Welcome to Lebanon or Ahlan wa Sahlan as they say there. The pictures below are a sample of what there is to see: beautiful countryside and interesting historical sites.
The Switzerland of the Middle East
"You can ski in the morning and swim in the afternoon"
1 A cedar of Lebanon under snow above Bcharre.
2 Afqa cave, where Venus first kissed Adonis.
3 St John's Church, built in the 4th century AD, on top of Phoenician catacombs at Amioun. This church reminds me of a Mr Kipling cake.
4 Baalbek: columns of the Roman temple to Jupiter.
5 Beit ed Din palace in the Chouf mountains, built by Emir Bashir Shihab II in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
6 Another cedar in winter.
7 A dabke, the favourite traditional Lebanese dance. This picture is from a painting by a Lebanese-Armenian artist, Sophie Yeramian. Her work, in naive style with figures without shadows, reminds me heavily of Britain's L S Lowry, a northerner like myself. But his work embodies the cold, grey colours of Lancashire whereas Sophie Yeramian's work displays the warm, vibrant colours of the Mediterranean.
8 The throne of the Phoenician goddess Astarte at Echmoun near Sidon. Astarte was the forerunner of the Greek Aphrodite and Roman Venus, the original goddess of love.
9 The old American embassy, blown up by a suicide bomber during the war. This has now been demolished.
10 The cedar which is on the Lebanese flag. It's not quite as peaceful as this these days because there are now lots of souvenir stalls on this road.
11 The Hajjar al Qible or Stone of the Pregnant Woman lying in a quarry near the Baalbek temples. Registered in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest cut stone in the world. It is 21.5m x 4.3m x 4.3m. It weighs about 2,000 tonnes. There are three stones almost as big in the base of the Jupiter temple.
12 A stone found in the quarry across the road from the Hajjar al Qible, possibly even bigger than the biggest stone in the world.
13 Tomb near Qana thought locally to be that of King Hiram of Tyre, the Phoenician king who built Solomon's temple in Jerusalem.
14 Jbail (Byblos) - the 12th century port with Crusader citadel in the background.
15 The Khan al Franji or foreigners' caravanserai in Sidon. This forbidding gate is the original medieval entrance, designed to provide safety for foreign merchants in times of danger. The khan has been done up for touristic purposes since this photo was taken so is much prettier altogether.
16 Ma'arad Street in downtown Beirut. I took this during the war when the whole of downtown was a desolate mess of bombed buildings. Ma'arad Street has now been renovated.
17 The Moussa Castle in the Chouf mountains. Complete with moat, drawbridge and cannon on the walls, this fantasy castle was built by a Syrian businessman, Mr Moussa. He wanted to thank God for making him prosperous because he arrived in Lebanon as a penniless Syrian labourer. He has handcarved each stone himself.
18 Lake Qa'aroun in the Beqa'a Valley. An artificial but very beautiful lake designed to provide water for irrigation purposes and electricity generation.
19 The mass grave at Qana. This moving memorial commemmorates the deaths of 109 civilians and 2 Fijian UNIFIL soldiers. They died while sheltering from an air raid by Israel in April 1996, when bombs scored direct hits on the UNIFIL post.
20 The Teynal Mosque, Tripoli. Built in 1336 by Emir Saif ed Din Teynal, a Mameluke prince. Why he made a dome to look like a bit of striped, minty Blackpool rock I don't know, but I'm glad he did as it's very attractive, in my opinion.
21 Columns from Tyre, once the richest city in the world.
22 The central figure here, with the long bushy beard, is Emir Bashir Shihab II, the prince who built Beit ed Din Palace (see number 5 above). This scene is one of the exhibits in the Waxworks Museum at Jbail (Byblos).
Links to sites on Lebanon
Information and links on Lebanon.
Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper.
Tourist information from the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism.
Links to my other pages
Home.
Illustrated Creed.
The Lord's Prayer.
Synopsis of my novel The Gift.
From Barrow to Beirut excerpt.
Guide to Sexual Harassment excerpts.
My Advent calendar.
Purrfect page.