Lebanon...

...invokes many images.  In recent times, many people think of civil war, terrorism or violence when they hear of Lebanon.  A friend of mine spoke of ruins and rubble and was very concerned about my safety while I was there.   This was a classic case of the media exaggerating the extent of a situation and affecting people's perceptions.  Yes it is on edge, but it's still  safe enough to visit. And anyway, personally, I didn't have many expectations.

Night view overlooking a monastery & hills littered with buildings

So when I got there, my first impression was - "Oh wow!  there are SO MANY buildings".  The sides of the mountains are completely covered in concrete.  For miles away, you see the completed or construction sites of buildings.  It was quite unnerving actually as I'm not a big fan man-made things...

View of a city called Byblos: one of the oldest cities in the world

The traffic was the next intriguing thing.  On a

A rather tame traffic jam

highway, there would be three lanes but it looked like a four, five or even six laned highway depending on how drivers zigzagged around each other.  They refused to stick to their own lanes and  I can't tell you how much that infuriated me! Hello? stay in your own damn lanes!!! (Hmmm... uh I think I've lived in prim and proper Switzerland for way too long!)




As for the people, thankfully they weren't as cold as their concrete buildings or as wayward as their highway traffic.  They were warm, friendly and genuinely interested in new people.  I'm proud to say I've taught many a Lebanese about paradise on earth or better known as Samoa.  99% of people I talked to hadn't heard of Samoa and I've had amusing moments trying to explain it to them.  Here's an example:

"China? "No" Philippines? "Nope" Indonesia? "Nah" Com'on! Japan? "Wrong again" Where you from then? "Samoa". Long pause then lights up - Oooooooh, in China yes?.........................."

And when you ask them about Lebanon - there is a pride that wells up in them as they tell of their history and their land.  From the cedars of Lebanon (mentioned many times in the Bible) to the kaleidoscope of people living there to the sad and destructive civil war they experienced less than 20 years ago.  I smile when I remember the old man telling me in broken French and English about Jesus having walked the land we were on and it was blessed and despite all the difficulties they were facing - God will never forsake his people! 

As for their cuisine, can I just say Lebanese food is the healthiest I've ever had.  I swear every dish is boiled, baked or grilled and frying is not common there.  They also love their vegetables.  I've not seen such a variety of dishes made with just vegges.  Vegetarian paradise I tell you!

Typical Lebanese appetizers

I also got to visit the cedars of Lebanon on my last day.  The cedar tree is the national symbol of Lebanon and features in their flag. And I tweeted at the time that I felt humbled walking amongst the ancient and fragrant trees.  It was such a surreal experience... knowing that these living things have been there for thousands of years silently observing the folly of humankind and will continue being there long after we're gone.  The experience really puts things into perspective.

I mentioned earlier that the place was on edge.  Basically,  all eyes are turned to Syria and awaiting whatever happens there.  As its most powerful (and friendly) neighbour, whatever happens there would spill over and trigger a crisis in Lebanon.  As someone said to me, it's just a pressure cooker waiting to explode. I do hope it doesn't come to that, but hell... that whole region is a pressure cooker.  I often wonder how it will all pan out, especially as whatever happens in the Middle East will affect the rest of the world (think oil prices!).

Anyhoo, let me not dwell too much on those details... we will see it unfold soon enough.  One thing's for sure, I am extremely thankful for our island paradise of Samoa.  Despite all the nonsense and crap going on there, we are still way better off than the majority of the world!  We should never forget that...

And with that, let me end with a beautiful sunset from the Mediterranean sea....