Lebanon

My Lebanon travel summary:

Visited: May 2017

Duration of visit: 7 days

Capital city: Beirut

Population: 6.3 million (2017)

Lebanon travel blog reading time: 11 minutes

• Beirut – one of the oldest and most multicultural cities in the World.
• Watching sunrise over the Lebanese Grand Canyon of Qadisha Valley.
• Exploring ancient Roman ruins at Baalbeck and Islamic old city of Anjar, a famous sanctuary of the Roman world.
• Long conversation about life in the Middle East with my new friend Mazen.
• Refugee camps with Syrian war refugees in the northern Lebanon.

Lebanon was never high on my priority list, and its unstable situation made me hesitant to visit. During my Middle East trip in 2004, I chose to skip Lebanon altogether.

As I always say:

“There must be a right time and real wish to explore certain area or country in order to appreciate it at the maximum.”

I was ready for Lebanon travel adventure in 2017, but only as a one-week trip.

Location at the crossroads of three continents has created rich history and culture for this territory, but also conflicts, wars, political and economic crisis, accidents and terrorist attacks. Modern-day Lebanon showcases remarkable cultural and religious diversity. Constant external pressures strain the country and challenge its ability to survive.

Beirut, located on the Mediterranean Sea, is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. It became the starting point of my Lebanon travel adventure.

As one of the oldest cities in the world, it has been continuously inhabited for more than 5,000 years, destroyed and rebuilt 7 times.

Today, the Paris of the East is a place where many cultures, religions, buildings and people come together and mix.

I joined a free walking tour in Beirut to learn about this strange but real unity of Muslims and Christians. When I think about places to visit, things to do, or major landmarks of Beirut, I cannot highlight many.

What really caught my attention was the legal system that organizes the two main religious groups. The law gives some government jobs to Muslims and others to Christians.

Lebanon ran its last official census in 1932, when Christians were the majority. Most Lebanese religious leaders want to avoid a new census because they fear it could start new conflict between groups.

Muslims and Christians live together in the same city each day. But many parts of life are still clearly separated, like schools, neighborhoods, clinics, and businesses.

Whenever I spoke with someone in Lebanon, they always told me their religion right away.

I felt impacted by long talks with strangers who quickly trusted me and shared their ideas. They were predominantly men, since women are usually not open to speaking with a male traveler. With a cup of tea or coffee and a cigarette, the conversations extended as long as I wanted. People didn’t seem very busy.

I met an owner of a small coffee shop in a busy road. We started talking while we waited to be served. The shop was so small that one person could serve everyone, but Mezan preferred to watch and guide his workers. Syrian refugees handled most simple jobs, earned very little, and still served customers well.

Mezan explained me about life in Beirut in 2017. The country had changed, and many people had left. Refugees had a big impact in recent years, and safety felt uncertain again. Business was hard, but life went on, and multicultural Lebanon kept living in a kind of harmony.

Beirut was still a perfect destination for male tourists from strict Islamic countries. They could find the freedom, variety, and promiscuity that was forbidden in their own countries. The main highlights were not tourist sites, but the night bars with dancers and alcoholic drinks.

Kadisha Valley is one of the most important early Christian monastic settlements in the world. Its monasteries stand in dramatic positions in a rugged landscape. Nearby are the remains of the great forest of cedars of Lebanon.

I took a bus to Bcharre (Bsharri), the only settlement of a decent size in the area. The spectacular road winds along mountainous slopes and offers view of the valley, the peaks and small villages. I quickly found a guesthouse where I was going to spend the night and left my luggage there.

As I went higher into the valley, I found no public transport, but locals told me passing cars always stop to give lifts.

I started walking uphill, and after a few minutes a pickup truck stopped beside me and gave me a ride to the top.

I passed many little statues and crosses. The Cross Path stood out as the main attraction, placed in a stunning setting at the entrance of the UNESCO-listed Kadisha Valley. I didn’t need to walk far before reaching the famous cross, as local kids helped on the way. It was cloudy and cold, but the view and the calm energy felt so special that I decided to return for sunrise the next day.

Early the next morning, I stood on the road outside Bcharre. Within 3 minutes a local driver stopped and took me to the junction with the Cross Path.

The view in the morning looked even more spectacular than it had the day before. I never expected to see such amazing nature during my Lebanon travel.

Later I read that the valley’s integrity is now at risk. Human settlements, illegal building, and weak conservation efforts threaten the area.

The Cedars of God is one of the last vestiges of the extensive forests of Lebanese cedar that in ancient times thrived across Mount Lebanon. This tree is the national emblem of the country, its pride, and features prominently on the Lebanese flag and coat of arms.

They are not easy to spot these days. The Cedars of God protection area is located close to Bcharre, so hitchhiking was again the best option to get there.

In the winter season, the area converts to an exclusive ski-resort, but during my visit I didn’t notice any foreigners in this protected area. I found it striking to see so many cedars in this small protected area, while outside the park I could not see a single one. In 1998, UNESCO added the Cedars of God to its World Heritage List.

I found some interesting facts about cedar trees.

Cedar is a symbol of greatness, nobility, strength and incorruptibility. It was first mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh and later often in the Bible. Moses told Hebrew priests to use cedar bark to treat leprosy, and Solomon later used its wood to build the Temple in Jerusalem.

My next stop on my Lebanon travel adventure was Baalbeck, the most spectacular archaeological site in the country. It is one of the most famous Roman sanctuaries in the world and a key model of Imperial Roman architecture.

Baalbek temple complex includes two of the largest and grandest Roman temple ruins: The Temple of Bacchus and The Temple of Jupiter. It was inscribed in 1984 as an UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Temple of Jupiter is an architectural wonder because the Romans built it on columns that rise almost 23 meters.

On the other side, The Temple of Bacchus is described as one of the most beautifully decorated temples in Roman world.

I had no doubt this unique landmark was worth the visit. However, I also had to think about security, because the Baalbek valley was a heartland of the Hezbollah group. Locals told me the area was safe and that public transport was easy to find.

I was not surprised to be the only foreigner on the bus, but seeing no other international visitors at the ruins disappointed me.

Because the distance from Beirut was reasonable, I chose Baalbeck and Anjar as two places to visit on the same day.

If Baalbek represent the most complete Roman ruins in the region, Anjar shows the best-preserved ruins of early Islamic civilization.

It was a hot, sunny afternoon when the bus left me on the main street, a long walk from Anjar’s entrance. I tried to get a lift, and luckily the first passing car stopped to help me. The driver, a Lebanese army soldier, warned me that ISIS troops were fighting just across the mountains near the archaeological zone.

He did not want to give more details, except:

“Bandits, bandits. We were shooting them 2 days ago on this mountain. The area is dangerous, don’t walk outside of the archeological site.”

“I will take care. Don’t worry,” I assured him.

He said, “Call me when you finish, and I will take you back to the bus stop.”

He calmed down when I promised him I would do that.

I wandered through the streets and admired the old structures of this important trading and administrative center. The well-planned city was designed with a grid pattern, which was unusual for that time. I saw the remains of two palaces, a mosque, and market areas.

After I finished sightseeing, I called my new friend, the Lebanese army soldier, to take me back to the bus stop.

He was happy to help me, and we had another great conversation.

Traveling north from Beirut or east toward Baalbek, I saw many refugee camps where displaced Syrians were seeking shelter. The camps were in remote, deserted areas, a few hundred meters from the main roads. We could see them from a distance, but I couldn’t get closer or learn how they were organized.

When I talked with locals, they never showed hate or anger toward the millions of refugees from Syria. Still, they told me the consequences for Lebanon and the impact on daily life were enormous.

If Lebanon was famous for being the Switzerland of the East during the 1960s, it became the country with the highest percentage of refugees in the world in 2017.

I wondered if Lebanese openness toward refugees comes from their own experience. Three times more Lebanese live outside Lebanon than inside. They know how hard it is to settle in a foreign land, far from family, home, and friends. Having to leave your country because of war makes it even harder.

The Jeita Grotto Cave System is a must place to visit in Lebanon and makes an easy day trip from Beirut. I took a wonderful ride on a cable car to reach the top, where the entrance to the cave is. In order to protect the nature, we were not allowed to bring cameras or phones inside the cave. The guard was very serious and warned us that they are very strict on implementing the rules, so nobody thought about cheating.

I explored the Jeita Grotto, which consists of two separate but connected limestone caves, stretching nearly 9 kilometers in total. Of course, only one small part is open to the public. The cavern was so serene that it reminded of an enormous cathedral.

The highlight of the cave was one of the world’s biggest stalactites, measuring over 8 meters.

I also saw tiny stalagmites like candles or spaghetti, pillars, columns, coral pipes, giant organs, curtains, a tulip, a mushroom, and more.

The upper level is the main cave, with a long path showing stunning formations. The lower cave is smaller, and I crossed its lake on a short boat ride. The ride was calm and relaxing, reflecting limestone formations in silence, broken only by water drops. The high-water level makes the boat ride impossible during rainy months.

Another easy trip from Beirut in my Lebanon travel experience was visiting the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon above the fishing village of Jounieh.

I took a cable car up to the summit and enjoyed stunning views of Beirut and the coastline. The area below still felt like a suburb of the city to me. In my country, we usually use cable cars in winter on ski slopes. In Lebanon I found them very useful for reaching tourist attractions or pilgrimage sites with difficult access.

At the top of the monument, I found a white statue of the Virgin Mary with a bronze crown, stretching her hands toward Beirut.

The last part of the path before reaching the top felt very crowded. People were pushing each other, eager to get closer to the Virgin, light a candle, offer flowers, or just touch her.

I didn’t spend much time on the top and preferred to give space to the pilgrims that were queuing behind me. I can’t imagine the number of worshippers when Pope John Paul II visited the shrine during his official visit to Lebanon in 1997.

Lebanon is a Middle Eastern country that is truly distinctive from any other in the region. Lebanon is the only country in the Middle East without a desert. Instead, it experiences snowfall and even has ski resorts open for up to three months a year.

Lebanon is a fascinating mix of Middle East, Western trends, tradition and modernity, Christianity and Islam. From glamorous beach resorts and ski slopes to fabulous cuisine, natural beauty, the best Roman ruins outside Rome, and a hedonistic capital city.

The country has faced decades of civil war, violent sectarian uprisings, and refugee camps for Palestinians in the south and Syrians in the north.

For me, Lebanon was not only about places to visit and things to do. I enjoyed experiencing this melting pot and talking with people who seemed serious at first. Later, they opened up, showed great hospitality, and were always eager to help.