Ruins, Soap & Sea - Sidon & Tyre

There were so many places we visited while in Lebanon and in Jordan. I will be continuing to share some of the places we toured and I hope you will enjoy reading about them. Many locations in Lebanon are part of Bible stories, such as Qana the city where Christ turned water into wine. Sidon and Tyre are two cities that are mentioned throughout the New Testament and these cities were one of our first stops. Sidon was a significant Phoenician city during the 4th century B.C. and regained significance durint the crusades. Pictured is a castle that was erected by the knights of St. John during the crusades.

In Sidon there is the old souk, which has been restored
and an old olive oil soap factory has been restored and turned into a museum. Parts of the old city have also been restored and it now serves as beautiful living quarters.






It is hard to dig in many places without uncovering ruins and relics such as this site that was discovered in Sidon during recent construction. Now the British Museum archeologists are assisting with excavations. Ruins at this site are determined to be dated around 3rd century B.C.
In Tyre I couldn't help but notice the Bird of Paradise in full bloom. These are exotica available only from the florist in our zone. This city was established as a port city in 2000 B.C. and has been ruled by great leaders such as Alexander the Great, and attacked by Nebuchadnezzar but at least while we were there . . . all was quiet. This is one of the cities in Lebanon where Roman ruins can easily be seen when driving around the city. I thought it was also interesting to note that Tyre discovered a rich purple dye that became highly sought and it is this color that eventually became used by and identified with royalty.



I hope you are enjoying what I have shared so far. Still lots more to come.

About Our Travels

It was hard to go back to work after being away for more than two weeks but so far the vacation memories are all still fresh and lingering in my mind. I wanted to share some photos and details about our trip. We arrived in Beirut the day after Christmas and the sun came out. Miraculously we had beautiful weather for our entire trip (I just love when that happens).

On our first full official day we had a family reunion lunch scheduled in a mountain village that looks down over Beirut and the Mediterranean. We drove narrow, curvy roads at an uphill climb to arrive at a traditional Lebanese restaurant where the family had gathered. We spent an afternoon feasting on mezza followed by shawarma and shistaouk with pita fresh from the oven. Of course this is followed by a round of sweets, fruits, then by Arabic coffee flavored with cardamon. You will notice that for some reason the men always congregate, as do the women. Funny but at every gathering this is noticed and someone will make a comment about the sexes being divided into two groups but no one seems to really care.

After a fine afternoon of feasting together we all gathered outside for a family photo.


Our family is a bit like a mini United Nations. Besides the Lebanese delegation, the family is composed of members from the U.K., U.S., France, Brazil and other Eastern European countries. Along with the many nationalities brings a representation of religions - from Islam to Catholicism to Judaism - we are an interesting group. There were lots more family visits and time spent together but we also had time to do plenty of sightseeing. It is the sightseeing that I will be sharing with you over the next few posts.

Our first stop was visiting Lebanon's National Shrine, Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa. Harissa is a Holy site and it has one of the most amazing views looking out over the Mediterranean coast. We were there on a Sunday afternoon and there were services, pilgrims and tourists from so many countries. It was really interesting to listen to the various languages of the various visitors. Lebanese typically speak a combination of Arabic, French and English. I mean it when I say they speak a combination. It is not uncommon to hear words from all three languages used within a single sentence.


One of the things I saw was the Christmas tree right in front of the Rafik Hariri Mosque in Downtown Beirut (more about the mosque in another post). In Lebanon one thing you will see regularly are mosques next to Christian churches. In the newly developed downtown you will see the mosque, Orthodox and Catholic church and the synagogue under renovations, all beside one another. This is one sight that makes me believe that peace will eventually be restored and maintained in Lebanon.


More places tomorrow. . . .

Back Home

We had such an outstanding trip! I would like to say that it's great to be home, but I love traveling and every part of our trip was incredible so it makes coming home a bit harder. Over the next few postings I will be sharing photos and stories about our travels in Lebanon and Jordan. After a two week vacation, it going to be hard to go back to work but sharing stories about places we visited will help the memories linger.

Yesterday we spent a day putting away Christmas decorations, unpacking. washing and trying to get the house in order for the work week. Having visited a number of homes on our travels, I am inspired to do some de-cluttering and plan to start my spring cleaning a little earlier this year. The week before Christmas we had some book cases and a window seat added to our bedroom. Finally there will be one place in which to put my books. The bookcases are still being painted but once they're finished I'll share some photos. Since I was a small girl, I have always dreamed of spending a day sitting and reading in a window seat.

Now that I am home I am working hard to get grounded and back into the swing of things but I have to admit that I am already planning, daydreaming and thinking of another trip. Don't know when or where it will be but wherever it is - I can't wait.

Blessings and Happiness for the New Year

We are still traveling so internet time is limited but I would like to wish you the best that life has to offer in 2009.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Thanks to all of you. It has been a wonderful Christmas holiday season as blog friends share recipes, craft ideas, Christmas decorations and stories about family traditions. This is my first Christmas as a blogger and it has been a wonderful discovery. No matter how you celebrate the season I hope that your Christmas is everything you could wish for and more. May your New Year be filled with promise.

We are leaving tomorrow night to go visit my husband's family in Beirut so I won't be blogging until mid-January. Until we come back with new photos I wanted to share some photos from previous trips.

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade

Well, this isn't like Christmases past and I hope it isn't like Christmases future. My oldest son is serving overseas and now, because of weather, my daughter isn't coming home for Christmas. It was a bit shocking at first and I have to admit that I was on the verge of tears for a portion of the afternoon. Then, as mothers would have it, motherhood kicked in and went to work. You see our Christmas traditions won't take place - no Christmas Eve movie, trip to Waffle House, no one to open gifts from Santa, no pigs-in-a-blanket, no lobster (yes, we eat lobster on Christmas) AND missing children. None of this means there won't be Christmas - it just won't be like any Christmas we have ever celebrated. My middle son will be here trying to lift our spirits, thank goodness! SO, we sent Mimi money for her own feast, movies and a good greasy spoon outing in Portland. She even called my sister to get her traditional Beer Cheese Soup recipe to make it feel like home. My husband and I rounded up her packages and gifts and took everything to the airport Fedex office for priority overnight delivery. My oldest son received his gift package three days ago, and combined with the Atlanta Falcons win, he will make it through the day in Iraq. Meanwhile I will go to Christmas Eve Mass, enjoy the pageant and instead of lobster we will enjoy comfort food - lasagna from our favorite Italian restaurant.

We have decided to have a family gathering in the spring when we can try once again to assemble as a family but in the meantime we are making the most of our lemons and enjoying the blessings of the season. By then we can enjoy some lemonade on the front porch!

Baby It's Cold Outside - NOT!

While singing along with the many Christmas songs one hears this time of year I realized today how thankful I am for the warm temperatures. Yesterday I got an email from a hometown friend living in Colorado who said, "Yesterday morning when I went out to feed the horses, it was 19 degrees BELOW zero. The high temp was about zero. Today it was 2 above, and the high was about 20 degrees above. The dry cold isn't that bad out here if the
wind isn't blowing too hard."

Meanwhile my husband received a photo from a friend living in Las Vegas showing the snow covering her front yard. Here in Atlanta temps are in the upper 60's and I have to admit - I am loving it!!!! In the past few weeks temperatures had been hovering in the 30's and I found myself feeling so lethargic. Cocooning is not good during the "most wonderful time of the year with those kids jingle bell-ing" and all that stuff.

In the middle of the Christmas rush, the warm weather inspired me to do some home improvements, so for now when I come home from work the front door is off its hinges as the workmen haul materials in and out of the house. "The weather outside is frightful but the [work inside] is delightful." Meanwhile, "over the [house] lies a mantle of white" as sawdust drifts through the air. When I go to bed at night "I'm dreamin' of some white [bookcases]" My Christmas tree now has an added silvery look because all of the sawdust but thankfully the project should be complete tomorrow and it will be just in time for Wine Club being held at my house this Saturday night. But there is much to be done before guests arrive!!! I will share more about our hectic schedule in the coming days but for now I am happy to be "[livin'] in a [warmer] Wonderland."