Lebanon

Hi everyone!  I realize that it's been a long time since my last post.  I'm going to write a little bit about Lebanon first and then catch you up with what's been happening since I've been back in Kuwait in separate posts.

I went to Lebanon for a week over the Eid al Adha break with my dear friend Kristin, who I have travelled with before on St. Olaf's Term in the Middle East.  Kristin has been living in Abu Dhabi, UAE first on a Fulbright and now as an administrator at Zayed University for the past two years, and I hadn't seen her since we graduated in May of 2006.  I had such a wonderful time with her, and it was so fun to hear about her experiences in the UAE and compare them with mine in Kuwait.  I'm going to visit her in a couple of weeks in Abu Dhabi and I'm very excited to see her again and see where she lives.

I thought Lebanon was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.  There is such varied landscape with the mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, interesting architecture and a variety of historical sights to visit.  Lebanon has been part of the Persian, Phonecian, Armenian, Assyrian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Seljuk, Mamluk, Ottoman, and French Empires and is home to many religious groups, and this diversity is reflected throughout the country. Kristin and I stayed at a hotel in Beirut the whole time but took day trips all over the country to see as much of the country as we could.  Below are some picture highlights.

At the Beiteddeine Castle

Riding a Cable Car in Harissa

Byblos

Views from the top of Harissa

Downtown Beirut

Mosque in Memorial to Rafiq Hariri

Downtown Beirut

Sheep about to be slaughtered for the Eid al Adha holiday to commemorate Abraham's non-slaughter of Isaac

The Lebanese Flag at the Saida Fort

A picture of Rafiq Hariri in Saida-there are pictures of him everywhere

The Roman ruins at Baalbek-definitely the most amazing Roman ruins I've ever seen!

Arab Umayyad ruins

Lebanese cuisine-yum!

It was definitely an amazing trip, and I've enjoyed learning more about Lebanese history through books from Beirut's fabulous bookstores.  Despite the turmoil that lingers in Lebanon I would definitely recommend a trip there to anyone.