Beirut

Jeff and Venitta had some meetings to attend in Beirut this week, so I tagged along. What a beautiful country!

On Saturday, we rented a taxi for the day with the hopes of seeing as much of Lebanon as we could in a day. We started our morning out with coffee and lunch in the heart of Beirut, Solidere. This pedestrian only area of the city had been demolished in the last civil war and was recently reconstructed to house retail and residential - when the crowds return, it will be a great place to be.

We had several people suggest that we visit Jeita Grotto. Not knowing exactly what we were in for, we were somewhat surprised that one of Lebanon's "must see" attractions were hidden in large underground caves. Coming from Dubai, we were quite happy to enjoy the cool outdoor temperatures and soak up the lush, mountainous landscape. However, we walked around and learnt that we were visiting the World's Most Beautiful Cave and saw the World's Largest Stalagmite (Guinness Book of World Records).

We continued up the coast another 30-40 minutes to the quaint, fishing village of Byblos. Rumor has it that Byblos is the longest inhabited city in the world and is believed to be the founding town of the alphabet. We strolled the cobblestone roads and stumbled upon a small cafe, where we enjoyed a snack before heading back to Beirut.

The following days, Jeff and Venitta worked, while enjoyed the resort amenities. We left Beirut on Tuesday evening, which proved to be just in the nick of time.


Venitta and I in Solidere.

Very quiet streets in Solidere.

We weren't allowed to take photos in Jeita Grotto, so this is the outside.

Glad to be out of the caves.

The train to take us back to the bottom.

Almost the bottom...we had to walk the rest of the way.

The quaint fishing village of Byblos.

Jeff and Venitta checking out the catch of the day.

Trying to suck in my tummy.

Local fishermen.

What else but shopping!

A much needed break in Byblos.

Cute cobblestone road that lead to the wharf at Byblos.

The Movenpick Beirut with an Olympic size pool.

View from our room.

Jeff and I in Solidere.