After posting a few pictures of a trip I took to the Cedars, I figured I’d help show another side of Lebanon that most people don’t get to see (especially tourists). And what better side to show than the one showcased by the recent snowstorm?
I did not take these pictures. I got them, after permission, from the Lebanon Weather Facebook page. I’ll try to go on a roadtrip around the Batroun area soon to take pictures. So stay tuned.
In the meantime, we present:
Zahle
Anjar
Assia, a village at 700 m of altitude in Batroun
The Chouf
The view from Hasroun, in the Bcharre Caza
Jezzine
Kawkaba, in South Lebanon
Knise Moutain in the Metn region
South Lebanon
Toula, in North Lebanon
West Bekaa
West Bekaa, again
And this is a picture my friend Firas took of the Cedar Mountains from his hometown in Koura:
The Cedar Mountains from afar
And people ask me why I’m “hating” on Zaitunay Bay when it’s getting all the attention and scenes like these are getting ignored. I guess that’s the way things are – you have money and power, you get noticed.
Samuel Aranda just won the World Press Photo of the Year for a shot he took back in October 2011 while working in Yemen for the New York Times.
This is the photo:
Jurors said the photo captured multiple facets of the “Arab Spring” uprisings across theMiddle Eastlast year. It was taken at a field hospital inside a mosque in Sanaa on October 15 and depicts a veiled woman cradling a relative of hers after a demonstration.
Jury chair Aidan Sullivan said:
“The winning photo shows a poignant, compassionate moment, the human consequence of an enormous event, an event that is still going on. We might never know who this woman is, cradling an injured relative, but together they become a living image of the courage of ordinary people that helped create an important chapter in the history of the Middle East.”
Aranda, a Spanish photographer, hopes this picture would help the people of Yemen, a country he thinks is often forgotten.
As for me, I decided to blog about this simply because the picture is that powerful.
This past weekend, I decided to go with a couple of my cousins on a quick drive around the beautiful Lebanese North, which happens to be where I’m from.
The area in the pictures below is about a thirty minute drive from my hometown in the Batroun caza and the road is paved with gorgeous scenery as well. I had wanted to post this yesterday but the Telegraph article took precedence. Check out my commentary on that article here.
So in a way, this post will serve as further proof to what I presented in my commentary yesterday. Perhaps what was very surprising to me was that, despite it being a very sunny Saturday, the number of people hitting the Cedar slopes was very little compared to how popular Faraya seems to be even though this is a much nicer area to visit.
Moreover, while driving around these mountains, your mind is taken out of your car and to a whole other place altogether. You cannot simply drive around without forcibly stopping to try and take a picture that barely encompasses the beauty in front of you. They call the Cedar forest in North Lebanon: The Cedars of God. I think I know why it’s called as such: if God wanted to choose a place to live in (during winter), it’d be this.
It’s absolutely breathtaking.
The view from a town on the way: Hadath El Jebbe
Entrance of Bcharre, the city.
View from Bcharre, the city
Church in Bcharre
The Cedar Mountains as seen from Bcharre
Another view of the Cedar Mountains from Bcharre
Leaving Bcharre towards the Cedar Mountains
Note to self: Converses are a bad idea in such circumstances
Awesome house. Can you imagine living here in winter?
Your visit to the Bcharre region won't be the same without 2145 posters of gorgeous Setrida Geagea
The Cedars of Lebanon
The Cedars of Lebanon - again
The snow on the Cedar Mountains
Another view of the snow
The Cedar Forest from afar
And then, just before leaving, my cousins decided to remember my brother, Joseph, who happens to be in the US as a foreign exchange student. So this is to Joseph:
All these pictures were taken with my iPhone 4S and were not modified in any way.
It’s sad to see Beirut losing its culture with all these new buildings replacing better looking older ones daily. It hurts to see your capital slowly turn from a city with architectural taste to a concrete mess. But I never thought I’d see a construction site in the middle of a cemetery – let alone one of the most famous cemeteries of Achrafieh: Mar Mitr.
As I walked back from ABC with a friend yesterday, that friend (being the staunch Orthodox that he is) wanted to visit Mar Mitr for a few minutes. So I wandered around the mausoleums, which I find breathtaking, only to find a horrific site. Next to where people like Gebran Tueini are buried is what appears to be an extension of the church next to the cemeteries. And since space is sort of limited, what did those in charge think as the next best thing? Build on top of the mausoleums of course.
So instead of Mar Mitr being a collection of these:
It now has this to add to its “flavor”:
You’d think the block of concrete forming the Spinneys parking lot next to the cemetery would be enough. Apparently not. You know, sometimes a church is just good the way it is. I’m pretty sure extending the Mar Mitr church isn’t of a vital necessity.
We really do. We need to bash EVERYTHING. There’s NOTHING that can take place in the country that is not frowned upon or looked down upon or criticized.
The latest? People are criticizing the whole “Vote for Jeita” campaign, with about 3 weeks left on the vote. They can’t even accept that the competition is NOT scam.
“Jeita doesn’t deserve to be a wonder,” is one of the things I’ve heard. “Why charge for the SMS to vote?” is another. “If the government wants Jeita to win, why don’t they vote?”
All of us need to want Jeita to win. Not the government. Not anyone else. We, as a people, should be proud that our country has something that has gained enough international recognition from international panels that judged Jeita as being worthy of being one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature.
Regarding the SMS vote: The New 7 Wonders committee DOES NOT accept free SMS votes. The 10 cents charge we pay is one enforced by the New 7 Wonders committee. The government is not charging anything. I’ve voted 35 times so far and it barely caused a dent in my prepaid credit. And you know what, even if it did – I don’t care.
I recently stumbled on this blog post where they make out the vote for Jeita as some form of “national chauvinism,” saying that we need to study the other 27 finalists in order to make an informative vote. On that same post, a comment by “Noel” states that our “need” to have Jeita win is because we, as Lebanese, need “validation from some outside authority.”
Sure, our country is messed up in many ways. But I believe we have a lot to be grateful for. However, can we – FOR ONCE – stop being so pessimistic about everything that has to do with Lebanon? Can we just chill for a bit, sit back, relax and not overanalyze everything? Can we seriously cut it with the know-it-all attitudes and for once feel good that Lebanon is actually getting a reputation for itself apart from the whole war-torn country now sex-capital of the Middle East?
But here are 13 reasons why we all need to vote for this wonder:
1) Jeita is spectacular
2) Jeita is wonderful
3) Jeita is grandiose
4) Jeita is brilliant
5) Jeita is gorgeous
6) Jeita is poetic
7) Jeita is angelic
8) Jeita is radiant
9) Jeita is exquisite
10) Jeita is majestic
11) Jeita is sublime
12) Jeita is elegant
13) Jeita makes me proud to be Lebanese. And so should you!
Also quick info for you out there:
Jeita is the only limestone cave among the 28 nominees. Most of Jeita cannot be accessed by visitors. For instance, the lower cave is over 6000 meters long, only 500 of which are accessible to visitors via boats. Moreover, the upper cave is over 2000 meters in length, only 750 of which are accessible to the public. Jeita also has the world’s longest stalactite at 8.2m high.
And for those of want to vote, you can go to this link or check out this picture:
And for those outside Lebanon, you can vote via the website: http://www.new7wonders.com or text Jeita to your country’s corresponding number:
Also check out this ad featuring opposing Lebanese politicians, beauty queens and actors to promote the vote:
Back in 2008, the US was invited to Barrack the vote. This is our time to rock the vote, Lebanese-style.
A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares 