August/September 2010

Your blog editor has been delinquent… Too busy enjoying showing new ACS people, notably my dear friend Kristina and her daughter, around. And getting started as an ESL tutor (still in the 3 hours to plan a 1 hour lesson stage). And trip planning! UK in November and Sri Lanka in December with the boys. And worrying about how to pay for it all.

Here is Kristina’s arrival, and photos from a walking tour of downtown for new ACS staff, the ladies preparing to enter an ancient mosque, and prayer times for the day.

A lovely trip to the Shouf (mountain area about 40 minutes from Beirut, home to many of the country’s Druze) with my friends Elisabeth and Sarah, and Kristina’s daughter Rebecca. We had a mezze lunch in the shadow of a waterfall.A

And the Hamra street fair—held for the first time in 12 years—in celebration of the end of the month long Ramadan fasting. Great fun! Very kitschy and very fun. The scheduled start time was 5 but it began at 6 (the joke was that the foreigners were there at 4:30), Lebanon time. It happened in fits and starts, a huge bouquet of balloons released, then a group of mounted police (or maybe army?), all carrying huge Lebanese flags, very dashing. They walked a bit, then broke into a mad canter, down the people- lined street. Wow! Crowd control here very, very different than the US. But people are alert, and no one was trampled.

In fact throughout the parade people wandered back and forth across the street among the paraders.

There was a long pause of maybe 15 minutes before the next group: the Harley Club of Lebanon. Yup, they’re everywhere. Must have been 100 of them, drivers all decked out in leather. Even a couple of women (I cheered). They were followed by the Bug Club—VW beetles (I learned they are called ladybugs in French), 40 or 50 of various ages and levels of add-on accessories.

A couple of mimes, some guys on stilts, a few clowns. A modern fire truck (ah, there are at least TWO fire trucks in Beirut then!) and a policeman handing out plastic hats and horns.

The AUB Music Club, about 6 of them, playing some music inaudible due to the group immediately behind, another small group with music.

A large troop of goose-stepping scouts.

A small group from a bank, with some unintelligible message.

Long pause. Miss Beirut in an open vehicle.

An MEA (Middle Eastern Airlines) “plane”, atop a truck frame—had engine trouble in the intersection near us that was fairly quickly remedied.

A smiling old man driving a decorated water cart, pulled by a donkey with a lame leg.

A bunch of kids dressed up like clowns, sitting in the bed of a pickup truck. Another pause.

A group of traditional dancers, men, with accompanying music—very nice.

A semi with a see-through payload of an apparatus designed to demonstrate the effect of a motorcycle crash on a helmetless driver, with a “driver” wearing a huge donkey head, donkey being a term used to describe fools. A rare public education campaign.

Long pause, diesel fumes from the semi.

A last entry of a float, on which sat people in kimonos, two of whom were playing a large go game. Signs were all in Japanese and we had no idea who they were.

The end.

Later, great fireworks that we watched from the roof of our building. We wondered if they had been set off from the middle of Hamra St. Could well be.

The next day we set off for Sur/Tyr in the south. A nice, relaxing overnight trip with friends.

NUGGETS

Travel agency offering “Civil Wedding Summer Offers” in one or two day packages ($1500/$1600, with visas). In other words, a quick trip to Cyprus to get married by a justice of the peace. Only religious ceremonies are performed in Lebanon.

T-shirts:

Race
Redskins
Gasoline

Redskins College

Springfield 24
New York college
Born in Europe

A store sign:
Compu Bash

And a billboard for a local university, recruiting teachers:

We need your free word
(something lost in translation perhaps)

And lastly, in the OMG department, heard while shopping in the upmarket grocery store downtown: the theme from Exodus.

out of July and into August

We took a hasty, OK—rash--decision to take advantage of a local travel agency offer of room and half board for little more than the price of airfare, and dashed off to Rhodes for three days. We had spent all of July living through CELTA, K’s intense ESL teacher training course. T was a major hero, doing all the shopping, cooking , laundry and otherwise keeping the world at bay, staying up late listening to K run through her teaching practice lessons, offering ideas , and bearing the occasional primal scream from his wife, who slept way too little the entire month. They made it through. She passed. Here is K as she set out the first day to class, unaware of the trials to come. And her fellow CELTA students and the trainers. The 17 students hailed from 8 different countries, and 14 of 17 were already teachers.

The course finished July 30. August 3 found us in Rhodes.

So, relaxing in Rhodes, we hear about the brief skirmish on the Lebanese-Israeli border that got all the world nervous for a bit. All the BBC shows of the Lebanese side is, horrors, Hezbollah’s Nasrallah, giving his usual fiery oratory, this one on the anniversary of the 2006 Israeli invasion, which coincidentally was the same day. The latest incursion was a “misunderstanding” wherein Israeli soldiers uprooted some trees with a bulldozer (curious as a weapon, no? now associated with Israeli aggression in my mind--RACHEL CORRIE!!).

Before we decided to hop a plane to Rhodes, and the border drama, I was going to write of the remarkable normalcy of life in Beirut. How much has changed since we arrived in 2007! Pleasure boats, lots of them, now populate harbors and previously hidden moorings. A big new Hilton is about to open along the Corniche downtown, the latest in a series of chains: Four Seasons, Ramada, Hyatt. Tourists on every other street corner, and populating the historic sites we used to visit all alone.

Back in Rhodes, “basilico” (basil) in pots on restaurant terraces, deep green and fragrant. "Rush hour" in a town brochure is listed at “22 – 24h”; a restaurant advertises Happy Hour from 9 – 11 pm. The rows of beach chairs are set up with their backs facing the sea—fronts to the sun. Not surprisingly, many of the gazillion tourists here have that baked ham look skin. Women parade through town in bikinis, men in trunks. Numerous pot bellies, some naked breasts sunbathing, tons of Germans, also Italians, French, Scandinavians, some US, some Lebanese. Everyone is relaaaaaaxed.

It’s a whole a whole culture, package tourism—one we’ve never experienced before. In the vast room where the masses gather to surf the 50 foot long buffet table at dinner, staff seem startled when you offer a greeting or even a smile. Guests coming in to sit at a table next to us might offer a hello, or more likely a guten tag, but otherwise there is no contact. The bus driver taking us to the airport is so shocked when T says “Good morning” that he shakes his hand and asks his name.

We spend little time at the beach ourselves, and walk about every inch of Rhodes old town, which is surrounded by a magnificent, intact wall complete with moat, now dry.

We hopped a bus one day down the east coast to Lindos, atop a gorgeous bay. Jam packed with tourists. Topped by an acropolis.

Our brief escape at an end, at Rhodes airport we pass an Easyjet apparatus for measuring you carry-on bag , board a Swissport bus and climb a Swissport stairway to the Royal Jordanian plane to Beirut.

Back in Beirut

Following the discovery of natural gas off the coast in international waters between Lebanon and Israel, the Israeli government is reportedly drafting a law that would impose Israeli control over the Lebanese offshore gas fields. "The government is dealing with the discovery of the natural gas fields in the Mediterranean as an Israeli discovery that no one else has a right over." an Israeli newspaper said."The executive committee in the government and Knesset are working on reaching a law that would not leave room for any Lebanese rights."

************************** World Cup! Sales of country flags have been pretty big business here. And when your team wins, amid the fireworks and blasts of firecrackers you grab that flag, jump into a car, and cruise the city for an hour or two, waving the flag, perhaps as you stand out the sunroof, and screaming, car honking. It is actually a joyously fun time. *********************** A new Dunkin Donuts has opened during the three weeks I was gone. Right on Hamra Street, with a large outdoor seating area--practically full ! ***************************** Shop sign I may have posted before but made me smile anew: Nails & Roots

Ben's grad and other wonderments

A memorable, fulfilling trip to the US it was. On the occasion of Ben’s graduation from UCLA, we flew to LA, Tom taking leave from ACS which was still in session, Cam jetting in from a great work experience in an ecovillage in Hawaii. We had only a week together, we four, plus doting Aunt Margaret from San Francisco and Ben’s terrific LA uncles who had looked after him and included him in their lives for all his four years at UCLA. Ben was the focus of the week. The extent of his remarkable achievements during his undergrad career just blew everyone away. Tom and I attended four, count 'em four, ceremonies over the week: Phi Beta Kappa, Honors, College of Letters and Sciences, and Poli Sci Department, having missed a fifth ceremony a week or two earlier for Outstanding Graduating Seniors. The boy was so heavily decorated in his cap and gown that his Uncle Mac remarked that he lacked only a bit of leopard skin to totally look the part of some African dictator… The best was the blue and gold cord on the shoulder, for the Humanitarian Award (only one of four in the whole school!). The boy graduated summa cum laude, and with highest departmental honors. Wow wow wow.

It was a jam packed time, with hours on the freeways shuttling between the uncles who graciously housed us, UCLA, and countless stores, shopping to fulfill the long list of items on our annual “USA list” as well to replace much of Cam’s clothing destroyed by months of farm work. (I think we bought 7 pairs of shoes that week, 14 pairs of socks, and 8 pairs of pants…). It was good time with family. At the end of the week T returned to Beirut and ACS, Cam went with Aunt Margaret to San Francisco for a few days before heading to Brooklyn and his new school, Ben went off to Syria to study Arabic for a month and K went to Washington to see friends (and shop some more).

K’s time in the US brought a heartening renewal of friendships: Leslie, Billie, Tanya, Laura, Kristina, Soosan, Jan, Amy, Thong, Jill, Somchith, Valerie, Kathryn, Susan, Carolyn—all dear hearts and strong women, still connected hamdillah, despite time and, especially, distance. The scenery, the quiet and the [relatively] fresh air were great treats as well. Nourishment!

America revisited

The USA shopping list is long, months in the making. Perusing the stores reveals subtle cultural shifts that have taken place since last year, e.g. two new categories of greeting card: "cancer support" and "recession".

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As we hit the States, I notice as before the many many signs, starting as we exit the airplane and continuing on to every hallway, street, building, elevator--e v e r y w h e r e! Signs saying what to do and, mostly what not to do. Makes me uneasy and makes me feel flattened.

In LA, I am struck by the stark familiarity of shopping centers there, same as WA, same as, presumably, every other state. The same few stores. Mom and pop stores have been effectively replaced. Plowed over, plowed under. Could a child now grow up, a refugee arrive, hoping to open a small business, a unique start-up, in this world? It is the mentality that rankles--individuality squelched, uniqueness, ambition dimmed. There is a kind of dullness, flabby dullness about the place.

A few days in it becomes more clear that the middle class is in a withered state, beaten up. A "repo sale" of cars in the mall parking lot. True, there are six cashiers working non stop at Nordstrom Rack, but there seem to be more have nots, and general uneasiness. Where is the hope, the promise of a better future, in this economy, this place we have gotten to where growth raged toward some inevitable cliff's end? The short-sighted, corner-cutting, profit motive that led to the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf is evidence of fundamentally skewed priorities.

Where I live may be largely lawless, but people with drive (and connections) know they can work for a more comfortable life. Here, it seems insurmountable to have to get past all the signage, bank fees, credit reports, liability laws, entrenched fears ("if we do it for you we'd have to do it for everyone")??

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Here, clean[er]. lovely, crisp air. There is it hot now, and the air is heavy, both with humidity and diesel fumes

Here, wild foxglove by the roadside; there hollyhocks--same colors!

A “Signature” store

We went exploring downtown Beirut and the fancy new Beirut Souks mall. There are dozens of high rise buildings coming up in the area, pieds-a-terre perhaps for overseas Lebanese who visit for part of the year and for well to do Gulf people who come for fun and whatever they can’t find in their own countries (greenery, mountains and alcohol come to mind).

The “Souks” are built on the pre-war site of a proper souk (market), which carried vegetables and that sort of thing and was frequented by regular folks of all classes. Now it is more than 200 small, upscale stores, designer names of Europe and the US, fashion from across the globe. A 13^th century Mamluk shrine has been preserved and sits oddly to one side in a plaza area, as have ruins of Byzantine shops, and remnants of a medieval city wall (one wonders how much was not preserved and lies underneath the new construction). Another section is in the works that will house 14 cinemas and a department store. Wow.

A grocery store there, the Signature Store of a Kuwaiti-owned chain with multiple branches in Beirut, is filled with an eye-popping array of imported goods that include fresh frog legs and lobster swimming (well, alive) in tanks. There is a nail bar in the store (perhaps the lobster claw damaged your manicure?) and an eat-in sushi bar complete with conveyer belt. The produce section carries Italian salad mix, colorful hot peppers from Holland (Holland?), Belgian salsify, Thai longan, and Chilean blueberries, to name a few. Care for Ball Park franks (at $10), Breyer’s ice cream ($12), perhaps one of eight varieties or artisanal salt, Dutch sauerkraut, gourmet popcorn ($6), eggnog flavor hot chocolate mix? Or the frozen Maine lobster in case you didn’t want the fresh, for $20 for a pound, or perhaps you prefer the Scottish for $16.

Other items don’t surprise because we see them widely here, e.g. Brazilian beef, Danish butter, an array of French cheeses.

This is Beirut.

The store is less than 20 minutes’ walk, so we may be back.

Touring with a US friend or two

To familiar places, but with new discoveries and new eyes. Tom driving brilliantly the obstacle-course that is the Lebanese roadway, our friend Greg navigating with aid of the map that is a gnarled tangle of byways in a country where direction signs are rare, and me leaping out of the car to ask directions in tortured, broken Arabic. We had a great trip!

First stop, heading north, the Dog River, which carries inscriptions from every invading army from Nebuchadnezzar to the French. We find a whole section of relics over the highway that we have never seen before.

Then Batroun, and Tripoli, the marvelous Crusader (etc.) castle there, the great souk. And we manage to find the Sultan Restaurant which I had loved when I worked in Tripoli, but whose name I had forgotten, in Al Mina along the Corniche. There Greg had his first mezze meal (see photo above), swoon swoon, and also his first encounter with the incredibly kind and honest Lebanese people--after leaving his passport and money on the table in the restaurant (it was jet lag!), restaurant staff ran after us and managed to find us four blocks away and return everything intact. OMG

The next day, the big trek east over the mountains to the Bekaa. T managed to find the mysterious “autostrade” that links Hermel in the east to, well, nothing to speak of, on the western side of the pass. Tiny towns with rutted, one way streets. But having faith, we found it. A few chunks along the edge of the highway seemed to have slipped into oblivion waaaaaay, waaaay below since we had last taken the road, apparently not having weathered the winter too well. Otherwise it really is a very good road, with amazing views.

After Hermel we turned south for Baalbek. Stopped at a grocery store to buy some snacks to tide us over until another evening mezze. The shop keeper’s family was just sitting down to their lunch. The wife invited us to stay. We declined. She asked again. We declined. She went to get her husband, who asked us again. Tom decided that he had declined such genuine, spontaneous hospitality too many times, and we sat down to a lovely meal of fresh tabbouli and chicken with greens. Husband Samir spoke some English, and fluent German (which unfortunately did us no good), having lived and worked in Germany as an engineer at a Mercedes plant. We got by with broken English, much more broken Arabic, the odd word in French understood by daughter Jinan, and lots of smiling. Here we are in their house above the store. At one point I said to Samir, “I hope you can come and visit us in America some day.” His immediate reaction: a gentle, knowing smile, with kind eyes, and: “I am a Shiite from Baalbek. Do you think I can go to America?” Oh, right. Oops. The sweetest, kindest most loving happy family, prosperous, generous…but Shia, and from Hezbollah country.

We leave the Zaidans with profuse thanks, photos, and promises to meet again, and carry on southward. We spend the night at Baalbek (photo below, left), home to some incredible Roman ruins that loom over the town: the Temple of Jupiter, remains of the largest Roman temple in the world, and the Bacchus Temple, one of the best preserved. At midnight we are awakened by fireworks just outside the temples: it is Easter Sunday and the Christians are celebrating.

The next day we visit the 8^th century Umayyad ruins at Anjar, have another great mezze, this one with an Armenian flare (great sausage, they tell me) and spend the night in Zahle in an Ottoman era hotel, with a stroll along the River Birdawni.

Onward further down the Bekaa Valley, stopping to take a winery tour and then a walk in a wetland preserve, before ascending the mountains (stunning view!) to cross to the Mediterranean side. Just below the ridge is the Barouk cedar reserve, the largest in the country. We walk the reserve and marvel at the 2 – 3,000 year old trees (!!). Here is Tom with a 2,000 year old one. He insists he has seen “JC” carved in the trunk.

We stay the night in Masser al Shouf in a convent that has been lovingly restored as a very comfortable guesthouse. Here are Tom and Greg relaxing on the terrace outside our rooms.

After a day in Beirut to catch our breath and do laundry, we head out again, to the south this time. First stop: Saida and it's souk and the Audi Foundation’s great museum on soap making. Then we make a major detour to the south eastern area of the country to see Beaufort Castle, which we have heard is once again open to visitors. The medieval fortress 300 meters above the surrounding countryside was used by various armies over time, in recent history by the PLO and then by the Israelis and friends as a detention camp. These forces, despite requests, destroyed much of the ancient site as they retreated in 2000. Hezbollah then ran it as a museum showcasing the horrible conditions of the prisoners before the Red Cross was allowed to inspect in 1995. Since we have been here the entire area has been off limits. Now the road is open but the museum is history. We were able to tour the grounds and take in the stupendous, 360 view into Israel (you can tell by the neat rows of houses) and out all the way to the sea. Here is Greg with some of the view.

On to Sur (Tyre) on the sea for the night, and its great Roman ruins. Here are the ruins by the sea. And me, below, a speck on the stands at the Hippodrome. Another great mezze dinner by the sea, and we share the restaurant with a wedding party—fun! I note with muted alarm that we are definitely getting fat. I don’t care, for now. Instead (photo way below), enjoy a lovely fresh juice in downtown Sur.

On the way back to Beirut we stop at Echemon, ruins of a Phoenician temple and center of healing, dating from .1^st – 6^th century BC. Here is the oldest known Phoenician throne in the Mediterranean area, and Greg trying it out for size. Unfortunately the place is in areal state of disrepair. Most of the relics have been sported off to museums across the globe. Here is a patch of Byzantine mosaic hiding in the grass…

And the juice stand that belongs above but I can't get blogspot to move it!!

A billboard along the way has a woman proclaiming: PLASTIC SURGERY MADE ME FABULOUS. LIVE LIFE YOUR WAY (an ad for whiskey)

We collect visitor #2 and head north to the Qadisha Valley, actually a side valley called Qannoubine. The entire area, steep, picturesque cliffs above the Qadisha River, is dotted with caves that housed monks and refugees fleeing persecution over the ages. It is called the Sacred Valley. We had a great hike, the greenery and waterfalls amazing our friends and shaking their preconception of the Middle East landscape. Here is a so-called “pothole” in the area, with a waterfall through it. It is 250 meters (820 feet) deep! The waterfall is 100 meters (328 feet). Hecka pothole.

And we visit the National Museum in Beirut. It is a little hard not to ho-hum at the various items from 4000 BC. We see so many things plucked from the sites we have visited around the country. I love watching the video showing how many of the treasures were preserved in concrete during the long civil war. The museum sits directly on the Green Line. Here is a testament to some of the relics that did not fare so well.

Above are Greg and Tom on the Corniche near our apartment. And at ACS.

Our friends went off to Jordan after Lebanon, and had a memorable trip to Petra, Wadi Rum, the Dana Nature Reserve, and Jerash before heading back to the States. They say they miss the three M’s: Moores, mezze and Mediterranean :-)