Tag Archives: Lebanon

Winter in Lebanon: The Cedars

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.

Walk of Causes – Lebanon

Matias and Jørgen are two Norwegian men have decided to do something that most Lebanese don’t even think about, or consider doing as one so gladly pointed out in the video I’m posting below as “bullsh*t”: Walk Lebanon from the North to the South, collecting donations from the people they encounter for good causes.

The first episode, the video of which can be found below, features them going around Lebanon’s gorgeous North. The money proceeds of that episode will go to the Lebanese Red Cross.

What’s interesting about this to me is, apart from the immensely interesting thing these men are doing, that I, as a Lebanese, have never been to the parts of Akkar they’re visiting. I also haven’t been to the Lebanese South, unless you count Saida as part of the South, which many don’t.

It goes to show how little we’ve really discovered firsthand of our country and I think this applies to the majority. However, we do excel at nagging. But no matter, behold the video:

And make sure you check out their Youtube page for other episodes.

Michel Hayek’s 2012 Predictions

When I was younger – way younger to be exact – I used to get excited about New Year’s Eve when Michel Hayek came up on our TV sets to give us a “glimpse” through his “gift” of what the coming year held.

As I grew up, I became more critical of the “information” he gave us through his “visions.” I began to think of them as bland, useless, very obvious…. 2012 wasn’t any different.

If you thought this post is a list of his predictions, you won’t be very disappointed because his predictions can be compared to the following story that I was once told by an old man I know:

“I once met a man that you know but I won’t tell you who. He rolled up in front of a store whose name I cannot mention in a black, big car. I won’t tell you the make. That man told me a very interesting story. I can’t tell you that story. He was also very funny. I can’t tell you the joke either. But then something happened – a very dark, mysterious thing whose nature I cannot divulge. And the man became very sad, the kind of sadness I cannot describe. But somehow, things got better. He got into the car which I cannot give you more details about and drove away from the store. But let me tell you this, that conversation was hilarious.”

Did you get anything out of that story? No? Well, those are Michel Hayek’s 2012 “predictions” for you – unless you’re too keen on believing our national currency, the lira, won’t collapse and that the oil we’ve discovered off our shores will solve our national debt in the long run and that the political situation will remain troubled and that there will be sadness for the arts in Lebanon (Isn’t Sabah 90 and very ill?) Except those are obvious things anyone can deduce.

But if you are still adamant on checking them, here you go.

Well, till 2013 I guess. At least we’ll have elections then.

Kunhadi’s New Year’s Eve Ads

For those who like to party hard on NYE and then drive back home, Lebanon’s NGO Kunhadi has an ad right for you – and it is simply great.

The campaign has two components: a video and a poster, both of which are making the viral rounds because of their very sincere message and the simplicity with which they were made.

The posters:

Kunhadi - NYE Poster

For non-Lebanese readers, the ad says: your parents are staying up on New Year’s Eve for you to come back. Don’t drink and drive.

The YouTube video to accompany this poster is:

You have to give it to Kunhadi. Their ads are always poignant and emotional. I also remember their Mother’s Day ad was brilliant as well.

And on another note, is it just me or is the Lebanese marketing scene becoming way more creative than it used to be? First there was the Lebanese Brew ad, then there was the Nadine Labaki Johnnie Walker one, followed by Fransabank and then MAD Beirut. 

But no matter… hopefully the message in this video comes across. And what’s more important is for those who are going to parties to be aware not to get into cars with drunk stubborn friends who refuse to take a cab.

Greenpeace Lebanon’s Secret Mission: Blue Shield 011 – Mission #1 – The Video

As a follow-up to my initial post about the matter, which you can check here, Greenpeace Lebanon has unveiled the first in a series of videos in their secret mission, which is slowly taking form.

You can check out the video here:

It’s not too late to get aboard the mission’s ship. All you need to do is follow this link and register your email. You’ll be receiving secret material as soon as it becomes ready. Video #2 will be up and ready very soon, from another region in Lebanon, to slowly expose the horrors going on with our waters, beaches, etc…

Change in Lebanon starts with these small steps, such as being more active even if it’s simply online.