they are distinctive and majestic.
We followed a winding road along and above a deep, 30 mile long gorge (Qadisha Valley--in photo) which is itself on the World Heritage list. Each side is lined with dramatic cliffs and dotted with caves and monasteries used by various persecuted religious minorities over the centuries. Villages made of stone, with red-tiled roofs seemed to appear around every other corner.
We made our way to the highest village in the Middle East, at 1,750 meters/5,740 feet. It is B’Qaa Kafra, and is the birthplace of St. Charbel, who some believe causes miracles to occur. It is a picturesque village all made of stone, with very friendly people, and the biggest cabbages I have ever seen (for sale, in small stores). A gift shop outside a church there sold rosaries (surely the ones made of blue evil-eye stones offer the best protection?), incense, plaques and other items with Bible verses in Arabic, English and French-- mostly Arabic, some painted on slabs of cedar which one does hope came from fallen branches.
On to the Cedars, and a lovely walk through the trees. WE HAD TO BRING AND ACTUALLY WEAR SWEATERS, and that was noteworthy and wonderful. Yes, it’s October but down in Beirut we are still sweating. Up there it was cool and the air was clean and delicious. Also, it was Q U I E T. Ahhhh. [Our apartment really isn’t that bad but city life does involve a fair bit of background noise, e.g. the squeaky brakes of the newspaper delivery guy at 6 am].
Outside the presrve, shops selling baby cedar trees and more cedar plaques, some with Bible verses, more with Koran verses.
Then, a classic Lebanese meal with a dozen or more dishes—“mezze.” It does tend to be the same dozen dishes every place, but they are always wonderful, and in a group each person can pig out on the thing they like best. The typical dishes seem to be: hummous (garbanzos with sesame butter, garlic and olive oil); babaghanouj (roasted eggplant with ditto); tabouli (parsley, mint, tomato, lemon juice and a little bulgur wheat—much less bulgur than we make it with in the States—you hardly know its there for all the greenery); french fries, sometimes with a heavenly garlic sauce; stuffed grape leaves; green salad; lamb kofta (ground lamb meatballs with bulgur? Don’t ask me, I’m a vegetarian); grilled chicken and beef; olives; various pickles; pita bread; fresh fruit. Large, decorated glass water pipes sat on the shelf ready for customers to order charcoal and flavored tobacco. This mountain top restaurant, near the ski slopes, looked like a very cozy place to go après ski, when the wood stove would be fired up. The main wall was stone, there was a red tiled roof, and there were plenty of windows looking out over the trees.
OK, Laura—here are the ski facts for the Cedars: altitude is 1,950 – 3,078 meters/5,740 - 10,000 feet. There are 8 lifts, 3 for experienced skiers. The runs are long. The season starts in mid-December and goes until April. Lonely Planet says, “There are numerous “off-piste” opportunities for the more adventurous types”. A lift ticket is only $30—so what are you waiting for? Or perhaps you’d prefer of the other ski areas: at Faqra you can visit Greek ruins when you’re done on the slopes—they apparently look terrific under a layer of snow; Laklouk is peaceful, with good cross-country; and Zaarour, at 2,000 meters/6,560 feet, has 2 advanced lifts, uncrowded slopes and awesome views.
Then, a classic Lebanese meal with a dozen or more dishes—“mezze.” It does tend to be the same dozen dishes every place, but they are always wonderful, and in a group each person can pig out on the thing they like best. The typical dishes seem to be: hummous (garbanzos with sesame butter, garlic and olive oil); babaghanouj (roasted eggplant with ditto); tabouli (parsley, mint, tomato, lemon juice and a little bulgur wheat—much less bulgur than we make it with in the States—you hardly know its there for all the greenery); french fries, sometimes with a heavenly garlic sauce; stuffed grape leaves; green salad; lamb kofta (ground lamb meatballs with bulgur? Don’t ask me, I’m a vegetarian); grilled chicken and beef; olives; various pickles; pita bread; fresh fruit. Large, decorated glass water pipes sat on the shelf ready for customers to order charcoal and flavored tobacco. This mountain top restaurant, near the ski slopes, looked like a very cozy place to go après ski, when the wood stove would be fired up. The main wall was stone, there was a red tiled roof, and there were plenty of windows looking out over the trees.
OK, Laura—here are the ski facts for the Cedars: altitude is 1,950 – 3,078 meters/5,740 - 10,000 feet. There are 8 lifts, 3 for experienced skiers. The runs are long. The season starts in mid-December and goes until April. Lonely Planet says, “There are numerous “off-piste” opportunities for the more adventurous types”. A lift ticket is only $30—so what are you waiting for? Or perhaps you’d prefer of the other ski areas: at Faqra you can visit Greek ruins when you’re done on the slopes—they apparently look terrific under a layer of snow; Laklouk is peaceful, with good cross-country; and Zaarour, at 2,000 meters/6,560 feet, has 2 advanced lifts, uncrowded slopes and awesome views.
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