Bloggin' Beirut

Falling Down

2008-05-09T15:14:00.002+02:00

First of all, Dom and I are not in Beirut any more. We left about ten days ago through Syria, on the start of our two month journey back home. We were really sad to leave, the political situation seemed to be calm, although not resolved, and we knew we were really going to miss all our friends.

Over the last couple of days, we have obviously heard some of what has been happening in Beirut and across Lebanon. It is scary and sad. Many of our friends live in the area where the fighting is taking place, my friend Lucy had to spend the night in her apartment corridor away from the windows as gunmen were firing in her street and at one point tried to get into the building. From what I hear from friends this afternoon, the fighting is continuing, and seems to be spreading from where it began. Thankfully, they are all safe.

West Beirut - Hamra, where I spent many a happy night drinking - has been taken over by Hezbollah. Ras al Nabba, where my friend Lucy is, is also now controlled by them too. From what I can glean, it is mainly Sunni/Shia (in very general terms pro/anti government) fighting. I haven't heard any reports of Christian militias being involved in the fighting, but if their leaders decide that now is the time to get involved, I am sure they would. Such is the power of the wasta and the gun in this country.

And now, the end is near

2008-04-03T13:19:00.002+02:00

We're off to our penultimate Karaoke night this evening, our last trip to the south is on Saturday, and I have finished all my work for Bespoke magazine (it's not all bad, you see!!!). We leave in three and a half weeks, and then spend two months InterRailing across Europe! Again, not all bad.

Lebanon has been pretty quiet for the last few months. We've had some top visitors out, gone to Syria on a road trip, and began to organise moving on. The next few weeks are likely to pass really quickly as we are trying to see all our friends individually before we go.

Politically, it really is the case that nothing is happening. Most people I speak to don't mind this stagnation, it is better than riots or bombs. Worryingly though, it seems that the country can just quite happily stagnate for as long as it takes, which isn't going to help it economically or with political reform.

Three Years On...

2008-02-14T19:25:00.002+02:00

And still nothing has been solved politically. In fact, things are worse. Assassinations, bombs, wars with Israel, battles in Palestinian Camps... you name it, Lebanon has had it. Today saw the usual suspects trotting out the usual rabble rousing speeches - but this time another event was going on a couple of miles down the road... the funeral of Imad Mughniyeh - one of Hezbollah's commanders. A thoroughly nasty piece of work (hijacker, kidnapper, torturer and all round terrorist), he was killed on Tuesday night in Damascus. Many people suspect the Israelis, but I would also place money on the Syrians. See if there is a thaw in relations between the US and Damascus in the coming weeks/months...

Anyway, the Hariri commemoration went ahead today in the pouring rain. Some figures say that over a million people attended, with a further 500,000 people in the surrounding streets. I would be most surprised if a third of the population of Lebanon did attend - maybe some got lost en route to Mughniyeh's funeral?!

Interestingly, given Nasrallah's speech at Mughniyeh's funeral about it now being open war with Israel, Hezbollah had increasingly distanced themselves from his tactics and operations. So I'm wondering what this latest rabble-rousing speech is aimed at doing. Especially as Nasrallah's last appearance on TV - last week with Michel Aoun his Christian political ally - was much more measured. Time will no doubt tell. On the plus side, there has been no fighting as of 7.30pm this evening, giving more credence to my recently patented theory that "people don't riot in the rain"!

Anyway, enough boring political stuff! Siobhan is here this week and we have been down to Beaufort Castle and Sidon as well as up to Tripoli (it rained that day and we got lost). We have also been to a spa and just chilled out in Beirut! Very nice!

Back to Reality...

2008-01-29T17:23:00.000+02:00

It looks like Dom blogged too soon! Since he wrote that posting there has been another assassination (of an investigator from the Internal Security Forces) which killed another 3 people, followed by violent riots on Sunday which left dead. And today I am sitting indoors while a storm rages outside (although, to be fair, that isn't really anyone's fault).

So where to begin? Well, the bomb on Friday (25th) killed Capt Wissam Eid, who had been investigating many of the bombings that have been going on in Lebanon since 2005, when Hariri was assassinated. The bomb was only about 1.5 km from where I live, but I didn't hear it as I had my iPod on at the time. It was a pretty big bomb - bigger than many others, although again, it was clearly targeted.

Then on Sunday there were demonstrations in parts of Beirut and Lebanon against the cuts in electric power that happen on a very regular basis. Most parts (and more often than not, the poorer, Shia parts) of Beirut are without power for 3 hours at a time, 2-3 times a day. This has been going on for some time and, understandably, people are getting pissed off. Sadly, the demos turned nasty, and, depending on which account/biased newspaper you read, snipers fired at the army, or snipers fired at the demonstrators. Either way, seven people died needlessly on Sunday and yesterday was declared to be a day of national mourning. I'm not particularly in favour of shutting down the country every time something happens (it's mainly the schools, universities and government offices that close, private businesses tend to operate as normal), particularly as its happening all the time at the moment and children in particular need the stability of school, but when tensions are as high as they are, closing the universities is probably a good measure, especially as that is where it all kicked off this time last year.

So that is where we are at the moment. I am sure that there is a level of coordination about these disturbances on all sides at the moment (i.e. getting their people to fight, I am sure the opposing parties are not coordinating with each other!) especially as everyone knew that there was a massive storm coming yesterday and today, and that the Arab League (I think) were meeting on Sunday to talk about Lebanon. Naturally, nothing came of it.

Dom is in Dubai - he got to the airport a couple of hours before the airport road was closed by the rioters - and is most annoyed to be there. Especially as his hotel appears to be on a building site. Still, he is talking to people about 'Arab Health' - one of the biggest exhibitions in the world that takes place in Dubai. Not sure what is different about Arab Health to Everyone's Health, but I am sure marketing plays a part!

I am just taking things easy, and beginning to sort out the house for the return home (sob!). I've got some work lined up for the end of February, and we also have visitors - hurray! Siobhan and Dom's friend Jeremy in about 10 days, and then Pete and Sarah at the end of Feb. Can't wait! And just to re-emphasise... Lebanon is normally really peaceful, and has much less crime, violent or otherwise, than London. Unless you are really unlucky, it is perfectly safe to visit here - you just have to have a chilled out attitude!

The good things..

2008-01-16T22:13:00.001+02:00

Dom reporting. There is a lot of grim news around in the Middle East (see Fi's bit below), and the Arab League initiative for Lebanon seems to be floundering - I am not sure if there is another initiative after that but there usually is - but there also doesn't seem to be an appetite for any violence. Probably the situation will stagger on for a while yet.

Anyway, I thought I would draw attention to some of the good things that have been going on here in the last month. Firstly the weather has been perfect - perfect that is for Brits who think that around zero degrees at night and 8 degrees but sunny by day is nice. The wind is from the north which means chilly but amazingly clear. In which other capital city can you sit outside in a warm sun by the sea and see a huge snowcapped mountain? OK maybe somewhere in south america? And Geneva is not a capital - neither is Lake Geneva a sea. And yes you can ski and it is brilliant to be able to drive 50 minutes up the mountain from your flat and be skiiing an hour after leaving the house. Fi has done a black run this year and I am still on the reds, but there is still time!
Next, the nightlife. The nightlife in Beirut is simply phenomenal and very tiring when you have to be at work at 8! We now have a new 'local' called Scotts which is about 2 minutes walk away and serves Murphys!. The main drags of Monot and Gemmayzeh are flourishing and new places are opening (and closing) every week as trends move on. Food here is also something special. Much as I love Syrian food (cherry kebabs yum), in Syria there is really only Syrian food - apart from the odd ropey Italian. But in Beirut you have Italian, Chinese, Japanese by the hundred, French, Steak, pick-your-own seafood, Parisian-style cafes, and a million franchises from Costa Coffee, Nandos, Starbucks, and....KFC (aaaargh) - all within 15 minutes walk. and of course the delicious Lebanese food too. One thing that is lacking is a really good Indian although there is a place called Maharajah which is OK. And it is all a fraction of the price of London.
Just before Xmas we went to Byblos for a seafood blowout which involves selecting fresh fish and having them cooked to order, then about half way through realising that seafood is quite filling but as you ordered it you have to finish...walk it off with a wander through the souk which is becoming slightly corporatised but in a very tasteful way (a bit lie rebuilt Central Beirut). A really nice half day out.

Although the economy here is suffering badly, it still managed 3% growth in 07 despite everything - way above all forecasts. That's more than western Europe but really it needs 8% to really create jobs. It seems the more people who emigrate to well paid jobs overseas the more money comes into the country to keep it afloat - a bizarre way to keep the country going but it keeps the wheels turning. But the brave investor is reaping rewards - like the guy who opened a microbrewery called 961 (after the dialling code for Lebanon) and is making pots of cash.

Finally it is still incredible to me how good the education is here. When 18 year old bar staff can speak 3 languages it puts us all to shame. No doubt we will really miss most of it when we go(with the exception of politicians, idiot drivers, potholes, too loud dance music in bars, lack of green space, and the symphony of car horns!).

The Threat Widens

2008-01-15T21:28:00.000+02:00

The number of people and institutions that are perceived to be legitimate targets by terrorists seems to be increasing. Firstly politicians, then journalists, then the army, now a car belonging to the US Embassy was attacked today. No US Diplomats were killed, but 4 Lebanese passers-by were. Some reports say that the reason that the US car (which is always massively armour-plated) was not more badly damaged is that a car was overtaking the US vehicle, and took the full force of the blast. US cars drive pretty fast at the best of times, so goodness knows how fast the poor occupants of the other car were going.

US Embassy security is Alcatraz-like. The Diplomats there are only allowed out two or three times a week, they have to be back in by 2am, they have a security team case the place they are going to beforehand, and they are always, always accompanied by a bodyguard and have an armoured vehicle with them. Obviously, this makes them pretty easy to spot, and it's a hobby for many Lebanese to spot the Diplomat. The sobering thought is that even with all this security, they are not safe and if people want to get you here, they will.

It's too early to try and imagine where all this could lead - this attack could have been a message to Bush who is in Saudi at the moment, I think. I saw him on TV with a ceremonial sword in his hand and for a minute I thought he was offering to carry out a public beheading. There are rumours here that the politicians were ready to announce a compromise solution the other day, but held off because Bush was in the region and they couldn't stomach him taking any of the credit. I think the next (14th?) meeting will be on Monday... we'll see what's announced then.

In other news, we had a fabulous and chilled New Year in Aleppo, caught some crusader castles, ate loads of food and stayed in the Baron Hotel, in TE Lawrence's room! Photos to follow...

Merry Christmas and an Aleppian New Year!

2007-12-29T23:39:00.000+02:00

We've just got back from a very nice week in Britain for Christmas. The only downside was that it was *flippin'* freezing! I have truly turned into an ex-pat! Lots of lovely food and drink and many lovely presents - thanks to all! Tomorrow we set off for a New Year long weekend to Aleppo, via a Crusader castle or two, and other sites of interest.

Politics-wise, it has quietened down over the holiday season, Parliament has been postponed for the umpteenth time, and one shop is requesting Santa for President! Parliament may yet sit on the 12th Jan, but who knows, and, frankly, most people don't care. The shopping centres are crowded, the sales will soon start, and many people are just enjoying the break, especially as Eid Adha has just been celebrated too.

So, have a great New Year and here's to 2008!!! We only have 4 months left here... it's going so fast!

The army attacked

2007-12-12T16:50:00.000+02:00

After my last post, Lebanon had trundled into a state of stasis. All parties had pretty much agreed on who the next President was to be (General Michel Suleiman, head of the Lebanese Army), they just couldn't agree on how he was to become President. Arguments ranged back and forth on technicalities about amending the constitution and who the next PM was to be and whether the government should resign after the President was elected (which is the usual order of things) or before (which some said they should do as the opposition says the current government is unconstitutional) or whether there could be elections at all as it's all unconstitutional... anyway, you get my drift. It was all rather boring and technical and, frankly, embarrassing as Lebanon is the only country in the world without a head of state bar Somalia, I think.

But this morning events have given even more urgency to getting the politics sorted and trying to bring some normalcy to Lebanon. Francois El-Hajj, a likely candidate to succeed Suleiman as head of the Army, should Suleiman become the next President, was assassinated. It's just getting crazy now. The Lebanese Army has a lot of support from all factions - and its chiefs are generally considered to be pro-Syrian, or at least amenable towards Syria, while still being very patriotic. So it makes the 'Syria did it' theory a little harder to believe, this time at least. Also, targeting the one insitution that is liked by nearly all Lebanese is a departure from the norm. Previous attacks on anti-Syrian figures, while still heinous, at least fit a pattern. Maybe this is a return to May/June, when random bombs were exploded in parts of Beirut.

Today, people seem to be going about their business - traffic is chock-a-block outside the window and the Christmas Nativity Scene has been built in Sassine Square (looking less like the tented city than it did last year, thankfully). Hopefully this assassination will be the last, but I am not hopeful...

... but it's not yet out of control

2007-11-23T10:26:00.000+02:00

Well, you read it here first! The Presidential election is indeed going down to the wire. Talks have been going on for the last 48 hours - a combination of telephone calls from European Foreign Ministers to various faction leaders here, faction leaders speaking to each other on the phone and faction leaders popping round to each others' houses for chit chats and negotiations. It's been a real social whirl!

So, the latest seems to be that no one has agreed on a list of candidates from which a President can be chosen. In fact, the MPs seem to be bypassing the list stage now, and are just focusing on who will be President. Just as well, as at the time of writing it's only 13.5 hours until Lahoud has to step down. Naturally he's been making noises as well about how he'll do 'something extraordinary' if he doesn't have a replacement.

Aoun, one of the candidates for President (biggest fan, himself), tried to engineer a breakthrough last night by issuing a compromise set of proposals which would have him nominate a President (not himself) and Hariri nominate a PM (not Hariri). There were other demands in this list, some reasonable, some less so to the majority in government, and the proposals were unceremoniously thrown out. So we wait. The opposition aren't going to Parliament today to elect a new President, but the majority are, although without any candidates in the frame at the moment, goodness knows what will happen.

One possibility is that in the absence of any agreement, General Michel Suleiman, head of the army, will step in as President temporarily. The army does enjoy support from both sides, and is generally well respected by the Lebanese population. Although not ideal, this measure might buy some time and stability.

Finally, in my last post, I referred to an RPG being outside the local coffee shop. Obviously I didn't mean that there was a Rocket Propelled Grenade in the vicinity, I meant to write Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC). Slight mistype there!!

The tension is rising...

2007-11-20T12:06:00.000+02:00

It all seems to be going down to the wire here at the moment. The various factions are seemingly unable to agree on a list of candidates for MPs to vote on, and at present it looks like the Parliamentary session scheduled for tomorrow will be postponed until Friday, the really, really, really last day before Lahoud has to step down. There are about 10,000 soldiers on duty in Beirut to prevent civil disorder. A lot of them seemed to think it was a good idea to drive their tanks underneath our bedroom window at about midnight last night, making sleep pretty hard to come by as we then had a huge electical storm for a couple of hours (the one that has caused all the flooding in Greece - we seem to be getting the tail end of it though, thankfully). Then this morning I noticed that a large RPG seemed to have taken up residence outside Costa Coffee at Sassine Square. Thankfully though its extended stay seemed to be more due to a traffic jam rather than a concern that mild-mannered coffee drinkers might suddenly start rioting.

Personally though, and for what it's worth, I would carry on with the session as planned tomorrow, the weather forecast is atrocious, and in my opinion and experience, people are less likely to riot in the rain. However, seeing as the politicians have had two months to come to some sort of agreement, and have completely failed to do so, any sort of solution may be sadly lacking come tomorrow or Friday (it is Lebanon's national day on Thursday so it's a holiday - the only one of two in a year that businesses have to observe).

Watch this (and many other internet sites') space...

The race for President, and the 10k

2007-11-17T20:15:00.000+02:00

Hello Dom here,
I am recovering from a night of excess and preparing for the Beirut marathon (well the 10k) so it is a Saturday night in with pasta and not even a wee glass of wine. Italy beating Scottyland in the football, so I thought I would quickly blog - as I write Scotland have equalised - come on the Jocks!

Not that you would know it from the international media which seems to completely ignore Lebanon, this is an absolutely massive week for the country coming up. After 9 long years of President Emile Lahoud he will hopefully step down on Friday, to be replaced by...well who knows? The debate has been quite nasty, to have a pro-government (ie pro-western) President, an anti-government (pro-Syrian) one, or most likely a consensus one. Mostly it boils down to many of the politicians hating each other with scars going back to the civil war and beyond, and having refused to talk for nearly a year they are now forced to start dealing with each other because nobody wants the place to fall apart. So there is a list of names now with the leaders of the government and opposition - the list has been selected following working meetings of all sides with the leader of the Maronite church as the President has to be Christian under the constitution. Strangely the leaders of the pro/anti government are Sunni and Shia respectively, but that doesn't seem to matter. After weeks and months of doom and gloom, there are some glimmers of optimism that this might at last be sorted out. And maybe the happy campers in the tent city who have been there for 353 days and paralysed the centre of town might go home! It's about time. If all goes well Parliament meets on Wednesday to do the deed!

In more interesting news Fiona and I are running the Beirut 10k tomorrow. Everyone I know who is Lebanese and doing the 10k says they are running the marathon - which they are not! There is a marathon tomorrow but it starts at 7 am and is a very long way, so nobody in their right mind/that I know is doing it. We have been doing a bit of training though. Last year I did it in just over an hour with a mixture of running and walking so I hope to break the hour mark.

The weather is cooler now but still lovely in the day around 20 degrees. But the first big rains came last weekend - briefly - and more is forecast for this week. So hopefully some snow will arrive on the mountains and we can turn our minds to skiing again.

Watch this space for news this week on both important races!

Pics

2007-11-06T13:30:00.000+02:00

Katy at Baalbek

Simon enjoying a fruit cocktail!

Dom, Phil and Simon at the Cedar Reserve in the Chouf Mountains

Jo in front of the Seven Pillars of Wisdom at Wadi Rum in Jordan

Mum and Dad in front of the tallest self-supporting flagpole (127m) in the world! (No, really, the Jordanians are really proud of it!)

A group of Jordanian Cadets we met at Petra

Visitors and Holidays

2007-11-06T13:05:00.000+02:00

We've waved goodbye to our visitors, and just returned from a great holiday in Jordan when my parents and sister Jo and her husband James came over to see one of our near neighbours and what it has to offer. Other sister Siobhan unfortunately couldn't come owing to a small matter of exams. Good Luck to her!

We had a great time with all our guests. Katy has done Beirut proud and written a couple of great pieces about the place here and about a new bar, 961, here. 961 is a great bar, second only in my heart to the wonderful, stuck-in-the-1970s-with-an-owner-who-prefers-the-bar-to-only-have-a-few-customers Captain's Cabin. Indeed, people are so keen to get to 961 that it appeared that one girl had, in her haste, forgotten to get dressed properly on the night we were there, and turned up wearing something that was best described as a top that just covered her bottom. Clearly, we are getting old.

Simon and Phil indulged in wine-tasting, as promised, and we also saw the sights of Baalbeck, Byblos, Faqra and Beirut's sea front where I, the native, got completely eaten alive by mozzies where they, the foreigners, emerged unscathed. There is no justice. We also went to Dom's favourite bar, Cocktails and Dreams, where Simon unfortunately got 3 vodka cranberry drinks poured over him by a dozy and new barman. Phil had an absolutely revolting Long Island cocktail and swiftly switched to beer. I was quite surprised, as were all my friends, when Dom announced that C&D was his favourite bar, as we all thought it would be one with karaoke in, but he assures me that he likes the music, and it's not so loud that you can't hold a conversation, like many bars here. Also, it has a big open window allowing people-watching (and tented city watching, it's right on the edge).

And, as I said, we've had a great week in Jordan, seeing the sights, and taking it nice and easy. We visited Petra, Karak (crusader castle, very complete and loads to explore), the Citadel in Amman (amazing museum with parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls and some of the earliest statues, strangely reminiscent of Rugrats, ever found), and the Baptism Site, where you are no more than 10 metres away from Israel!

A great few weeks! And now I take up my Lady of Leisure post, continue to do a bit of freelance editing, and bask in the glorious sunshine that is still beaming on these parts.

Visitors!

2007-10-16T18:48:00.000+02:00

A quick update as our third (yes third!) visitor in a week is on his way from the airport. Yippee! We have already had Katy here for five days when she and I accomplished much: Damascus, Baalbek, Byblos, Beach Clubs and Beirut Downtown. Much food and drink was also consumed and pics will follow. We now have Phil here when we have done Beaufort Castle and Sidon (breaking the Lebanon 'B' trend!). Simon is on his way, and we will soon be planning his itinerary - hopefully including some wine tasting.

The weather here is truly glorious at the moment, culminating in Phil going a bit pink on the beach today. Long may it continue, as we have much walking and sightseeing yet to do.

And next week I am off to Jordan! What a few days this has been!

Alexandria and Beirut

2007-09-25T11:05:00.000+02:00

Dom here. First of all I am obviously an idiot for losing the camera! And I have been told this a few times. But yes we have pics of the boat trip courtesy of friends and Fi is deliberately no putting them up yet to let me stew - she will do it soon. And we will be getting a new camera next weekend so normal service will be resumed.

Since that day we had a good day out on the beach at Tyre - gorgeous and unpolluted - and last weekend I went to Alexandria for a reunion with some Uni mates. It was very interesting - as well as fun - to go back. We spent, predictably, every night in the Spitfire Bar drinking Stella (no relation to the European stuff) and a new brew called Sakkara. Stella is no longer different colours and tastes with each bottle, and has been taken over by Amstel! It isn't the same when you are not playing Russian roulette with your stomach every time you have a drink! But on balance it is probably better. My picture though is no longer on the wall, although it remains on the wall of the Arabic language centre - my hairstyle was a disaster in those days!

2 major changes in Alex - the new library which is truly spectacular architechturally - if lacking many books! But an excellent exhibition there on Alexandria's history. Also a brand new museum in the city which again was excellent with a lot of pieces fished out of the Med in the last few years. But otherwise it is nearly exactly the same with unrepaired roads and pavements, falling down but gorgeous buildings - art deco stuff everywhere - and the lack of hassle which you get as a foreigner in Cairo and Luxor. A lot more tourists, including a cruise ship, and the usual relaxed and laid back vibe. The other major change was the increasing conservatism - we reckoned around 50% of women had the headscarf in the late 1980s and now it is probably over 90%. But then most of the posh people have moved to the suburbs so maybe it is a bit unfair to judge it on the city centre. But I struggle to understand how I spent 9 months of my life there all those years ago, pre email and mobiles and internet. Great to go back though.

A lot of similarities to Beirut in theory - seaports in the Eastern Med, great histories and cosmopolitan. Dare I say that Beirut has, despite everything, fared better? There is more cultural development here, more choice of things to do, and above all there is more freedom for everybody. A flawed democracy vs a 'benign' dictatorship, more women in business, better food and drink and better standards of living in general. I know where I am happier anyway..

One thing they dont have in Alex is bombs though, and as Fi notes we had one last week which killed another government MP. It was about 2 miles away from us and killed a few bystanders so fairly horrible, but sad to report we didn't even hear it as we were in the local shopping centre buying the Lonely Planet guide to Egypt! Focus has quickly moved back to the Presidential elections for which the process started today. The parliament seems to have met briefly this morning for the first time in nearly a year, then as they couldn't reach a 'quorum' of MPs the session has been postponed until October 23rd. Expect much jockeying before then.

Weather remains lovely - around 27 degrees - but we had a bit of rain the other day. But the real winter storms do not really start until November, although beach life is coming to an end soon.

Oh in case you are wondering, I am working from home. Best do some then..

Breaking news...

2007-09-19T17:21:00.000+02:00

News just in says that there has been an explosion - possibly targeting an MP - about two miles away from us. If true, and that an MP has been killed, the upcoming Presidential elections are going to be more tense than ever. Not good.

Swimming with the fishes...

2007-09-19T16:59:00.000+02:00

Well, it would have been had most of the fishes off the shoreline of Lebanon had not been killed off by pollution!!!

Dom used his wasta and his contacts a couple of weekends ago to hire a 50 person yacht to sail up and down the coast near Beirut. It was a lovely clear day, but sadly a little windy, causing some of the party to lose their breakfast (thankfully not me - growing up in Bognor Regis means that I can cope with most sea conditions!). No matter, we sailed north up the coast and dropped anchor in Jouneih bay where the braver members of the party swam in the sea.

After that we set off again, and headed back towards Beirut to take in the city from the sea at sunset. The sea had calmed down considerably and it was beautiful. A fantastic day, all told.

Now, usually at this point I would post pictures for the delectation of my one or two readers (literally, it really is at one or two at the moment!) but sadly I can't. Why not? Because it is not only me that went swimming with the fishes. My camera made an ill advised leap for freedom from the security of Dom's pocket and at this very moment is making new friends on the sea bed of the Mediterranean... No matter, the eye is the camera, so they say, and it was a fantastic day out. A new camera will be purchased shortly.

A new addition to Beaufort Castle

2007-08-20T13:27:00.000+02:00

Continuing the theme of travelling around Lebanon at the weekend, we headed off to Beaufort Castle on Saturday. Dom had visited the site in May last year, I had been in Syria that day (with Liv and Charlotte) so hadn't gone.

Beaufort Castle is perched on the north bank of the Litani (thus making it OK to travel to according to FCO advice!) and commands spectacular views of the Golan Heights, Israel and much of Southern Lebanon. The castle itself, although still pretty impressive, was badly damaged in 2000. The Israelis had used it as an army outpost (you can still see the trenches next to it) and, when they withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, blew up parts of the castle to hide the evidence of them being there. (Although you'd think that blowing up parts of a castle might also indicate that you had been there...).

Like most items of historical interest, the castle is in a pretty bad state of disrepair and is quite overgrown. Still, you can see from the ramparts that it once would have been a formidable nut to crack, and indeed I don't think it ever fell in battle. There is also evidence of its recent history lying around - bullet cases and assorted goods wrappers with Hebrew writing from the Israeli army. The castle also sports three really tatty flags, the Lebanese flag, Hezbollah's flag and Amal's (another predominantly Shia political party and one that often opposes Hezbollah - its leader, Nabih Berri, is the speaker of the Lebanese parliament).

Another new addition that Dom pointed out, and one that was probably erected after last summer's war, is this sign - entitled 'The Zionist Outpost of Beaufort' - and detailing various acts of resistance that Hezbollah carried out during the Israeli occupation of south Lebanon:

So no inflammatory language there, then!!

Photos of the Chouf

2007-08-15T16:17:00.001+02:00

1. Bekaa valley from the Chouf

2. Locked in the nature reserve!

3. A Cedar tree!!

4. The Mdeirij bridge - 1 year on - do not drive across this!

A day in the park - with a machine gunner!

2007-08-13T20:51:00.000+02:00

(Dom reporting) We had a great but decidedly odd day on Saturday. A lovely day but a bit sweaty and humid in Beirut so what better plan than to head for the hills and specifically the Chouf Cedar Reserve. This place is truly beautiful - the largest nature reserve in Lebanon and home to 3 separate Cedar forests, up to around 2000 metres altitude. You enter the park in a car and gradually climb with a few off-road sections, going through Umbrella Pine belts, then the Cedars at around 1600 metres, then a few normal pines planted as a reforestation project, then finally to the snow line where it is scrubby grass and rocks. The temperature at the height of summer in the day drops to around 10 degrees up here and there is a cool wind - but the views over the Bekaa valley are great, and the air is clean. All in all I thoroughly recommend it.
But this day was slightly different. We went to a different entrance to the park from our normal one - the Ain Zhalta rather than the Barouk one. Noticeably less popular, Ain Zhalta lacks the shop selling the local produce such as cherry jam or the pomegranate paste which you baste your meat in before grilling on the barbie (well worth a try if you swing by Lebanon).
There was a Saudi registered car in front of us with a Lebanese guy and a couple of young kids - maybe around 8 years old. We asked to pass him and I popped into the 'office' to chat to the gate-keeper. 'Have you got permission to enter'? 'No'. 'Well OK you can go in then. About 2 hours - leaving at 6 pm? No problem - let yourselves out'. And he lifted the bar and off we went into the wilderness.
I was vaguely aware that the Saudi-registered car was following behind. At the top we turned right (at Hilly Pond - an oasis of green and water and great for birdwatching just before the summit), and they turned left. We abandoned the car and set off walking along the ridge. The Bekaa is laid out below like a completely flat carpet of agriculture about 1000 metres beneath us - distant vineyards and groves of trees and the famous wetlands - one of the most important migratory routes for birdlife.
But what is that noise on the breeze? Oh its only someone firing an AK-47 just round the hill. Then single-shots. Crikey! For a few minutes we thought we had stumbled across Fatah al-Islam training to take over Lebanon and make it an Islamic Caliphate - whatever their plan is these days. Then we realise that it must be the Saudi car! Probably taking pot shots at a water-melon or something. In a nature reserve!
Anyway we walk for around 40 minutes, with the idyllic scene ruined by this damn machine-gun. Then we decide to roll back down the hill in the car to check out the cedars. This is a beautiful tree and what a great symbol for a country! Steadfast, strong, lasts for thousands of years, etc. We walked amongst the cedars for half an hour - and then headed back for the exit. When we got there at 5.45 it was locked and we were locked in. Right. So we are at 1500 metres with the sun setting in an hour, it is going to get cold and we are stuck. So I call the mobile of the Assistant Park Manager. He is great and his name is Walid. What are you doing there? Nobody knew you were there?! But the gatekeeper let us in - he raised the sodding barrier! Oh well we'll send you a guy to let you out. Thank the Lord for mobiles and that we had the guy's number. After 10 minutes of mooching about the Saudi car materialises behind us. The shooters. Do we raise it with them? Well we are stuck most of the way up a mountain and he has a machine-gun. Maybe we shouldn't. Then out of the car emerges the gate-keeper!! Well you said you would be leaving at 6, he says. Oh well sorry but we didn't realise you would abandon your post (the park officially closes at sunset), lock the gate and head off with your shooting colleague to fire off machine-guns?! Somehow I don't think it is in his job description. Anyway he lets us out just as another guy, sent by Walid, rides to the rescue. We decide that discretion is the better part of valour and head off down the hill to the lovely little town of Deir al-Qamar for ice-cream and to buy some old 50's era Lebanese bank-notes in my case (sad!).
Then with darkness falling it is onto the roller coaster ride which is the southern motorway back to Beirut.
Just another slightly crazy but great day in this amazing country - not an experience you'd get on Dartmoor! Photos to follow tomorrow - insha'allah.

Normal Service Resumes

2007-08-10T14:37:00.000+02:00

Again, it's been a while. I went back to the UK for a few weeks, and Dom also returned for a slightly shorter time. The UK rain was a great relief from the oppressive, humid weather Beirut had been having at the time - courtesy of the Gulf, of course. Thankfully it's a lot better now, sunny, clear and with a nice breeze.

There were two by-elections in Lebanon last Sunday and although in most countries they wouldn't normally merit a mention, they were high-profile enough to make it onto the BBC News front page - mainly because of the tensions here at the moment. Most of the time, unless you were a real political animal, you wouldn't realise that anything is amiss. People are out all the time, traffic is bad in the evenings, the bars and restaurants are packed. But there is an underlying current of tension, and these elections could have turned nasty. For background, the elections were being held as as result of the November and June assassinations of MPs Pierre Gemayel and Walid Edo respectively.

Without going into too much detail, because frankly, it's all getting a bit boring, the Beirut seat was uncontested - the Sunni pro-government candidate won easily - and would have done so even if Hezbollah had put a candidate up against him. So Hezbollah didn't bother. The election for the Christian seat in the Metn was a different matter. The father of Pierre Gemayel, Amin Gemayel, stood as the pro-government candidate, and for the party. Against him stood Kamil Khoury, a candidate for the Free Patriotic Movement, the party headed by Michel Aoun and allied with Hezbollah - they make up the 'Opposition' (a few of their supporters are still camped near Downtown). After much mud-slinging, name-calling (including a nasty tirade against the Armenians who had voted for FPM by Gemayel) and allegations of dirty tricks and false calls as to who had won, Kamil Khoury, was announced as the winner by only 400 or so votes.

So we were treated, as we live in the middle of both factions, to fireworks celebrating the 'win' of Gemayel, then, 30 minutes later, to fireworks celebrating the actual win of the other candidate. And this is just for a by-election!!!! Goodness knows how people will mark the Presidential elections next month!!!

Anyway, the BBC article here explains it all much better!

Walking in the Lebanese countryside - June 07

2007-06-24T17:09:00.000+02:00

(Guest blogger) It aint all bad here

2007-06-24T16:20:00.000+02:00

Me again. Fi is still in the UK enjoying the rain and I will be off to in a few days to join her - we will both be back in Beirut after 2 weeks, following a wedding in Yorkshire, seeing various family members and friends and hopefully a few pints of real ale - it will be nice to have a change from al-Mazaa!

More of the same in Lebanon, but the country is starting to shrug off the problems and gradually - very gradually - getting back to something like normal.

What is interesting is that people's habits have changed very quickly. If I was an investor in Lebanese nightlife I think I would need quite a lot of tranquilisers as fashions and trends move incredibly quickly. 1 year ago (pre-war) everyone was in Monot street, after the war they moved to Gemmayzeh, but now the sun is out and it is warm, they have started to go to a place called Sky Bar (which has a 1500 capacity and is on a peninsula of reclaimed land out at sea) or to the various rooftop bars. The clue to all of this is in security - these places have all got electronic scanners and body searches and cant be attacked with a car bomb - so people feel safe. Meanwhile the little bars in town which are on streets are half full at best as people avoid them instinctivly - there is a rumour going round that Gemmayzeh Street is going to be pedestrianised. And 'Downtown' which is already pedestrianised, is usually avoided at this time of year by the Lebanese because the Khalijis (the Gulf tourists) monopolise it. Except there are hardly any tourists so that is also fairly quiet, and is now starting to get a bit more popular with the locals. But one way or another people are still enjoying the summer and praying that nobody wants another war of any kind!

And although it is not what it was this time last year, it is still a very glamourous city for the Haves. I always feel very underdressed, especially out and about in the evenings. Given half a chance this place will really take off as a tourist destination. The weather is just stunning at the moment, clear blue skies, green mountains and golden sunsets which somehow lull you in to thinking that everything is alright here.

Except it isnt alright. Anything could happen at any time, either good or bad, and people remain on edge, but as always here what seemed scary a month ago now seems normal. I will miss it for a couple of weeks but think I could use the break. And just hearing that a UNIFIL convoy (Spanish I think) has been attacked in the south - more bad news.
I will try to add some photos of my walk last weekend (although I am not as technically accomplished as Fi).

(Guest blogger) A Lebanese paradise - but THE SITUATION intrudes

2007-06-17T20:07:00.000+02:00

Fi left on Friday but I am here for another week, so I thought I should keep this blog going.

Important things first: the 2 baby birds grew up very fast and flew the nest on Friday, meaning from 4 living beings in (and just outside) the flat it is now just me on my ownsome. Also I can report that I have not yet tried the washing machine and therefore all my clothes are still ok but it is a matter of time before I put them on at
- too high/low a temperature
- the wrong setting
- or just the wrong clothes together so everything goes pink!

Work has been incredibly frustrating. We have been planning for various events and last week was the culmination of the summer in many respects. But everything was cancelled so weeks of hard work has gone down the drain. I very nearly took Friday off altogether to hit the beach and drown my sorrows but went in as usual...

The politics and the general SITUATION remains incredibly precarious. Everyone is talking about the SITUATION in shocked terms but to be honest I have started to get a bit fed up with it. Why not just cancel the whole summer and fast-forward to Christmas - I think sometimes the lovely Lebanese people need to stop worrying so much and get on with life. It isnt fun when you are worrying about getting blown up - god knows we had enough of it in London - but you still go to the cafe, pub, cinema, work (you can see my priorities in life) and just kind of hope it doesn't happen to you. Here everything is operating at half pace at best. Although this weekend there were some signs of life in the pubs on Friday. But when the local cinema hasn't changed its programme for 3 weeks (and yes I have already seen Spiderman 3 thank you) becuase they are worried nobody will come it becomes a self-fulfilling catastrophe. Ah well apparently not only Oceans 13 but Die Hard is coming next week (maybe we should put Bruce Willis in charge of sorting out this country as he seems to be able to take on all comers and come out well in the end).

I will try to summaries the SITUATION:

Nahr al-Bared: the Lebanese army is winning and won some major victories today. Hopefully it will be over this week. This is a VERY GOOD thing and frankly after hearing about what they did to the Lebanese conscripts they captured on the first day (the Lebanese Red Cross has some horrible photos), a quick death will be more than these fanatics deserve. Then there is only the worry of rehousing the poor Palestinians who have been kicked out of their homes (in 1948, 1967, and now in 2007), and hoping no other nutters are in the country waiting to start this all somewhere else.
Politics: the murder of the pro-government MP last week means only 3 more need to be killed or resign to get rid of the Majority. So the government has called 2 by-elections. But the (pro-Syrian) president has refused to sign the decree so who knows what will happen (elections will be early August). People are now talking about 2 governments here by end of July, as the President chooses his own. This seems unlikely and there have been some whiffs of willingness to negotiate on both sides prior to the assassination, so hopefully when tempers cool there might be some forward movement.
Bombs: Touch wood nothing of the random bomb variety for nearly a week now. Long may it last.
Israel: A catastrophe in Gaza, and we saw 2 rockets fired into Israel from Lebanon today, first time since the war last summer. Bad news, but they did not kill anyone, it was not Hizbullah (probably a Palestinian group) and Israeli retaliation was measured (5 artillery shells into open countryside - Israel perhaps learning from last year?).
Syria: Arming on the Golan Heights. Will it be peace or war this summer? Well I dont think either side is ready yet, but unless there is some forward movement on the 'Syrian track' at some point there will probably be a nasty war in the next 2 years.
The wider SITUATION is also dreadful. Bush is looking to do something about Iran, as possibly is Israel. Iran is playing the usual awkward and aggressive child. I have been studying the Middle East for 20 years and never felt things are as bad as they are today.

We all feel we are living on the front line of history at the moment. Lebanon is a little leaky dam holding back the seemingly unstoppable tidal wave of fanaticism, made worse by the Iraq fiasco. The leaks are getting bigger and the fingers in the dyke are getting very tired.

Anyway, I needed to get out of town this weekend so joined a group going up to Ehden, a resort town 1500 metres up in the northern mountains. A few drinkies last night and a read by the pool which was great - I am reading a book called Bad Lands - by the founder of Lonely Planet - which is a funny but depressing saunter through all the 'bad lands' in2006 (Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Cuba (?), North Korea, Libya, Saudi etc) - it has actually inspired me to go to Iran!
This morning though we went on a walk through the Ehden Nature Reserve which is a beautiful forest full of rare plants and trees high above the town. The weather is just stunning at that height - cool breeze, no humidity but hot sun. We did a 3 and a half hour walk and sometimes you felt as though you were on a real holiday, it smelt of wild herbs and flowers, it was green and verdant, the views were amazing, and the cedars were looking as wonderful as ever.
But in the distance you could hear distinctly the shelling from Nahr al-Bared - 155mm shells just make a slight shudder in the air along with a deep boom. A long way , perhaps 20 miles, away, but definitely an ominous tone to the morning. I never thought when I went for this job that I would have experienced the sound of Lebanese army artillery, Israeli bombs, and terrorist bombs all within a year!
That's it for now - I am about to crack open a beer and watch some rubbish on TV. Fi is at Wembley Stadium watching Muse tonight...alright for some!

Another Assassination

2007-06-14T08:01:00.000+02:00

I didn't hear the bomb yesterday - it was about 2.5 miles away from us, along the corniche, near where I go running (and walking) a couple of times a week. An MP, his son, his bodyguards and a few passers-by were killed. The MP, Walid Eido, was an outspoken Anti-Syrian MP and a member of the March 14 Future Movement, headed by Rafik Hariri's son, Saad.

Lebanon is in a real state. As a result of the recent bombs and the fighting in the north, and even before yesterday's assassination, the majority of people were not going out, or, were going out for an early meal, and then back home. Economically, this is crippling bars and restaurants and the tourist season looks set to take another battering this year. In a country where dining out and going out for drinks until late in the evening is part of the cultural fabric, the recent attacks have left many businesses in dire straits. Schools are also affected. Many parents have taken their children out of school early, and some schools have already closed for the summer (most usually finish next week, I think). This, of course, affects the children, who don't have the stability of a full school term, or the company of their peers.

The fighting in the north still continues, and probably will for a few more days, although the Lebanese army seems to be making progress. The protestors are in Downtown, although their position looks increasingly untenable (they are associated, in the minds of most people and in reality, with the Syrian regime), but to leave now would be an admission of failure, and there is no way that they would do that, so some sort of compromise needs to be brokered.

So it's all a bit of a mess. I am off back to London for a few weeks tomorrow - we've got a trip to Scotland, a wedding, and general family catch-ups to do. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone, but am worried about what I may or may not come back to. I can't say it enough times, this is a fantastic country, with a warm, generous, fun-loving population. It seems so unfair that some people are determined to wreck all of this.

Another Bomb

2007-06-04T20:16:00.000+02:00

Beirut is quite a small city, area-wise. About an hour ago, just as Dom and I were preparing to go out, we heard a boom from some way off. Of course, after a gap of about 2 weeks, it turned out to be a bomb, very near to where I used to work for Time Out Beirut (so about a mile away). Of course, this came just as things had been returning to some sort of normality here. Thankfully, not many were hurt, and no fatalities have yet been reported, but it looked like a pretty big bomb from the TV pictures we can see now.

Just as an aside, it is incredible how close the TV cameras are allowed to get here. They literally walk right up to the bombed bus/car and have a peek inside. Surely that is likely to contaminate any forensics? And with army/residents/internal security forces swarming all over the place, I am amazed that anyone will be able to collect any evidence after about 10 minutes.

So our evening is to be spent indoors. And we were going to meet famous Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram tonight! (picture follows below - the lovely Ms Ajram is a friend of a friend). Obviously Dom is rather annoyed about not meeting her...

It's ironic, but I was going to blog tonight about how the troubles in the camps (or "The Situation" as it is now called) seemed to be quite far removed from life here in Beirut - I think because the camps are not really the domain of Lebanese, and obviously the Army, or other forces connected with the Lebanese authorities, cannot enter them. Although it's obviously worrying that there is now trouble in Ain El Helweh near Sidon, normally considered to be the most dangerous camp in Lebanon, and that the fighting continues near Tripoli. Friends of mine in Tripoli report that although they can hear the fighting, it is really confined to the camp, and the city, although quiet, remains quite safe for them.

The twins remain well, however, and are growing by the day. I need names so get those suggestions coming in!!!

Twins!

2007-05-31T11:35:00.000+02:00

Sydney (our resident bird) has had a rough time of it over the last few months. She hatched two chicks in February/March time, but sadly the rain and cold weather got to them, and they died. Then she seemed to be abandoned by her uncaring partner and looked a bit miserable. Happily though, they seem to have patched up their differences, and Sydney is the proud mother of two new chicks! Photos hopefully will follow. As with Jemimah last year, she has been sitting on them for the last few days, but soon we think they will be allowed to sit unsupervised. Poor Sydney is finding it all very hard, and she has lost a lot of weight. (Really, she has!). Anyway, any suggestions for names for the birds will be gratefully received. Tempted as I am by Hassan and Nasrallah, I am not sure that those names will be entirely appropriate, nor do I want to saddle these poor chicks with such connotation-driven names.

Anyway, in other news that has been slightly more high profile in Lebanon, the Hariri tribunal resolution was passed by the UN last night. A couple of countries abstained - Russia, China (expected), and South Africa and Indonesia. But the Lebanese government now has until June 10 to ratify the resolution but, if they don't, I think it will go ahead anyway. Anyway, this means that people are generally nervy (as if the recent bombs weren't enough), and everyone is expecting some sort of trouble over the next week or two.

But, of course, it may not happen. I am not sure, for all their posturing, if the political leaders here are actually that bothered about the tribunal. Yes, the March 14 block want justice for Hariri, but I think all parties actually want to resolve the stalemate that has been going on for the last 6 months (the tent protesters will have been there for 6 months tomorrow), and now that the UN vote on the tribunal is out of the way, they can start quietly discussing how to solve this messy deadlock they have got themselves into.

And in the north, there is still deadlock in Tripoli. The Lebanese army has not yet entered the camp to finish off the mililtants (although many have been killed trying to escape), but it's generally expected that they probably will. And the main concern is that if the entry is bungled in any way, whether the other camps in Lebanon (about 11 others) will start to rise up against the army. At the moment, it seems unlikely, but almost anything can happen here!

So, the latest travel advice (along with the rest of the Armageddon-like advice concerning Lebanon on the website) is to avoid large crowds. Not hard at the moment as it is rare that you see more than 5 people in any one place, but we are duly scampering out of the way of people that look like they are beginning to mass...

Guest blogger 7 - summertime and the living was easy - but then........!

2007-05-21T21:30:00.000+02:00

Dom here. Fi has swanned off to have a few days visiting her sister so I am holding the fort. I wish i could say that her journey was smooth, but a cancelled flight, a sweaty session in the airline office rebooking, a 4 in the morning drive to the airport, and a large bomb down the road did not help the carefree holiday spirit!
And before you complain I know that i need to blog my 3 days in the north which involved a freezing night in a log cabin in the mountains, over-friendly nuns (!) and lots of lovely Lebanese tucker. Will do that at the weekend.
So what on earth is going on in Lebanon? On Saturday the sun really came out for the first time properly - it has been a weird and dusty spring. But Saturday was gorgeous and we were invited to a very nice silk museum up in the hills where we viewed silkworms chomping through mulberry leaves (they like being stroked!) and ate nice canapes and watched the sun set over the Med and all was good with the world. We then had a meal in Casablancas - very good if a tad pricey - before the obligatory late drink in Gemmayzeh which was humming with all the beautiful people. Saturday seemed like a day when Lebanon was back to normal again.

Then yesterday was a freaky overcast cold day and having spent much of the afternoon at the airport I went for a bite in Downtown. Well it aint back to normal yet but i blame it on the dodgy weather for the lack of punters - and the fact it was 4.30 in the afternoon and a bit late for lunch. But while I was doing all this stuff there was a developing story up in the north near Tripoli.

I feel guilty when I say I haven't properly visited Tripoli yet - I have passed through a few times and stopped for a coffee but not seen the great crusader castle except from the outside. But about 10 kms north of Tripoli on the coast road is the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared (translates as Cold River) which seems to play host to a hard-core splinter group of nutcases who are affiliated to al-Qaeda and would love to turn Lebanon into Iraq. I hasten to add that these mostly are not the innocent Palestinians in the camp but they come from all over the Arab world. Anyway they robbed a bank in the pleasant town of Amioun on Friday and after a police raid on their house went wrong, all hell broke loose as the military was ambushed. At least 9 Lebanese army soldiers were executed after their positions were overrun and today the battle up there has been intensifying with no doubt the army being heavy handed but seemingly outgunned for the early stages. It is likely that there might be some kind of truce brokered but also not unlikely that the whole thing will go to last man standing. By all accounts it is the worst violence since the civil war (have people forgotten last summer?) but it is contained in the north at least for now. Interesting too that most of the other Palestinians in Lebanon have supported the Lebanese military. Wouldn't it be great if these poor people could go home after 60 years??

But this all makes just the kind of image Lebanon dreads seeing on TV as tourists are planning their hols - ironic as I spent lunch discussing with some businessmen the plans to launch a massive promotional event for Lebanon on 12 July - the anniversary of the war. Lets hope that 20 May is not remembered for all the wrong reasons too.

And last night as I took an early night in preparation for going to the airport to drop off Fi at 4 am I was just dozing off when a massive bang happened outside. I had vague ideas it might be a gas cylinder - this has happened before - but no it was a 30 kg bomb just outside the ABC centre which is the main shopping mall in East Beirut. It aint my kind of scene really, a good cinema but overpriced glittery things for the ladies and I don't think there is anything for the gents at all - at least I have never found anything much there so usually settle for a coffee and watching the wealthy stroll by (or totter in the case of the ladies). But to put a bomb outside was taking it a bit far, and of course the innocent suffer - a poor 61 year lady was killed and her husband is in a coma as their bedroom wall fell on them in the next door block of flats. Admittedly though it could have been a hell of a lot worse. So I got very little sleep in the end as the phone beeped and trilled until around 1.30 then we were up again at 4. I can safely say I achieved not a lot at work today.

So again the city is on a knifeedge and people are staying indoors watching and waiting. This place is really a fabulous country if it could be given the chance - I am amazed at how the place has got up off its knees after last summer's fun and games and the endless political crisis. I was getting to the stage where I was getting more invitations to dos than I wanted to go to, which is always a nice position to be in, so it will be interesting to see whether the mood of cautious optimism can be retained. Personally I think there is a good chance this will die down and it will be a calm summer - I think virtually everyone would settle for that. But predictions are the hardest thing in Lebanon so we will watch and wait like everyone else.
I am now off for an attempted night's sleep!

Lady Hester!

2007-05-14T15:20:00.000+02:00

The Remains of Lady Hester Stanhope's house at Djoun

This is a time for sadness and despondency in Lebanon. Unlike the UK where, at this time of year, Bank Holidays pop up with a seeminly neverending frequency, the Lebanese have only the one, on May Day. And there isn't another Bank Holiday until August! Which is quite amazing when you normally can have two Easters, an assumption, the Prophet's birthday and other assorted religious holidays, all occuring within a week of each other... (or something like that!). Anyway, May Day, like Lebanon's Independence Day, is one of only two secular holidays that are celebrated by the whole country. And it occurs on May Day. Very socialist.

So this May Day, Dom and I set of to find the home of English eccentric Lady Hester Stanhope. Lady Hester was the neice of Pitt the Younger, and, by all accounts, was completely barking. I have just finished a very entertaining 1934 biography about her by Joan Haslip (who, judging by her style of writing, was a little off-beam herself) and so I thought it would be fun to seek out her final home in the mountains above Sidon.

Some information on Lady Hester: she lived in England until the age of about 34 when she set off for a 'European Tour'. Except that she didn't stay in Europe for too long and fell in love with the Middle East instead. This might have been caused in part by a prophecy she received that she was to become the bride of the Messiah and would also become Queen of the Arabs (although I think the latter one was mainly in her head). While en route to Egypt she was shipwrecked, and having lost all her clothes, adopted a male version of Turkish dress. This, coupled with her rather unique style of addressing people, made her a bit of a 'cause celeb' in the Middle East, and she rode horseback into Damascus without a veil - unthinkable at the time.

She is also well-known for being the first European woman - and one of the few Europeans to survive the dangerous journey - to enter Palmyra, in the Syrian desert. The native Bedouins crowned her as a queen, and called her Zenobia, the ancient queen of this city. After these adventures Hester chose to live in Lebanon, and became quite a local folk hero, offering shelter to those affected by wars and battles for supremacy in the region. However, her money ran out, and she died in her home in Djoun friendless and alone. She was buried in the grounds, but her remains were moved during the civil war, and placed in the grounds of the Ambassador's residence (lovely!) before being returned to England recently. And I believe this ceremony was covered by Hello! magazine!

The house today is a real shadow of its former self. The courtyard remains, and a few walls, but much of the house was destroyed by earthquakes, or the stones used by local farmers. The dungeons are still there, as I discovered when I nearly fell in them! The terraced gardens, full of orange and olive trees, are pretty much the same as when Hester designed them and the spot the house stands on commands fantastic views of the Chouf region, and of the sea. Like many places of interest in Lebanon, however, (and I concede that Lady Hester is a little bit of a niche interest) there is no explanation or context at the site, much less any signposting to it. It's a real shame that a country with such a rich heritage only has a few sights (Baalbeck and Byblos spring to mind) with any real explanation of what happened there.

This theme was continued as we then went on to the Temple of Echmoun - the best/only example of a Phoenician Temple in the world, I think, or at least in Lebanon. There was no signage at the site explaining what is a really unique place, and one that has excited archaeologists the world over. It still is pretty impressive, though.

Other news to follow... when I think of some!

Wedding Photos

2007-04-23T15:15:00.000+02:00

The happy couple, swords, dancers and drummers. Poor Diana had been smiling all day, so I can't blame her for not grinning innanely by this point!

Visits, Tours and a Wedding!

2007-04-23T14:32:00.000+02:00

It has been a busy few weeks out here. Lebanon's first bank loan for plastic surgery has been launched (see link here), both Dom and my parents have visited and Dom has been on a tour of the north of Lebanon - a region called Akar - and celebrated his birthday in Beirut!

I'll ask Dom to post his trip separately - it's a tale well worth the telling, if you are interested in ancient monuments and the like. I was not invited as it was a boys-only excursion. However, I fully intend to go at some point myself!

My parents came for a week and we had a great time - we visited Byblos, Sour (Tyre) in the south and Deir al-Qamar, a beautiful village in the Chouf Mountains. We tried to go to Beiteddine on Easter Monday but it was shut as it was a national holiday! I would have thought that the fact that it was a public holiday would have made tourist attractions more likely to be open, however, it was not to be and I can quite easily see me never making it to this palace. (I have almost gone a couple of times before). We also squeezed in a visit to the National Musuem with my Arabic teacher, Samar, and I impressed my parents with my rudimentary grasp of Arabic: Me: 'Yesterday we ate a lot of food', Samar: 'You say that every time I see you!'. And yes, we ate a lot of food.

Since then I have been getting back into the swing of freelancing by copy editing a luxury magazine (most things are completely out of my price range - space trip for US$200,000, anyone?), and also starting work on polishing up a local author's book on living with a disabled child which she would like to publish in English. Sadly, disability remains a somewhat taboo subject in many Lebanese families, with the mother often blamed for passing on a disability to a child, or even some saying that she is being punished by God for something she has done wrong. The mother who has written this book has done so to tell other mothers that they are not alone, and also to try to give them some help in terms of what the latest treatments are, and how to go about arranging schooling and the like. The book 'He is a child, too' has already been published in French and Arabic, and the author has received several requests for it to be made available in English, which is where I come in.

Finally, this weekend saw my first Lebanese wedding! A friend of mine, Diana, has married a lovely Kiwi boy called Selwyn and so we all went along to the wedding. The service was held in Beirut's Anglican church, and was held mainly in English, I think so Selwyn would know what he was promising to do! Then we decamped to the Geffinor hotel for sword dancing, food, bouquet throwing and general merriment. Photos follow above, as usual. Must really try and work out this posting thing.

So a busy few weeks! Naturally, I have also found time to frequent the bars and restaurants of Beirut, as well as zipping all over the city for Arabic lessons and meeting friends (got to keep up the 'lady that lunches' persona!) You really wouldn't believe that Lebanon is still on the list of countries that the FCO advises against all but essential travel to (along with the Central African Republic, Haiti and Liberia), as well as all travel to parts of (sharing company with Afghanistan, Chad, Iran, Iraq and Sudan, amongst others)! Not sure how Lebanon gets into two categories there - maybe it's just really, really scary out here at the moment!!!

Jordan Photos

2007-03-13T22:21:00.000+02:00

There's an obligatory one of the Treasury in Petra, with camels, the Monastery in Petra, a general one of Petra (guess where most of our photos were taken!) and sunset at the Dead Sea...

Jordan Jollies!

2007-03-13T22:05:00.000+02:00

Beirut seems to have survived our absence remarkably well and in fact, seems to be progressing towards some sort of agreement on the political way forward. Clearly we need to leave the country more often! Leading figures from both sides - Saad Hariri (son of Rafik, the PM assassinated 2 years ago) and Nabih Berri (Leading Shia figure who is also the Speaker of Parliament and often speaks for the opposition - he is the link to Hezbollah who Western governments can talk to) have met a few times now and seem to have found some common ground.

In the meantime, we had a great time in Jordan. Photos will be put up - and will probably be ahead of this post, but as is often the case, photos can never do justice to the beauty of the country and particularly the magnificence that is Petra. There is a lot of desert in Jordan, and much of the country is featureless and stony. However, when it is green, and when you are at the Dead Sea, or in Petra, it is stunning. We spent two nights in Petra - taking part in a 'Petra by candlenight' trip which was very atmospheric. Our one day in Petra was not enough - there is so much more to see and do than you can achieve in just one visit but I certainly will be returning. We also spent one day at the Dead Sea and one in Amman (very new and very low rise - quite a shock after Beirut!). Today we came back via Jerash, a Roman city that is pretty intact, and pretty impressive with lots of colonades and temples in particular.

Many people in Jordan speak good English. However I was not to be deterred from practising my Arabic, especially as I am currently mastering the past tense and wanted to tell unsuspecting locals what I had done. I was rewarded by some comprehension and the comment that "you speak with a Lebanese accent"! Success at last!

As it is not peak season we often had the sights to ourselves. Mind you, it is not peak season for a reason. As I type the rain is lashing down and the wind is howling round our flat. Great weather conditions for Dom's parents who arrive on Thursday!

Petra here we come!

2007-03-07T16:22:00.000+02:00

I am most excited today. Tomorrow Dom and I are off to Jordan for 6 days. We are visiting Petra, the Dead Sea, Amman, Madaba and Jerash. So a fix of stunning architecture, incredible ruins and historic sites is guaranteed. Like most people would, I imagine, I am looking forward to seeing the Treasury at Petra the most. But there are many other incredible sights to see there. Hopefully we'll reach Petra in time to do the 'Petra by night' tour as well tomorrow.

We'll also be away for a couple of potentially key dates in Lebanon. The 8th and 11th March. 8th March 2005 is when Hezbollah held a rally countering the demonstrations calling for the withdrawal of Syria, 14 March was the largest rally to date in Lebanon (I think), where approximately 1 million people demonstrated to reiterate their wish for Syrian troops to withdraw from Lebanon. Since then, 8 March and 14 March have become nicknames for two of the opposing political sides in Lebanon. 11 March, which I mention above, is a new movement which says it is non-political, and is also calling for some sort of demonstration on that day to say 'enough'. Both sides have their supporters and although there seems to be some sort of deal being touted in the press, it hasn't been agreed yet. Saying all that, 14 February, the commemoration of Hariri's assassination passed off peacefully (despite everyone's fears to the contrary, including mine), and life has, once more, returned pretty much to normal. (Incidentally if any of those facts are wrong, feel free to correct me - I am trying to synthasise very complicated events into a couple of sentences!).

I am always amazed and humbled by people's ability to function normally at times of such tension. Many people are very worried, of course, and friends of mine are applying for long term residency visas of countries such as the US, UK, Canada and Australia (and Dubai), but life goes on, businesses continue to hire, although it is difficult for many at the moment, and people still shop and enjoy themselves. My impressions are that although many people want to leave, they are happy to stay here as long as it remains peaceful - and I think it puts many of the problems we think we have in the UK in perspective.

I am continuing to work as a freelancer, which I enjoy as it gives me the freedom to do many other things - this week I have been to the National Museum (highly recommended) and to a birthday party for a 2 year old! Next week sees the arrival of Dom's parents, and we are beginning to plan where to take them. And then a few weeks after that, my parents arrive. So it's all systems go!

Playing the Waiting Game

2007-02-11T19:49:00.000+02:00

Since my last post, Beirut has remained fairly tense. People are still out and about, but bars, clubs and restaurants haven't been as full as normal, and as far as I can make out, no progress has been reached between the government and opposition to resolve the deadlock. February 14 - the second anniversary of Rafik Hariri's assassination - is just round the corner and although there may not be any trouble on the day itself (at least none sanctioned by the political parties), violence may well break out afterwards.

Aside from the usual political fighting, Feb 14 has potential to lead to trouble for this reason: Hariri is buried in Martyr's Square (in the Mosque he built - a truly spectacular building). The demonstrators (opposition) are camped in Martyrs' Square. Hariri's supporters (pro-government) will want to go to Martyrs' Square to pay their respects/antagonise the campers (these interpretations depend on who you support). I cannot see how this can happen without some scuffles breaking out on the day, and then more trouble occuring later on in the week. Apparently various people are trying to resolve all this (mainly Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Arab League - Lebanese politicians appear to be too busy calling each other names in the media) but it really is going to the wire here.

And running alongside all of this are incidents like Israel and the Lebanese Army exchanging fire on the border last week and a truckload of weapons for Hezbollah being intercepted in the Bekaa on Thursday. In a statement that would be hilarious were it not for the gravity of the current situation, Hezbollah issued a statement that basically said "yes those are our weapons... and can we have them back please"!!!

And in personal news, I am definitely getting better at skiing - I even looked a bit swish as I carved up a red run today - even if I say so myself!! The weather has been glorious and we also went skiing on Friday - a holiday for us as it was St Maroon's Day. And Friday also saw our first visit to Crysal - the nightclub in Beirut. As an indication of how quiet it is here, we were able to walk straight in to the club without any reservation (you have to in Beirut) and get a table. And it was a really good night! Lots of young, beautiful people, engagement parties and an old man sitting in a corner nursing a bottle of whisky!

Curfew!

2007-01-25T22:23:00.000+02:00

In other news first, I went skiing today and completed my first red run! I also had a couple of falls and am nursing sore legs. This of course meant that I and my friends were out of town when the students at the Arab University started fighting. This took place in the south of the city but trouble spread to Basta (between Hamra or West Beirut and Achrafieh) and there were rumours of trouble in Achrafieh which thankfully were unfounded. All this meant that it was a bit of a fraught drive home as the mobile network was down (from over use).

The army has ordered a curfew tonight from 8.30pm to 6am tomorrow. In true Lebanese fashion there were a few people out after the curfew began (always fashionably late) but at the time of writing (10.30pm) it is very, very quiet indeed. Schools and Universities are closed tomorrow and I am sure many people will stay away from work. Hopefully these measures will calm tempers. However, it never ceases to amaze me how some people appear to have learnt nothing from the lessons of the civil war and seem determined to push Lebanon into conflict. Many of these students will have had parents who stayed in Lebanon during the civil war, and many of them are likely to have some memories of it from their childhood - so why start it all over again?

Also, rather worryingly, Sydney appears to be nesting again. We all know what happened last time she hatched a chick! Hopefully she is indeed a dove of peace and not a hawk!

Day of Tension

2007-01-23T21:51:00.000+02:00

The National Strike was called today. Although the area we live in seemed to be operating as normal (cafes and supermarkets all open), others were virtually shut down. Many businesses told their staff not to come in as car tyres were being used as blockades and burnt. It was a lovely clear day at 7am, but soon you could see the acrid smoke begin to rise above the city - and smell it too. It's pretty much dispersed now though.

Trouble started early on - in Beirut and in other areas - mainly ones with a mix of Sunni and Shia. There was a bit of pushing and shoving at a few key road arteries - near the port, near dog river and at Chataura, the nearest big town to the border with Syria. Then it seemed to go quite quiet and we went out for lunch!! (As I said, the cafes were open and doing pretty well near us). We weren't as cool as a group of Germans who were happily sitting out in the sunshine drinking beer, however!!

As it got dark, it has got a bit more tense. Friends of mine in Hamra who were intending to come over have reported that the road to Downtown is blocked, cars cannot cross at the moment and that there have been a few skirmishes on most routes. As another indication of nerves, all bars in Gemayzeh (the main drinking drag) are shut! This is quite rare...

Latest news is that the opposition are not going to continue the protests tomorrow - a lot of people seem to be talking. But for the two people who died today, it's too little, too late.

Skiing, Trips and Buses in the Bekaa!

2007-01-14T22:30:00.000+02:00

It's been a very relaxing and (relatively) healthy week as befits the beginning of January. Quiet nights in and book reading have been the order of the day. The city is quite quiet too - I went to meet my friends for lunch today and the roads were even quieter than usual for a Sunday. It is rumoured that the boycotting of Ministries and other activities will increase/finish (depending on who you speak to) by January 25th which is also the day of Paris III - the third attempt at getting Lebanon out of the financial quagmire it has found itself in. Although to be fair, the last 6 months weren't entirely the government's fault... It was 6 months ago yesterday that the war started - it's gone so quickly and to many people, me included, that whole time now seems really surreal. I would imagine that in no small part it's down to the fact that I was personally very unaffected by the war. I'm very lucky to live in part of Beirut that wasn't really hit by the bombs. Many people are still trying to repair their houses, or sell them, or move out of the southern suburbs of the city. Many people in the south are still trying to rebuild their homes and live with the constant threat of cluster bombs.

Tomorrow I'm off to the Sursock museum - possibly the Lebanese equivalent to the Victoria and Albert museum in London - that has just reopened after closing during the war. I am hoping that this one does not have the interminable exhibition of wrought-iron gates that I once had the misfortune to get lost in with Siobhan and is more enjoyable. The National Museum here is also exhibiting a recently received Bronze age painting that I am planning to go and see.

On a more modern note, the Bekaa valley, famous for its vineyards, its agricultural produce and its wetlands that attract many migrating birds (when they are not being shot by hunters) also has a rather unusual attraction (see above)... Dom was in the Bekaa today for lunch and thought it made a good photo!

We've also been skiing and I can proudly report that I am a triumph of speed over style and grace! Sadly that also means taking a couple of tumbles; once when Dom nearly sent me down a black run (possibly after my life insurance???!?) and once when a small child knocked me over (no doubt sent by Dom to try and claim the life insurance for a second time)! Apart from that it was a great day out and the weather was really sunny and warm. Long may the ski season continue!

One Year Today!!

2007-01-09T15:06:00.000+02:00

It's one year today since we arrived in Beirut! One year ago we arrived late at night and, on venturing out to buy some water, were slightly alarmed by the number of tanks and soldiers parked near our flat. Now of course, we are completely used to Armed Personnel Carriers, tanks, soldiers, Lebanese Special Forces, UN troops, military aircraft, gunships, helicopters, bombs and evacuations!

We were also slightly taken aback by the riots in February... all very small fry when compared to the events of the summer.

And we were surprised by the level of political debate and vociferous opinions offered by the majority of Lebanese at any time whether it be in the hairdressers, the supermarket or the Service Taxi. As I've posted recently, I've detected a certain amount of disillusionment amongst some people, even the ones who were desparately in favour of change 10 months ago. Saying that, the protests in Downtown are continuing and are apparently increasing today - there is talk of some protestors blockading the VAT office. The leaders of the opposition movement say that it is all peaceful and so far nothing has happened to contradict them. It certainly feels peaceful here and the main inconvenience remains crossing the city to West Beirut. There was an article in today's Daily Star (thankfully nothing like Britain's Daily Star although some of the journalism also leaves a lot to be desired) about how some businesses are forbidding talk of politics on their premises.

Personally, one year on I find myself in a very similar position to last year... sending off my CV to various contacts in the hope of getting part time work! However, my Arabic is improving, I can now ski, and I have as busy a social life as I did in London! Tonight we're off to celebrate our anniversary with that traditional Lebanese meal of... curry - well, we haven't had one for ages and Lebanon is famous for its international cuisine...

Guest writer 6 - oh come all ye protesters

2006-12-25T11:56:00.000+02:00

Merry Christmas everyone! The BBC news site has informed me that I am officially sad to go online on Xmas Day, but the festivities here start late (and go on late) so I reackon I can fit in a quick blog.

Fi has gone to church (I went to the carol service last week so not feeling that guilty), and I am scoffing breakfast (at midday) and preparing for the mega lunch/evening extravaganza we have later.

Our first Xmas in Beirut will definitely have been memorable, and it is good to see that Lebanon, despite everything, is really pushing the boat out to celebrate. What surprised me a bit is that everyone seems to celebrate Christmas, whether Christians or Muslims, and this year with Eid al-Adha falling between Xmas and New Year most of the country seems to have gone on a much needed knees up. I have never known a tense atmosphere like the last month, it has really been very difficult to do anything meaningful - the country really is split badly. But as my Lebanese friends say this is really how it has always been; Lebanon is just the playground for greater powers as usual. It doesn't mean there will actually be any trouble.

The squares in the centre of town are still full of protesters but it is very much a hard-core of campers now, and we are not expecting any developments until the New Year. They certainly have some good Christmas trees down there, and it is all very friendly. Diplomats are still running around trying to get a solution, but it will still take a few weeks. Probably a deal of some kind will be done - the alternative is too awful to contemplate.

We threw a big 'solstice' party on Thursday and around 50 people came. Quite hard work getting it all ready, but Fi did a great Steak Pie and I did a North African Lamb thing (thank you Jamie Oliver) and we still have loads of cake left as everyone brought things to eat. The interesting thing about Christmas here is that the Lebanese follow the French model and have a big meal at home on Xmas Eve, then apparently Xmas Day is a major night out - whereas of course in the UK we go out on Xmas Eve then spend the day itself with the family. Thus we found ourselves with some friends in a deserted restaurant last night (a new place in Gemmayzeh called Copper), and tonight we will be in with about 20 of us eating and drinking for England while the pubs and cafes are packed.

The weather is lovely (still) and cold at night but warm in the sun in the day. We are expecting rain later on Boxing Day and maybe some snow in the mountains as we have vague plans to go skiing in the New Year. I am working 3 days between the 2 then got the first week of 2007 off. Still it beats freezing fog in London.

Have a happy Christmas and a great New Year wherever you are!

Unfun Runs and Festive Fever

2006-12-19T17:30:00.000+02:00

Sorry about the time lapse... although I am a lady of leisure I have been quite busy and have neglected the blog. I will try to be less tardy in future...

I am certainly enjoying my time off and am relaxing, learning Arabic (2 lessons a week now!) and generally getting into the Christmas spirit. I predict that come January, I will be looking for some work and although I managed to resist applying for a job on mine clearance that looked really interesting (but a: was in Sour/Tyre in the south and b: has pretty much already been given to someone else), I have already identified a couple of things I might try and volunteer for. (Don't worry, the mine clearance job would not have been in the fields, it would have been project managing part of it!).

Anyway, the run itself, although it took place during a time of pretty high tension in Beirut and the country as a whole, passed off without incident and was enjoyed by all. Being no athlete, I only enjoyed it once I finished the run - mine was rather a poor time of 1 hour 18 but as my friend Lucy pointed out, I did have to spend 14 minutes getting a stone out of my shoe!! Dom was far more athletic as befits one who looks like a certain champion middle distance runner, and the picture of him finishing appears above... His time was 1 hour 4 minutes. Next year I aim to beat that!

Otherwise, we have been struggling to get into the festive spirit much like many others in Beirut. The opposition remains camped out in the centre of town, meaning that traffic is terrible at the moment and that many businesses in Downtown are likely to close for good after Christmas. Even friends of mine who are strongly pro-Aoun and Hezbollah are completely fed up with the current state of affairs. But at least the very real threat of civil war has passed - although some writers, or headline writers at the very least, seem determined to mention it in any article about Lebanon. A certain Mr Fisk is the main culprit here... see http://news.independent.co.uk/world/fisk/article2076121.ece for both a well written and insightful, and egotistical and hysterical article, pretty much in equal parts. Still, he is one of only a few who continue to bring Lebanon to the attention of western readers.

The last few days have seen a bit of a last minute rush - although I think Christmas buying starts late here anyway. Traffic round the ABC centre in Achrafieh, a large mall, is packed solid for much of the day and the city is certainly looking more festive.

One final festive/political gem to show how one can easily mistake intentions in these confusing times... the other day Dom thought that the protestors had set up camp in Sassine - however on closer inspection he found that it was actually a large fake cave containing the nativity!

Merry Christmas!!

Time's Up for Time Out

2006-11-30T20:31:00.000+02:00

One of the side effects of the tension in Lebanon recently is that people are unwilling to invest in many areas of the country's economic life. As a result, businesses are going to the wall. Sadly, this happened to the magazine I work for, Time Out Beirut, yesterday. It's closed - hopefully just for the next few months - but it's hard to see how it will be able to come back, even online, if the current uncertainty continues. Essentially, very few companies are able or willing to pay for print advertising. Without advertising, it becomes harder to print the magazine as sales alone cannot keep it afloat. We were all set to print the Christmas Listings issue - to complement the website - but with major advertisers pulling out after the assassination of Pierre Gemayel the owners had no real choice but to close. There were only five of us working full time - but obviously everyone has to find new jobs; not easy in the current climate.

So I am starting my second attempt at having a career break three weeks earlier than planned. Politically, it's likely to be eventful. There's an indefinite sit-in starting tomorrow in Downtown - massively disrupting business down there. Hopefully it will be peaceful, but with tensions running so high and nerves being as frayed as they are, it's anyones guess as to what will happen next...

Trouble at the front door: Round the corner

2006-11-22T21:44:00.000+02:00

As I mentioned yesterday, today is Independence Day - one of the two days out of Lebanon's many bank holidays that are compulsory. (I think the other one is New Year's Day - both are secular for obvious reasons). The day itself has passed quietly. I met some of my friends in the local shopping mall for lunch. The vast majority of shops were open and although the mall was a lot quieter than usual, by the time we left at about 9pm (we stopped for a couple of cocktails!) it was fairly busy, although nothing like you would expect for a national holiday. Again, it is the businesses that will suffer as a result of political uncertainty.

Tomorrow has been declared as a day of National Mourning - there are actually going to be three days of which today was one - and there will be a large demonstration in Martyrs Square. Apparently buses are being laid on to bring people from all over the country. The theme of the demo is likely to be 'seeking justice' and will certainly include many anti-Syrian demonstrators. Whether the pro-Syrians will seek to cause trouble is uncertain. Political leaders have not really been mincing their words here and there has been a fairly large, albeit peaceful demo in Sassine Square again tonight. When I walked past there were about 200 people, 99% male, standing around, waving flags and playing political songs. There was also a heavy army presence but it was all very peaceful and no repeat of the bin burning that happened last night*.

Although all businesses are supposed to be closed tomorrow, I received a call from my boss at Time Out saying I was to come in. We are publishing a small Christmas guide in about a week and there is loads to do. As I only work afternoons there at the moment I will see if I get a call tomorrow morning with a 'revised work plan' i.e. work from home. It's still tense here and another assassination could push people over the edge. I have noticed that political leaders are not necessarily calling for calm, more pointing the finger at Syria if they are anti-Syrian, or elsewhere if they are pro. So much posturing and so unnecessary at a time like this.

The marathon/my 10k has been postponed. Although on a personal level I am not too sad (training was going abysmally), it is another disruption to the life of the city that it doesn't need.

*bin burning. Some bins were set alight over the road last night. After a period of time the fire brigade turned up. They are not a service you would wish for in the UK. After filling the bin that wasn't burning up with water, they realised they had run out of water and had to perform elaborate mechanical feats on the fire engine to get more water. In the meantime the bin that was alight, burned itself out. So they headed off, job done! I am now being extra careful about our fire-safety arrangements!

Trouble at the front door

2006-11-21T18:56:00.000+02:00

There has been another assassination today. Pierre Gemayel, an anti-Syrian Minister was shot earlier this afternoon. It's too early to say what the reaction will be here. Most people have headed home - but a significant few (around 100) headed to Sassine - where we live. So we have a line of police camped outside our front door trying (and succeeding) to keep people away from a rival political party who have kindly set up their HQ just down the road from us.

It's Independence Day tomorrow - the army presence is huge all over the city and I don't think anyone is expecting anything to happen then. It might be the wake up call people need to actually try and work together to salvage something from the situation. Not that those sentiments will help the family of the 34 year old politicial who died - or his bodyguard.

Will keep people posted. There's no work tomorrow so a day cleaning the flat and watching out for developments is probably on the cards!

As Time Goes By

2006-11-13T18:27:00.001+02:00

Realised to my horror today that it has been 'some time' since I last provided an update to life in Beirut. Then realised to my relief that it was because not much has happened. Lebanon is back in the news - 6 Ministers have now resigned from the government (or 7 if you count a Minister who resigned a few months ago - but they replaced him with an acting Minister) and it's all getting a little tense politically. In terms of the mood on the street, people are jittery, but jittery without much action - there is always the threat of street protests (mainly sit-ins by Hezbollah and the Aoun supporters) but although I had a very vivid dream that this happened last night - it has not yet come to pass. So no branching into sooth-saying when I go freelance then.

I'm still at Time Out Beirut - although I am really looking forward to stopping and continuing my career break. We're off to the launch party tonight - free drinks for an hour and then a DJ playing 'commercial' music...

Other than that I have been partying, working, studying Arabic verbs (really difficult!) and training for the 10k. It's less than two weeks away and I am finding it HARD! The route is all marked out now though and it's running through the more picturesque parts of town - the Corniche and Gemmayzeh so if there are any pictures posted people will see the best of Beirut - better than the images of destruction which are now lodged in people's minds again.

Keep your fingers crossed that the resignations don't increase - and that any protests are peaceful.

As Time Goes By

2006-11-13T18:27:00.000+02:00

Riders on (and after) the storm

2006-10-25T19:07:00.000+02:00

I actually think these titles up myself, you know. No flicking through a punning website for me...

Ahem. Anyway. Another update beckons from Beirut. Ramadan has finished - the Eid holiday passed peacefully and Dom and I took advantage of the 2 day holiday to head for the Cedars. We stopped off at Tannourine – the largest Cedar forest in Lebanon. The more famous Cedar reserve, at Becharre, is little more than a copse in my opinion – but at Tannourine you really get an idea of how vast the cedar forests would have been until about 150 years ago. We also found it incredibly quiet and relaxing – until we heard the sound of gunshots! Thankfully this was not the start of the insurgency everyone seems to be predicting at the moment (which has still not happened you will all be pleased to hear) but merely a few local hunters shooting migratory birds. This happens twice a year without fail, despite the best efforts of local conservation groups to try to stop, or at least reduce, the practice.

After a night in the mountains we set off to take the mountain pass into the Bekaa valley. It is stunning. You drive over the pass at around 10,000 feet – and you are still 3 hours walk from Lebanon’s highest peak. And it is freezing. In a week or so the pass will be closed as the snows will start falling – although there is no sign of snow yet. As we crossed over the pass and headed down to the Bekaa we saw more sobering signs of what had happened over the summer. There was a small crater and scorch marks in the road. Clearly some truck was being aimed at by the Israeli air force. We also passed the bombed Liban Lait (milk) factory in the Bekaa – completely destroyed. It’s still really hard to find milk in Beirut – and you can see why – things don’t get rebuilt overnight.

So what else is new? Well, thankfully, not much. The country is regrouping – buildings are being repaired and rebuilt. Although it seems that if your home is damaged you get aid from Hezbollah/the government/another Arab country/a charity a lot quicker than if your home was damaged. My Arabic teacher’s home was badly damaged by one of the phosphorus bombs dropped during the final few days of the war. She has not yet had any compensation/assistance as the priority is to get those who have lost their homes into accommodation. Which is right; but now those who have unsafe and damaged homes also need assistance. The weather is incredibly changeable and although the thunderstorms are spectacular, it’s no fun for those in tents.

The training for the 10K continues apace (literally! I have improved!).

Pictures from the South

2006-10-08T20:25:00.000+02:00

And here are some pictures...

The first one below is rather dusty, but shows the bridge with destroyed vehicles.

A destroyed house in Maroon Al Ras

And a damaged school in Bint Jbeil.

Guest writer 5 - southern discomfort

2006-10-08T17:54:00.000+02:00

I have been asked by Fiona to write a blog. I am a bit surprised by this as this is meant to be her blog but she says she has not done anything very interesting in the last week or so. Well hopefully she will at some point write up yesterday's mountain expedition north of Beirut visiting obscure Roman temples and then the source of the river Adonis (as it was known once), with lots of weird villages full of hard-line Christians etc. And a very very big bag of onions! But I will leave that to her.
No she wants me to write about my trip down to the south last week with work - I went with my team, Paul from north Lebanon and Wissam whose father was once the mayor of Bint Jbail -- so she is Shia from the south. Elie the driver from the Bekaa Valley completed the diverse geographical mix, as well as me from south Devon! Purpose of the visit was to have a look at reconstruction effort and gauge what needs to be done, plus a few meetings with local businesspeople.
We set off from Beirut at 8 (but it was 8.20 by the time everyone got their act together..!) and headed south down the coastal highway. This takes you through the airport area then on to the motorway south. As you get to the turnings we used to take to the Chouf Mountains and Jezzine you realise that the turnings are not there any more as the bridges over the motorway have been destroyed and the rubble now cleared. Almost as if they were never there...weird. Then on to Jiyeh where the oil storage tanks were bombed - under repair now but the oil has destroyed delicate ecosystems and at least one nature reserve (Palm Islands off Tripoli), and every time the wind gets up more comes ashore. Obviously a Hizbullah target a government controlled heavy diesel storage facility - not much good for anything except running the power station...

Anyway you get to the entrance to Sidon and it is a spaghetti junction of destroyed flyovers so you have to go down to the old coast road - takes about 20 minutes longer. Then south of Sidon the road is destroyed at Zahrani and in a couple of other places so you just divert on and off as necessary. The good news is that most of the key bridges are already under repair by private individuals or companies (like the Hariri family or Byblos Bank) so they should be fixed within a few months. But if Hizbullah were ever driving rockets down this coastal road (which is Christian and Sunni generally so it is highly unlikely they would have been able to) they would have been inconvenienced but not delayed untowardly by the blowing up of the bridges.

From Tyre we turned south-east and you begin to see destroyed buildings - although strangely some villages are untouched then you come to one or two which are trashed, then finally you reach the town of Bint Jbail which has had thousands of houses destroyed and it reminded me of the final battle scene from Saving Private Ryan. There was even a bridge with blown up trucks on it which had not been cleared yet. But there was already rebuilding going on. The Qataris are sponsoring the rebuild and have cleared most of the rubble so there are wide empty spaces where there were buildings, and in some areas people are busy fixing holes and preparing to put up shelters. The schools have been the top priority (back to school tomorrow) and already they are largely fixed although there was one with no walls at one end and you could see the chairs and desks lined up. We dropped in on Head of the Municipality and the Bank Manager. Not often you meet a bank manager worried about bad debts as 14 of his debtors had been killed! And the main concern is depopulation - Bint Jbail used to have 60,000 citizens, then the first Israeli invasion in 1978 caused a mass immigration - 25,000 set up in Dearborne in Michigan! And it has just got worse. It was down to somewhere between 7 and 10,000 on the eve of war (and that includes people who return for the summer), but now there are only 3000 people there. The young people (like Wiss) are in Beirut or elsewhere and say there is nothing for them there. It would be a brave investor to set up a factory there but that is what it needs - real employment opportunities.
Wissam's house was fine once her dad fixed the shrapnel holes in the walls and mended the broken windows - you could see a crater 10 yards away where a smallish bomb had exploded - they were very lucky.
We went up to Maroun el Ras - which was more like Dresden in 1945 - completely wrecked and you could see Israeli paint marks on the wall in Hebrew warning about snipers etc. And from there you could overlook the 'promised land' - Israeli buses and cars driving around without a care in the world. Very strange indeed.
Anyway we then took the long and winding road to Naqqoura which is on the coast south of Tyre. Many destroyed houses and shops, but the thing I noticed most was the UNIFIL troops and Lebanese army - they really are there in force and looked organised and quite mean. We passed from the French sector to the Italian sector and Wiss began practising her Italian and managed to extract a Ciao from one Italian soldier - she got very excited at that! We stopped at a Lebanese army post which was right on the border - they had arrived 5 days before and were still building their barracks. The battalion commander was from Paul's town in the north and presented us with apples from Ehden and fruit juice. They did not look very ready to fight off an Israeli assault as they only have AK-47s but hopefully they won't need to - but they seemed determined to do a good job.

From Naqoura we went up the bumpiest road in Lebanon - luckily we had not had lunch yet - and then arrived at the Mine Clearance HQ of the UN in the city. Cental Tyre itself is not damaged as such, although one or two buildings have been destroyed and there is more widespread damage on the outskirts. The ruins are OK, although some Roman frescoes collapsed from a tomb - shaken off by the explosions - irreplaceable.

Met up with the British guy in charge of mine clearance. He is someone we have known for a while and was due to leave Lebanon in August for the sunny climes of Afghanistan. But he is now here for a bit longer. Both him and Dalia his Lebanese press person looked exhausted. But they have done fantastic work and all the roads are clear and now they are trying to do the main agricultural land (olives and tobacco are the main crops). They have cleared well over 30,000 cluster bombs (just 1 million to go!) - but lots of newly trained teams are now going into the field so it should speed up - the UAE are funding the whole operation until next June - so well done them. Give these mine clearance people MBEs and lots of other medals... We are going to try to get to Tyre for a few drinks in the next few weeks. Must admit the sea looked lovely - turquoise and clean and it was 26 degrees, so will bring my swimmers next time.
Back to Beirut by around 7 so quite a long day but very interesting and sobering. It is strange to be going out in Beirut where things seem largely normal, while only 40 miles south people are sitting in the ruins of their homes.
Back to work tomorrow - had a big lunch today at a mega-rich businessman's house, which was good - but it would be nice to keep Sundays and work separate in future! Weather turned cooler today and cloudy so that was a nice change and a harbinger of the rainy winter, so lets hope that the southern reconstruction gets going properly in the next few weeks. Bye for now

Backin' Beirut!!

2006-09-28T15:12:00.000+02:00

Hurrah, I am back!!

It's really good to be back again - the weather is perfect and there have been some really clear days and great views up to the hills above the city.

In terms of life in the city, things have really gone back to how they were before the war - even more so in some cases - an example follows:

It is my birthday on Sunday. I am therefore having a couple of vodkas to celebrate on Friday night and, in honour of the auspicious nature of my 32nd, I thought I would go to our local Karaoke bar. No such luck. We rang up last night to book a table and they had already all been taken!! Haram!!!! This is the venue where we could always turn up on a Friday and get seating for at least five or six people. No longer it seems. Beirutis are clearly so glad to be back that they are attending Karaoke in their droves! Instead I am heading to a bar often frequented by youth on their way to the clubs of Monot, but one where you can generally get a seat and hear each other speak. I'm not getting old, oh no!

But the general business of the bars and clubs is to be welcomed. The Lebanese, as I think Dom has observed before, are very gregarious, social people. And now that certain parts of society are returning, they are living for the moment. My observation is that it is mainly the young, middle income Lebanese who are returning and staying. The poor could not leave, and the very wealthy are either staying away full stop, or are coming back to pack up and leave for six months to a year - if not for good. Most of my friends and colleagues have returned. Time Out is launching online on Oct 9, and IOCC is carrying out relief work in the south.

In everyday life, the shops are well stocked, although the farmers in the Bekaa have really suffered this year with many of their crops being destroyed. Lettuce is very hard to find, for example. There are still problems with milk supplies too. Bizarrely, the place with the best supplies that we have found is the Medco petrol garage near Downtown. Maybe the suppliers do some sort of milk/petrol swap... Office and apartment rents have also increased, and people are wanting you to commit for 9 months to a year up front.

But these things are all to be expected, to be honest. No one thought for a moment that Lebanon would go straight back to how it was. There are still many reminders of the war around - warships off the coast, reports on the radio of bodies still being found under buildings in the south and the fact that there are many more landmines in the south than before - without maps showing their location this time. However, most of the damage to the southern suburbs of Beirut has been cleared and, thankfully (and miraculously), none of my friends' houses from that area were damaged. Hopefully the rebuilding programme will continue apace.

Looking forward on a more personal/trivial note, I am to break the habit of a lifetime and enter the Beirut 10K run! It will be held on the same day as the marathon, but I am not so badly shell-shocked as to enter the marathon proper. I have therefore started my training regime and am facing my hatred of running. So far, I can confirm that I still hate it. I have been assured by many though, that you eventually get to like it. The chances of that are slim, but I will persevere. Details will follow of the charity you can all donate to.

As I sign off to continue my short period of being a lady of leisure, I will reiterate - it's really great to be back.

Guest writer 4 - extreme hiking

2006-09-17T18:51:00.000+02:00

My final entry as the good news is that Fi is coming back next week, so you might get to read something more interesting soon. Not sure exactly when but probably in time for the weekend which will be good. Things have continued to get easier and renewed conflict seems less and less likely - at least between Hizbullah and Israel. Interesting that Olmert's former chief-of-staff said this week it was a'scandalous' decision to go to war in the first place - perhaps he should have spoken up earlier... But the Spanish, French and Italian troops are coming ashore in the south. In fact the French are here in Beirut as I got caught up in a convoy of APCs near the port and told off for driving too close. People are a bit jumpy, understandably. But there was a great pic in the local paper of a hard-nosed Spanish marine in a wetsuit coming ashore at Tyre with this attractive Lebanese girl in a bikini giving him a slightly quizzical look. Not sure who is more surprised to see the other - Afghanistan it isn't!

This last week (of work) seemed to turn into a massive lunch and dinner fest. I guess I am seeing my old contacts and they are pleased I am back and taking me out. I had 6 meals out in a row and you can only do it so often - it is time consuming and you can't take notes so you forget half of what they tell you - but generosity is not a problem in this country. The mood continues to be mixed, and business people are still depressed, but we have increasing interest in the rebuilding programme from the UK which is good. I think I will be fairly busy this Autumn.

Today I went off hiking to a place called Bentael, which is east of Byblos in the foothills of the mountains. It seemed a great idea! But we went in late morning in about 30 degrees, the paths seemed to be mostly vertical up or down and by an hour or so we were really horribly sweaty and I am not very fit! So that was that and we went to visit an old church with medieval frescos - quite nice - with a priest who got his St Marks and St Johns mixed up. There was a fresco of St George - not a lot of people know that England's patron saint is in fact Lebanese, (or whatever the 12th century equivalent of Lebanon was - I think the crusader County of Tripoli) and the dragon was reportedly slain at the mouth of Beirut river! I don't think dragons or anything else would be tempted to go to the concrete horror that is Beirut river now.

Then to Byblos for lunch - they have cleaned up most of the oil but it is still staining a lot of the water and the medieval stonework. Getting there remains an adventure but a lot better than before - the holes in the bridges have not been fixed, but they have built temporary bypasses which mean you are only delayed minutes rather than up to an hour. But I am not sure if they will survive the rainy season...but for now the weather is lovely - still a bit too hot though.

Well it's been nice doing this - Fi will be back very soon. I just spoke to her - she has mixed feelings as did I, but it really is a great place to spend a few years (apart from the odd war), and I think will not be too long before it gets its mojo back. So come and visit sometime - but check the travel advice first!!

Guest writer 3 - Beirut back to normal??

2006-09-10T14:31:00.000+02:00

Hello everyone it is Dom here. I got back to Beirut on Monday through a very tiring and adventurous route which I don't even want to think about doing again. The annoying thing is that I could have flown direct from London if I had waited 3 days. Oh well...

I have returned alone sadly, but it is looking like Fi will be coming back in a week or so, as things are incredibly back to normal - in our part of Beirut at least.

The Lebanese have an amazing capacity for enjoyment at a very difficult time, and have been out celebrating the lifting of the air and sea blockades in a very big way. I went to one of my favourite bars on Friday - in Gemmayzeh (described recently as the Shoreditch of Beirut - but to the best of my knowledge without the strip bars!), and could barely get in the doors. I was then persuaded by the fine bartender to drink several peach daiquaries (it's yellow, fruity and makes you look very gay!) on top of quite a few wines earlier on - so consequently had the mother of all hangovers on Saturday.
But I am sure you are not interested in all that. What's happening out there? Well there is quite a bit of political debate and anger over whose fault it all is, and Hizbullah seem to be relatively contrite. Israel though remains public enemy number one. Olmert seems to be making overtures to the Lebanese government but I can't see these are anything but attempts to save his own skin - there is no way the Lebanese could accept any kind of peace in the current climate.
Shiploads of foreign troops are arriving. Still not that quickly but it really doesn't seem likely that there will be another outbreak of fighting - perhaps a few incidents. The shops are starting to fill up again - fresh fish and milk are back! I had a spaghetti marinara at an italian place last night which was delicious. The traffic is a bit crazy again, and there is plenty of petrol though only 95 and not 98 (I am no expert but 98 is posher petrol which is better for the car..). The weather is gorgeous and I have been sitting on my balcony. A lot of weddings which were cancelled in the war are now taking place resulting in lots of convoys of hooting cars. I went to a rooftop bar last night for a couple - the sort of place which I am getting too old for as the music was way too loud!! It was so busy we could not initially get in - and served the weakest mojito I have had for a while. Today I have been sorting out the flat which was a tip - mainly as we packed everything up ready to go for good and now have to unpack it.
The destroyed bridges remain a problem although the army has been very quick to build diversions so what was 90 minutes of delay going north is now 30 minutes.
I am back at work and mainly just speaking to people and getting a feel for the mood. It is very mixed - there has been a big brain drain and it is too early to say whether these young talented people which Lebanon needs will come back. Some bars (Paddys) have closed for good - he is selling up and returned to Dublin! I am seeing the Ministry of Tourism this week so will get an idea what they are planning. Lebanon needs the big-spending Gulfis to come back for Ramadan (in about 2-3 weeks) - a bit early I think although they might come back for the festival at the end of Ramadan (23-24 October). They will still have a better time here than in the west where they get so much trouble with security. But Lebanon needs to broaden its base beyond tourism and banking now - and people are asking what is the point if Israel is going to trash it every few years? The Hizbullah issue needs to be solved within a couple of years - the international forces will not stay for ever. But meanwhile the priority is getting Lebanon moving and working again.

As for me - well it is a bit of a weird life as very few of my Brit or Lebanese friends are here. I had a drink with Fadi and Mayssoun last week and others have come back in the last few days. I am missing Fi who seems to be enjoying London - even without me! But the Canadians have now relaxed their travel advice and I am sure we are mulling ours. Next weekend I hope to travel around the country a bit to have a look at what is going on - but for now the happy news is that Beirut is coming back to life again, and it is great to be back.

Summer in the City...

2006-08-26T12:22:00.000+02:00

... is not really happening. As soon as we returned the weather turned cold, cloudy and rainy. I was not too bothered for a while as I quite like the cold - but now it is getting a little wearing.

So we have been back for around two weeks now - we've been to Skye, Kent and Wales but have managed to settle in London for a week now. And as predicted we have been meeting people for coffee, dinner and drinks. All very civilised!!

The encouraging news is that people are starting to return now - my old boss at Time Out Beirut is going back on the 3rd and apparently the British Council will be heading back soon too. All this is encouraging for our own return and hopefully a decision will be made next week... until then we will be catching up on the films we missed and other London delights.

I will leave you with this story on the wine harvest. Lebanese wine is fabulous and there were fears that this year's harvest was completely ruined. However, some appears to have been salvaged. The story is part written by my Editor, Ramsay - a man partial to a drink or three himself!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/08/24/wleb24.xml

Pics

2006-08-14T00:06:00.000+02:00

Pretty self-explanatory these but one is of the helicopter and the other is of Dom and I on the boat.

Under Siege XXII: Planes, Helicopters, Ships and Automobiles

2006-08-13T23:30:00.000+02:00

And so we have left Beirut. I am now safely ensconsed in my parents house in deepest Kent drinking tea, eating fruitcake and watching Sky news to find out what is going on. I have been reliably informed that Sky has been pretty good throughout the conflict. Personally, I am more of a Sky sceptic - anything owned by a Murdoch is not really my cup of tea - but I was willing to give this channel a second chance, sit back and witness the in-depth coverage and analysis. Imagine my surprise then when the illustrative map shown on the screen during the 3pm headline news moved Tyre from its normal position by the sea to the summit of the Chouf mountain range near the border of Syria! Seeing as Sky then broadcast from the beach resort at Tyre itself I can only assume that this was a single lapse in journalistic endeavour.

But enough of such petty detail. Things are looking more positive on the ceasefire agreement. In fact, it should be implemented in a few hours from now. Fingers crossed. Lebanon took a pretty heavy pounding today - as did Northern Israel - and it was very strange seeing the pictures of Beirut without having experienced the sound of the explosions personally this time.

Our evacuation itself was actually pretty eventful and cool. Pictures will follow but suffice it to say that the day went as follows:

a) get to departure point at 9.30am Beirut time - 7.30am BST
b) get on helicopter
c) halfway across sea helicpoter runs low on fuel and so we look for ship to land on
d) US ship spotted - we think we have already agreed to land and refuel; they have no idea who we are. International friendly fire incident only averted by someone spotting the flag on the helicopter and recognising we are an ally.
e) land on ship and get taken down to the mess deck for carbohydrate-intensive chips and beans. I find out that one of the officers was a regular at Ocean City in Maryland where I was an amusement park ride attendant.
f) refuelling over, take off and get to Cyprus.
g) on arrival at Cyprus we are told that there are no flights to the UK owing to it being more dangerous than Beirut (or something).
h) wait around while people organise something.
i) we are put on the Kabul Express alongside lots of squaddies returning from Afghanistan. Only drawback is that we have to wait around for a few hours in the officers' mess. We eat more carbohydrate-intensive food.
j) we fly on the Kabul Express to Brize Norton. Food is disgusting but thankfully we are still full from the officers' mess. There is no entertainment on board but seeing as it is 3am Beirut time that really isn't a problem.
k) land at Brize Norton. There is a car waiting for us that promptly fails to start and we have to jump-start it. At this point my sense of humour fails too as it is 5am Beirut time.
l) arrive at our hotel at 5am BST, 7am Beirut time and fall asleep.

Pretty cool eh? Although the list above makes it sound like a bit of a nightmare it wasn't too bad at all - and how many people have been evacuated by helicopter?!?!?! We're now winding down and seeing family and friends. Scotland beckons and then some time back in London. I am already getting sick of my clothes but am resisting the temptation to buy more... for the moment at least! Next blog will come soon - for those who were mainly interested in the Beirut stuff - I can't blame you for a lesser interest now but keep checking in - we hope to be back soon!

Under Siege XXI: Every Time We Say Goodbye...

2006-08-09T17:34:00.000+02:00

We are off tomorrow. We hope to be back in a couple of weeks as there is much to do here in terms of aid work and rebuilding. I have completed my list of 'Brits left in the country' and have handed over the prized spreadsheet containing all the names. I have also done a bit (a very little bit!) of a tidy up in the flat and finished doing the washing. My bags are packed. I have a medium green bag and a small rucksack. It's amazing what you can condense your life into when necessary. The two things I am most upset to be leaving are Panda, my cuddly toy I have had since a baby, and a picture my Granny left me. Everything else I am obviously sad to leave, but can ultimately be replaced.

Jemimah has agreed to mind the house in our absence. I fear she may be a flaky house-sitter as she looks almost ready to fly. However, Sydney will soon be producing another egg or two so hopefully they will be able to keep an eye on things.

We're off for a couple of drinks with the friends we have left tonight. The bombs in the southern suburbs have been getting closer and closer to quite a few friends' houses. When I see what they are having to deal with - the uncertainty of whether they have a home or not, it puts all our worries into perspective.

So let's 'yalla bye' as they say in Lebanon. We will be back. There is still loads to see, do and experience here. And when it's all over, you must all come and visit. The Lebanese economy needs you! More importantly, the Lebanese people need your support.

Pics V

2006-08-07T22:10:00.000+02:00

And here is our teenager Jemimah Puddledove...

Pics IV

2006-08-07T22:05:00.000+02:00

The oil slick at Byblos. Lebanon's premier beach club is in the background.

Pics III

2006-08-07T19:23:00.000+02:00

We don't have a real view of the southern suburbs, but you can see the grey dust cloud inbetween the two buildings here. That was a particularly loud bomb that went off yesterday afternoon. I was outside for the real corkers that went off today (on my balcony) - the shockwave was really huge, even from 5 miles away.

Pics II

2006-08-07T19:17:00.000+02:00

Another one of the Bridge...

Pics I

2006-08-07T19:06:00.000+02:00

The bridge... I was going to upload the one with Dom in it, but he looks a bit too much like a BBC journalist in it - as opposed to looking like Seb Coe as he normally does.

Under Siege XX: Will We Stay or Will We Go?

2006-08-07T18:23:00.000+02:00

And they say that a week is a long time in politics! This evacuation lark has more twists and turns than a twisty turny thing (to paraphrase Blackadder). First of all we are going, so we spend most of the weekend packing; then we are not going, so we stop packing; then I might go, so I think about packing; then we both might go on holiday and return, so we both think about packing things we might not have taken and then unpack things we would have taken if we had been evacuated and not if we were going on holiday which we may now be taking anyway. And it may all change tomorrow!!! And I thought just the bombing was emotionally exhausting!

Packing conumdrums aside, this weekend saw Dom and I venture out of Beirut for the first time in what seems like ages to go and survey some of the damage done on the bridges north of Beirut. I do aim to upload at least one photo of the damage if I can but it is incredible. A whole bridge near Byblos has been taken out. A hole has also been blasted in the bridge near Jounieh although in true Lebanese style, half the bridge is open to traffic. I must say that I quite admire the stoicism of the Lebanese in still using that bridge; if it was left to Health and Safety it would have been completely out of action. We also surveyed the damage an oil slick caused by an Israeli attack on a power station south of Beirut (they only run on imported diesel) had done to the local coastline. Up to 35,000 tonnes of diesel has been spilt so far - when you consider that Exxon Valdez was 40,000 you begin to get an impression of how bad the damage is to Lebanon's none-too-clean-anyway coastline, and it will come as no surprise that this is far and away the biggest environmental disaster in the area ever.

The bombs continue - last night was particularly noisy. And the destruction of the southern suburbs is still happening - Dom's colleague Wissam learnt today that the building opposite hers has been destroyed (she has not been home for some weeks) and that her doors and windows were blown out by the force of the blast. As I have said before, it is the stories of personal loss and fear that affect you the most.

Tonight we are off out for a bite to eat as we continue to support the economy in one of the few ways we can. In the meantime, Dom is watching live coverage from Headlingley as England play Pakistan - and appear to be beating them too - he is particularly excited to hear the voice of David Gower again... Need I say more?

Under Siege XIX: Leaving La Vida Loca

2006-08-05T12:45:00.000+02:00

After almost a week of quiet nights in Beirut, our sleep has been interrupted with a bang over the last couple of nights. We heard bombing on Thursday night, when bridges in the Christian areas were targeted, as well as last night which I think hit the southern suburbs again. The bombs this time seem to be a lot louder/more powerful - our windows were shaking this morning (the attacks happened at around 5am). The coastal road right next to the sea is still open, but the main artery north out of Beirut has been hit - with the bridge now having a 100 metre gap in the middle of it. For anyone who has driven that delightful road which is normally one big traffic jam, I think some damage was done to the part near the Casino du Liban. Why they couldn't hit the gambling den of iniquity instead is beyond me. Now it has made it even harder to get aid convoys to the south, and by hitting a Christian heartland factions of Lebanese society that might normally (and have) sympathised with the Israelis are uniting against them. When all this is over, I really hope that this new found unity can continue and improve the sometimes precarious political situation.

Jemimah is well, and is growing fast. She has reached the lanky teenager stage now, and is no longer the cute scruffy chick we first saw. She is looking a bit more groomed and, like most teenagers, looks moody. I will try to get another pic today that no one will see for ages as they are not uploading.

Finally, it looks like we may be evacuated next week - time to be decided. Personally, I am absolutely devastated by this decision. We have been through so much, helped a major evacuation be executed successfully (as far as these things ever are), and have plans to work on the aid and reconstruction that to be told that we have to leave feels like a real kick in the teeth. I also feel that I am letting down my Lebanese colleagues and friends. I have been so proud of them and have really felt that it is important for as many Westerners as possible to stay and offer what support they can, be it emotional or economic. Ironically, I understand that one of the reasons we are leaving is because of the threat to Westerners posed by the demo at the UN. Regular readers will know that I was there, and did not feel threatened at all. Maybe I should have invited more people along to see what actually was going on and not allowing them to make judgements based on second hand information.

I'll continue to post up to, and after we leave but I fear the descriptions of my days walking along the Thames and having lattes in Covent Garden may not have the same level of excitement/interest as before... We certainly hope to be back at some point in the next couple of months though.

Under Siege XVIII: Jemimah Puddledove

2006-08-02T19:42:00.000+02:00

I am very proud to announce that our nesting guest, Sydney, has finally hatched her egg! Jemimah Puddledove has, I think, been hatched for the last few days, but Sydney has only really left her for any length of time today so we could see her. She has actually been sitting on Jemimah for the last couple of days in my opinion because a) JP is quite fully fledged and b) she looks a bit messy and squashed. If anyone can shed any light as to whether doves are in the habit of sitting on their young, please do so. My theory is that despite being hard of hearing, Sydney is actually acutely aware that there is a war on, and so she is protecting her chick. I have a picture which is going to be very hard for my middle sister and Rich to see as the chick is even smaller and better camouflaged than Sydney. I will try to upload it, but the computer is taking ages at the moment which is why there are no pictures of the evacuation or Beirut up either.

Workwise I am still compiling a list of British Citizens left in the country. I estimate that there are around 1000 left - around 3000 left on our ships, and probably another 2000 left by other means. Trying to contact these people is not easy. Most only had Lebanese mobiles which often do not work outside the country. So there have been many shouted conversations with often bemused relatives and my schoolgirl Arabic has been dusted off a little bit. 'INTA BI LUBNAN AU FI'L KHARIJ?' I am often heard to shout (ARE YOU IN LEBANON OR ABROAD?). Anyway, we are getting there and hopefully by next week we will have a better idea of where people are. I thought there were about 15,000 Brits here - as did most of the media.

Last night we went out with a couple of our Lebanese friends who are still in the country - Mayssoun and Fadi - we went to Kayan which is a bar that is normally rammed and not that nice, but has now turned into a very chilled out bar that gave us all a free Tiramisu shot - fab! Mayssoun and Fadi had to leave their house which is very close to the southern suburbs and only have ventured back once to get a change of clothes. They said that going back to their area was really weird - although no buildings have been damaged, the area is completely deserted and it really feels like a ghost town. If anyone is interested in what the southern suburbs of Beirut looked like on the 22nd July - bear in mind that more bombing has happened since - go to http://www.digitalglobe.com/images/qb/beirut_harat_july22_2006_dgwm.jpg
This area is very close to Dom's colleague Wissam - in fact she can see her apartment on the picture. Thankfully it is fine but you can see quite clearly where entire buildings have been demolished. The small buildings in the bottom right corner are part of one of the Palestinan camps (Bourj Al Barajni) and most of the bombing seems to be near that area, although not in it.

The charity I used to work for, IOCC, have started an appeal to help Lebanese who have lost their homes in the bombings. They're currently distributing food parcels to those who have been displaced. I had a chat with my former boss today - he's just managed to get in from Jordan (a 12 hour precarious journey) and he is working hard to coordinate all the work going on. The website has some pictures on: www.iocc.org. Another worthwhile cause is the Lebanese Red Cross - we'll give more details of how to donate soon.

Better go - I have just confused the noise of a rubbish truck with a low flying aircraft so clearly my judgement is getting askew...

Under Siege XVII - guest writer (part 2)

2006-07-31T21:46:00.000+02:00

Hello all it's Dom here. Thought I would make a second contribution although Fi is doing such a fantastic job at recording what is going on there doesn't seem a lot to add. It has been a weird time - both of us having worked so intensely to evacuate all the Brits but we are now in a kind of lull where it is very hard to know what will happen next. Everyone is very up and down and I have to say today is more of a down day for me at least.
Spent much of the morning driving around Beirut trying to find a meeting which I was told was in one place but turned out to be in a hilltop residence about 30 mins north of Beirut. By the time I got there the meeting was wrapping up. That really annoyed me! Then I thought I would get some petrol on the way back but all the stations are now starting to run dry or at least ration. I felt very bad later on when due to a special arrangement we have with one of the petrol stations we got to barge in on a queue and fill up while people shouted and honked at us. Beirut is definitely not a pleasant place to be living while all this is going on.
But tonight I had a work drink/dinner out which was really nice. Went for an Italian (getting a bit sick of pizza to be honest) and a beer. The bottling plant was hit by the Israelis last week (obviously a big military target as people can throw the bottles over the border!) so the stocks of bottled al-Mazaa beer will start to run dry at some point. No worries at the moment as all the tourists have gone. It is sad to see the bars and cafes half-full at best, but then many have only opened up in the last week or so and it is encouraging to see people tentatively venturing out. I hear that Paddy's Bar reopened last night - a reliable source!
We are both getting a bit sick of, yet compulsively addicted to the news. This whole moral outrage over the Qana massacre seems to me a bit sad. 750 people die, almost all civilians (as well as probably around 200 Hizbullahis which of course they won't admit to). Also sadly 50 odd over in Israel, about two-thirds military. But why only cause a fuss when 65 people die in one go? It's almost as though it is OK to kill a lot of people in small numbers. I guess that's modern politics. Qana was a great place to visit - they had really worked hard on preserving the Christian shrine and it's one of those religious sites with a real frisson as it is so close to the life of Christ and clearly dates from that era. Let's hope that the site is preserved, and that the town doesn't suffer any more as the people there were more than friendly to us.
Thanks for all the supportive messages they mean a lot. We were thinking about an English pub lunch yesterday - with a pint of real ale - but settled in the end for a very nice bottle of Lebanese Rose. We are really very spoiled here in Beirut..

Under Siege XVI: Hope at Last?

2006-07-30T20:13:00.000+02:00

Dom and I have been to Qana twice. We went with Jo and James to see the site of Christ's 'water into wine' miracle and saw carvings in the rock that were around 2000 years old, and are attributed to the first disciples. We have also been with Vicks and Judith to the site of the 1996 massacre where 120 people, mainly women and children, who were sheltering in the UN were bombed by the Israelis. Last night Qana was again in the news for reasons of war, not peace. At the time of writing around 60 civilians, about half of them children, were killed when the Israelis bombed the building they were sheltering in.

I went to the demonstration held in central Beirut today that was called to protest about this atrocity, and against the lack of international support Lebanon has received so far. The demonstration was largely peaceful - there was a period of about 15 minutes of violence when young men attacked the UN building and suceeded in breaking in for a short time - but the vast majority of the crowd were certainly peaceful and even applauded the military when they marched in to impose order on the demo. So don't believe everything the media tells you about it. Even when I was quite close to the centre of the demonstration I didn't feel under threat and when it looked like getting out of hand I leapt (well, was helped - I was wearing a skirt) over a bollard and was back in the safe zone.

There has been a breakthrough of sorts now in that Condaleeza Rice has now called for a cessation of violence. Apparently, in these mealy mouthed times, heavy with nuances of meaning, this is slightly different from an immediate ceasefire. Blair is also now saying that this violence cannot continue. Hopefully this will inject a little more urgency into proceedings but it really isn't good enough. I am also confused as to why there cannot be a ceasefire at the same time as working out the 'longer term solution' that Blair and Bush are keen to see put into place. I too am obviously keen for a longer term solution, but why not plan the solution while having a ceasefire? Are these people unable to multi task??? Is it somehow easier to continue to fight while negotiating peace deals?

One piece of news I did like today however is that the Lebanese PM told Condaleeza Rice that she wasn't welcome back in Lebanon until there was a cessation of hostilites. Good on Siniora! Shortly afterwards Rice made her statement. And then released a statement saying that she had decided not to visit Lebanon...

In Walshe-James news I am pleased to announce that Series one and two of Sex and the City have arrived, been unwrapped and are starting to be enjoyed. Dom does not like SATC and so is rekindling his favourite series, Spooks. Sydney is looking even more bored about the hatching than we are. We've had a relaxing weekend and are back to work tomorrow. Me to ascertain how many Brits are left in the country, and Dom to start planning the reconstruction of the country.

Under Siege XV: Beirut Calling

2006-07-27T21:56:00.000+02:00

We had a lovely time up in the hills - reading books and generally chilling out. I feel a lot more relaxed and Dom certainly looks like he's benefited from the rest. He says that he has worked harder here than he did in Iraq, which certainly says something about the conditions we have all be working in over the last couple of weeks. One thing I noticed about our stay in the hills was that you could hear the Israeli planes a lot more clearly. I heard them while I was half asleep in the night and in my stupor-like state thought that the airport was open again for business. Ahem. No such luck. The planes, although not bombing Beirut this time, have been circling around the area, no doubt frightening a lot of people on the ground.

One thing I have noticed, and I am sure I am not the only one, is how many sounds remind you of the bombs that have been hitting the suburbs. Any sort of low, dull thud brings back the sound of the shelling. If I am slightly twitchy about the noise some doors make (the portaloos at the evacuation centre certainly reminded me of it), goodness knows how others who were closer to the bombs are finding it. Even the sound of Timpani on a CD I was listening to today made me wonder if the bombs were falling again. It was only the fact that it all happened in time with the music that finally convinced me it was an overactive imagination that was at fault.

In other news, we have internet at home again - hurrah! Dom managed to find a card. Access is still sporadic but I am looking forward to reading my blog in full and ensuring that I do not repeat myself too often. I went out for a bite to eat with a friend of mine from Time Out. She's currently freelancing and it was good to find out what is happening on the ground as she is pitching some articles about the humanitarian effort in Lebanon at the moment. I watched about 30 seconds of Bush on a news bulletin tonight and had to turn over when it became apparent that he couldn't remember the countries he was supposed to be focused on, and talked about 'that area, the Middle East' instead.

I'm going to try to reply to some emails over the next couple of days. Keep the comments coming. Sydney is still sitting there I'm afraid. Is it possible to induce a hatching? Should we be feeding her curry?

Under Siege XIV: Hillbound

2006-07-26T08:40:00.000+02:00

Dom is finally getting a day off tomorrow and we are heading for the Hills. There's a resort still open in Broumanna, north of Beirut, so we are going to read books, lie by the pool and chill out for 24 hours. It'll be good to get out of the city - it's been a long two weeks and diplomacy is still moving very slowly. Some UN observers in the south were killed last night by an Israeli attack - this cannot go on - are we all to be targets?

The shelling of the southern suburbs is also continuing - I am not sure that there is anything left to hit any more. If the aim is to take out the leader of Hizbollah, Nasrallah, it isn't working - no one is left in the suburbs. My friends have all moved to places of safety - but are all staying in overcrowded houses with family and friends. It's tiring them out too.

My work here is now focused on clearing the backlog of paper that the evacuation left behind. In fact, I'd better get on with it! Sydney is now looking decidedly bored and is clearly fed up with this nesting lark.

Under Siege XIII: Drop the Dead Internet Connection

2006-07-25T07:52:00.000+02:00

I wrote on Sunday of food and milk shortages. I can now add another to my list: Internet pre-pay cards. This is truly a media age and one in which the search for a pre-pay monthly internet card has reached almost the same level of the search for carrots in Communist Russia. I am tempted to go join a queue - any queue - in the hope that I will be able to get a highly coveted internet card.

So, as you may gather from this post, and the fact that I was unable to add anyone's comments to the blog yesterday, we have no internet. I have walked the whole of Achrafieh, called people and used 'wasta' (the Lebanese term for knowing the right people and having the right influence to get things done). To no avail. My walk was hot and fruitless, my calls were unanswered and my wasta wilted. I am now in an internet cafe desperately trying to catch up on emails (still no replies to anyone - really sorry) and typing up yesterday's entry now.

We have a colleague of Dom's staying with us at the moment. Her family are from Saida (Sidon) and although they have now moved to safety she has only just been able to get to Beirut. She's had a pretty tough time as some bombs came very close to her house, and much of the outskirts of Saida has been hit. Her family are all OK though, and that is the main thing. Hopefully she'll be able to get some rest with us.

I'll finish this off quickly but yesterday for me was relatively normal as I had another glorious day off. I went to the gym, walked around the ABC shopping centre which is open during the day, albeit very quiet, went on the fruitless internet card search and fell asleep on the sofa for two hours. I then scraped the car on a bollard and left a tissue in the washing machine so it is all over my clothes. Clearly not yet operating on all cylinders...

Sydney is still fine and I estimate the gestation will be over soon - I hope so!!!

Under Siege XII: A Life Less Ordinary

2006-07-23T19:19:00.000+02:00

Oh bliss - I had a day off today. I have worked solidly either at Time Out Beirut or on the emergency response since July 10th. Sadly though, poor Dom had to work this morning (although I believe we will be getting a day off later on in the week) and we were both fielding calls about Danish ferries (don't ask!) well into the afternoon.

Apparently there were quite a few loud explosions in the south of the city last night, but we were both so shattered that we didn't hear them at all. We did hear the ones this afternoon - the Israelis seem to have started using bunker busters over the last few days. These consist of a bomb that punches a hole through the ground (the first noise), and then explodes when it gets to a specific depth (the second noise). They are phenomenally loud. They are so loud that they cause the windows to our balcony to flex slightly when the sound reaches us.

We tried really hard to get some normality back today. We went to the supermarket - there is no milk to be found at all on the shelves, and some items (bizarrely Special K bars) have sold out in their entirety. Fish is obviously also a non starter and there is less fruit and veg on sale. Nevertheless we stocked up on various food stuffs (pasta, rice, chocolate and rose wine - Ksara Sunset for those who have tried it; it received 5/6 stars in the Time Out Beirut review!) and then wended our merry way to the recycling station. Strangely though, and despite the fact that our Sukleen refuse collections have been happening as regularly as clockwork, someone has removed the recycling bins. Now I admit that trying to do your recycling in the middle of an international crisis may strike some as resolutely middle class, but it is a bit strange that the only bins that have been removed are these ones.

Beirut is really quiet tonight. We were toying with the idea of going out for a meal, but our friends - those that are left, and there a only a few now - are all having a quiet one and so are we. We've watched the second episode of 'House of Cards', that rather fantastic series from the 1990s, and I must admit I get a little nostalgic when I see that gothic masterpiece looming up at the end of Westminster Bridge. However, I agreed to two years here, and two years it shall be as long as I have a say in the matter.

Finally, I will shortly be announcing the commencement of the 'name Sydney's chick' competition. The chick is still yet to make its move. If anyone can let me know the normal gestation period for this egg I would be grateful. Sydney is still fine and hard of hearing; she seems very happy in our company and she sends her best as do we. Keep up the comments - yahoo is really playing up today and I really enjoy reading them.

Under Siege XI: The Last Evacuation

2006-07-22T22:39:00.000+02:00

Khallas. It is all finished. The last boat left at 7pm tonight and Dom and I are left with a pregnant bird (not sure if you can call a bird sitting on an egg pregnant, but I will anyway), fewer friends, and a desire to try and acquire some sort of normality. So we went out for beers after work, a pizza and a couple of cocktails with friends. It is now half past eleven at night and we are knackered - so not too different from normal now!!

The last evacuation went well. I'll miss the military and their work - they've taken off so much of the pressure and their lack of emotional involvement has been really useful. In a situation where you are evacuating so many people, you cannot let individual stories affect you. Yesterday we evacuated a woman who had just buried her husband, and a family who had lost their Father in the fighting. You cannot even begin to understand how these people are feeling.

So now we are physically tired and emotionally exhausted. The feeling of achivement however is still there - we did evacuate lots of people and I feel personally quite pleased that I managed to help many get out - especially those who I helped individually. It certainly has helped me deal with the reality of what is happening here. Over the next few days I plan to rest and then start volunteering to help the refugees who are flooding into this city. I've already made a few contacts so we shall see how it goes. Not entirely sure what I will do - whatever I can seems to be the best place to start.

Sydney update: still fine, still sitting, still waiting. This nesting lark is just a waiting game!!!

Under Siege X: Sleepless in Situ

2006-07-21T19:55:00.000+02:00

Internet access is becoming increasingly sporadic, so I am going to try to keep this post brief-ish. Didn’t get the best night’s sleep, I had stomach ache and, despite all my best efforts not to, I kept listening out for bombs. After a while I gave up on sleep and went and watched ‘Sister Act’ starring Whoppi Goldberg. Thankfully, the film was sufficiently soporific, and I was soon fast asleep.

Today was not quite as busy although I was given the run around at work by a group of Germans who got lost, got found, went off, got lost, got to the port and got on the ferry without telling me – not really maintaining the reputation for organization they normally have but these are indeed trying times. The last boat goes tomorrow and I think it will be much more manic then. Many people are still in two minds about whether to go. My Editor, Ramsay, is staying and I think my friend Lucy is, but I saw another friend from Time Out Beirut off today. By the way, if someone could save the articles from the London Time Out about Beirut and Tel Aviv, I’d be grateful; it’d be interesting to see the two perspectives.

Dom and I will not be on the last boat out – we will be staying for a few more days at least. I'm particularly pleased about this as I have just heard that my Amazon order is on its way. This means that once it has miraculously found its way through the Israeli blockades, I will be able to watch series 1 & 2 of 'Sex and the City'!

I'm off out tonight to try and get some normality back and am meeting Lucy for a bite to eat. Then it's all hands to the pump (or forum in this case) as the remaining Brits who want to leave, get out.

Bird Update: It is now clear, I think, that Sydney is a dove of some sort. She is not yet, however, a mother. She is looking more broody today, in my opinion, so maybe the hatching will be soon...

Under Siege IX: Sleepers

2006-07-20T22:08:00.000+02:00

Sorry, too shattered to post today. Suffice it to say that more have left, including our best friends here, and that it was the first time I cried. Keep the emails coming - we're really touched that so many of you are thinking of us, and that you are reading the blog. Keep Lebanon in your thoughts - they're really grateful for your support.

Sydney is also fine and sends her best. No chick yet...

Under Siege VIII: The Endless Steps

2006-07-19T22:59:00.000+02:00

The closest bomb to hit came today. I was safely in the Beirut Forum, evacuating citizens - Dom was at work, but it hit a lorry fairly near our house. There were also a few shots that were aimed near the port, just after the boats had left. They sounded close.

The death toll in Lebanon now stands at 300 - mainly civillians. The death toll in Israel is 29 - with 14 soldiers. I have never condoned what Hizbullah did, and am totally opposed to the civillian deaths in Haifa and other towns, but in answer to an earlier anonymous post, I feel very strongly that the response by Israel over the last week, to the initial caputuring of their soldiers, has been completely and utterly disproportionate. The attacks by Israel have been calculated not only to destroy Hizbullah, but also to inflict as much damage on a country's infrastructure as possible. On a daily basis, roads, airports and road bridges have been bombed. There have also been attacks on the Lebanese army's engineering depot (so the army can't even build bridges to get to the south) and a milk factory in the Bekaa so there are no commercially available supplies of milk now (a German investment incidentally, the attacks on the port hit British commercial interests). It is using a sledgehammer to kill a fly. The Lebanese people, as the Israelis know, are more complex than they are portrayed at present. The coalition of power that is trying to get Lebanon back on its feet cannot simply be run on religious lines. It is not as simple as kicking Hizbollah out of the government and then thinking all this will go away. It won't. Where is the dialogue? Where are the offers to negotiate? When will the international community condemn what is happening, or offer to broker a peace deal between both parties? Where else in the world is another country allowed to inflict such damage on another country in this manner?

In other news, the evacuation, although stressful, resulted in around 1000 people heading off on the Navy boats. I said goodbye to my boss, so heavens knows what this means for the normal job, and spent most of the day running around in the heat. I now smell and am probably a target for a heat seeking missile. My friend Fida was supposed to head off today and in fact was filmed having a cheeky snog with her boyfriend Jack on Aussie TV. However, their evacuation was not as smooth as it could have been, and she is still in Beirut. My other British Council friends head off tomorrow and that is making it all seem a lot more real. We've relied on each other a lot over the past few days and as Sydney is deaf, she will not prove to be the most effective listener.

Still, more evacuations will keep me busy tomorrow - I am enjoying it although it can be stressful. You really feel that you are helping and it's nice to chat to a whole load of people about what brings them here and if they want to return - most do, of course.

Quick Sydney update - she is fine and is getting more and more used to us. If the egg hatches, we will have to think of a name for the chick - suggestions gratefully received.

Under Siege VII: The Great Escape

2006-07-18T23:01:00.000+02:00

It's been a really long day. We were woken up by bombs between midnight and 2am by really loud, window shaking explosions. Then, I think there was another at 6am, but as I've noted before, you really do kind of get used to it. Today has been absolutely manic. We had the 'go go go' to start getting people out on the ship late last night and we continued contacting people today. I can't believe that we managed to achieve the evacuation of 170 people in a few hours! There were hiccups, obviously, but it was really nice to see that you could actually help people physically, rather than just try to reassure them over the phone. I must admit that my help involved the creation of spreadsheets (ever the techy!) and general running around, but it was a very rewarding feeling.

They'll be more tomorrow, and for the rest of the week. As far as I know, I will not be on any of these ships. This of course depends on what happens, and can change at any time. I am not leaving without Dom so we will have to see what decisions are made higher up. I feel a bit out of the loop in terms of what is going on internationally, although it appears that still no one is putting any pressure on Israel to stop. Have just watched a clip of Bush on the BBC as I try to wind down and someone has clearly told him how to pronounce Hizbullah as he kept saying it very loudly and often. Can someone now train him to say 'Israel should stop bombing' and hopefully we'll get somewhere.

It's been really quiet today - I believe the Israelis are being quieter as the evacuees need safe passage, but I expect it will get loud again tonight. Update on Sydney: she appears well and still hard of hearing, she has shifted position in the nest which may (or may not) be the equivalent of babies shifting position before the mother goes into labour... watch this space!!!

A guest writer

2006-07-17T20:47:00.000+02:00

Hello everyone. Dom here. I thought it was about time I contributed something, although I too can't identify the bird! But I know a man who can so hopefully we will be able to let you know...
So Beirut then. Paris of the Middle East and all that. Well maybe it's not at the moment and it will take a bit of time to recover. Although I was just out on our local square getting the pizzas and beer in and it seemed to be fairly full of people eating out in the cafes - although the chat is maybe a bit different from normal. And we hear that up the coast north the social scene continues as normal, Jounieh's nightclubs are buzzing 10 miles away.

Briefly on politics. Lebanon has been a very impressive place the last few days, with real unity developing against Israel. Of course people are angry at Hizbullah for their adventurism, but any Israeli attempt to get the Lebanese to oust Hizbullah went wrong when they started attacking the infrastructure. The Lebanese army would love to implement Security Council resolution 1557 to disarm all militias, but it's difficult when that militia is stronger than the army itself. And it is creating a humanitarian disaster which is only starting to become apparent with the refugee influx into Beirut. Is all this helping a fragile democratic government maintain control over its own country? Do they want an anarchic failed state on their northern border? Who knows what they think they are achieving?

Anyway. Interesting the blog was quiet for so many months. We were really manic with going out and working hard. I was away a a bit, we had loads of visitors who had a great time. Visited all the great sights of Lebanon and Syria.Time Out was really changing the way people looked at Beirut, sometimes controversially. It seems weird that last Sunday - 8 days ago - we drove out to the Chouf, had a walk in the Cedar Forest, went off road to a freezing (yes honestly) ridge to look at the amazing views, and had dinner at sunset in a lovely little town called Deir al-Qamar. Only 40 minutes outside the city - it would probably take 4 hours now with the destruction of roads. Let's hope we get the chance to try again.

But no apologies for coming here and bringing Fi. We have both had the time of our lives - a real adventure. I don't know why I keep going to dangerous places? Basra was easy compared to this. I suppose I find the Middle East fascinating with an undiscovered cultural and historical legacy which we were at least able to show some people and change some perceptions. Small victories in a shallow and selfish world - you only need to sniff the ignorance in the media. Lebanon has its faults but it is a real jewel of this part of the Med - lets hope it can be preserved.

Fi says I must be getting verbose so I must stop - a few hours sleep hopefully lie ahead.
Love to all

Pics

2006-07-17T20:37:00.000+02:00

Under Siege VI: Life in the Loud Lane

2006-07-17T20:10:00.000+02:00

Fell into bed around midnight last night and slept incredibly soundly. In fact, if the Israelis hadn't bombed the port at around 6.10am I doubt I would have made it into the Embassy in time. How considerate. I am clearly no longer to be woken up by my phone alarm, and instead must be assaulted by a missile. I am not that deep a sleeper!

Today was spent answering calls, and trying to reassure people that we are putting plans in place to evacuate. The calls are constant and some are ringing in, clearly in some distress, and it is quite hard to deal with on a continuous basis. However, some callers are really grateful for the advice, and I've had quite a few 'thank yous' - as have the other volunteers. I must admit that I nearly cried today when I got my first one!!!

Classic call of the day was to my friend, Caroline. A woman wants to know if she can take her Pekinese with her when we evacuate...

Anyway, we now have Chablis in the fridge (have run out of Lebanese white) a pizza in our laps and we are finally going to turn off the news (because it keeps cutting out) and put on an episode of 'The Office'. Before I pass the next blog entry to Dom, there are a couple of responses to comments on the blog I need to give:

The Sky versus BBC debate. On the whole, I have found that Sky is a bit quicker with the breaking news, but that the BBC is a little more balanced. What particularly galled us today (we have a TV in the room we are working in) is that Sky's reporting today centred on the crisis in Israel. I think that skews the story immensely in Israel's favour. The damage to Israel is minor compared to the destruction of infrastructure here in Lebanon, as well as in terms of human casualties and lives lost.

The Sydney species debate. I have so far identified her as a brown, small bird. Any advance on this based on the attached photos would be welcomed!

Under Siege V: Ahem

2006-07-16T22:48:00.000+02:00

There are ships on their way after all. I stand corrected but we shall see what happens.

And a Sydney update: we have just checked on our lodger and she is fine. She is sitting quietly wondering what all the fuss is about (as I have previously noted, I think she is deaf). Photos arrive tomorrow. (hopefully)

Under Siege IV: Lies, Lies and Media Reports

2006-07-16T08:29:00.000+02:00

It was quite a noisy night again. Bombs started going off around sunset, then they were quiet, resuming from around Midnight to about 4am, I think. I really couldn't be bothered to look at my watch by then as I was just focusing on getting to sleep.

Anyway, having a quick look at the media online has really got me irate. Firstly, they have been misleading people - if warships do come, and it seems they are on their way - they will take time. Barcelona, despite being 'abroad' is still quite a way from Lebanon. They are ships, not aircraft. Secondly, I have never been on a warship (apart from HMS Belfast), but I doubt very much if it is equipped to hold 15,000 passport holders in any sort of habitable conditions. I have visions of small children sleeping curled up to some large artillery. Thirdly, the Israelis have bombed the ports. Unless the press envisage us all taking to small inflatable dingys, again I am unsure how we will all get to the boats. Maybe they think the FCO will issue us all with armbands.

But, that aside, the press have gone for their usual 'let's bash the FCO about what they are not doing' line, very cheap and easy. I am no massive fan of the FCO and some of the decisions they make and yes, I think some of the contingency planning once we knew there was trouble, could have been better. But when there are people volunteering to come in and answer phones who aren't members of the Embassy, who are taking time out when they could be doing something else or hunkering down in their flats, who are kept awake the same as everyone else, who are trying to provide reassurance and information to people who are trying to get through, it really riles me that the press are saying that we aren't doing enough. Most people who we have spoken to have been in the country for a while and NEVER BLOODY REGISTERED. How are we supposed to contact these people, through ESP????????????

People seem to think that if you go abroad, you will be able to be teleported home at the first hint of trouble, I'm afraid that it doesn't quite work like that. Especially when the Israelis decide to bomb your airport, port and roads out. It's crap here, we all are in the same boat; but winging to the BBC from the safety of a mountain about how the FCO haven't helped when we have spoken to your sister and talked her through the situation is not really cricket, is it?

In other news, Sydney is well, I think she is probably deaf as she is taking the explosions in her stride. Will try to get a picture of her for the site.

I'm off to get food (there is still lots around) and then head into the Embassy to take calls from stranded citizens and journalists who are blocking our switchboard pretending to be concerned Brits in Lebanon. The irony is, when ever I do speak to someone, they are really grateful and perfectly fine. But you'd never hear about that, would you?

Oh, and the Sunday Telegraph completely failed to print online my rather indepth and useful insights (I thought) into the British situation - probably because I said that the lack of international condemnation of Israel was not helping the situation. Independent on Sunday - where were you!?!?!!!!!

Under Siege III

2006-07-15T08:17:00.000+02:00

Last night was surprisingly quiet in Beirut. We were expecting a lot of noise and bombardment as Hizbullah managed to bomb an Israeli warship. Around 7pm there were a couple of very loud explosions in the south of Beirut where Israeli jets bombed the Hizbullah HQ. The head of Hizbullah, Nasrallah, survived the attack and upped the stakes by saying that it is now all-out war. Israel continues to blame the government and people of Lebanon for this and is in no mood to stop its assault. From listening to radio 4 online (God bless the internet!) the comments that are coming through from the US are not particularly helpful - in fact Bush has been his usual impotent useless self, showing his unique talent for making a bad situation worse. Comments from an Israeli general, as you might expect, are so insensitive as to make your blood boil.

What's interesting, and probably has no small part in shaping some people's take on things, are the comments from the media - even the BBC. For example: '4 Israeli solders missing' runs one headline after the attack on the warship. Another reads '2 Israelis killed in northern border town'. Now, I am not denying that these are tragedies for the families. But when you then hear that over 60 Lebanese civilians have been killed in the strikes since they began, you get a bit of perspective. You don't hear about these deaths as much - if you do, they don't seem to be as humanised. You don't hear about the family of 10, about the children that have died. Also, I was under the impression that if you join the army, you do so with the knowledge that you may be placed in dangerous situations, and that you may get injured or die. So why the shock-horror when Israeli soldiers attack a country (in a completely disproportionate response) and then get injured/missing/killed?

Latest news is that we've been advised to be ready to leave at short notice. Not sure when, or where - of course an evacuation is really a last resort. No one seems to be intervening internationally to stop the Israelis. I'm off to answer phones again this afternoon.

In other news we have an expectant mother (not me!) lodging with us! A bird is nesting on our windowsill - Dom has bizarrely Christened her Sidney - I think I will feminise it to Sydney. Anyway, she is sitting on her eggs and I shall keep you updated of her progress!

Under Siege II

2006-07-14T18:47:00.000+02:00

We certainly didn't sleep through the bombings last night. We were woken at about 3.45am by some shelling, which then continued for around 2 hours on and off with a few hits from the warships out at sea. There was some anti-aircraft fire, we could see the tracer bullets in the air. We switched off the air con as bizarrely, I felt safer actually hearing where the planes were - our air con is so loud that we were only hearing bangs, and that is not conducive to a calm state of mind. There were a few drones (unmanned planes) up above too. As the night drew to a close you could hear the mosques in the south starting up, and, as dawn broke, we could see smoke rising from where the fuel tanks of the airport had been hit. It's hard from the flat to see exactly what sort of damage is being done, as the 7th floor, in Beirut terms, is not really that high, and there are always plenty of other buildings in the way.

Anyway, the working day then started off normally enough - the streets, although not as busy as usual were fairly busy with traffic. We both went into work, although my office took a while to get in, and once people were in, it was very obvious that their minds were elsewhere. It's difficult to comprehend, having thankfully never had to endure this type of agression before, just how the Lebanese feel - they are angry, paniced, scared and just want to be with their families at the moment - those who are old enough to remember what Beirut and Lebanon was like during the war have even more painful memories to contend with, I am sure.

So, eventually we were sent home. I have been manning phones, taking details of British Nationals and reiterating the Foreign Office advice: to stay put, keep indoors, watch the TV for updates etc. There are many more British nationals here than we thought - we didn't assume for one moment that people would register with us and we factor that in our calculations, but it's a testament to how well Lebanon was doing attracting tourists that so many people are on holiday here. Not that I would particularly like my holiday snaps to have Israeli warships in the background, but I am sure no one was expecting that either!

And therein lies our problem. The situation has escalated so quickly that no one has had a chance to recommend that people leave the country. Therefore there are around 15,000 people here who normally would have had a few days warning at least to leave. Now, of course, they can't.

A friend of mine headed into the southern suburbs today. She reports that people there are taking it in their stride, they are remaining calm, and that they are bracing themselves for more attacks. They have no where to go - they are from the south originally, and can't go back, and do not have the means to stay elsewhere. They, in short, are standing together and are prepared to go the distance. She said that it didn't feel agressive, but that people remained friendly towards her and just stated this as fact.

In the last half hour there have been three more explosions that we have heard. Again all in the south, but the noise is starting to carry more and more. We'll be manning phones again tomorrow - there are rumours of foreign nationals from other countries being evacuated, but most turn out to be rumours. Apparently the Swiss have taken some of their nationals out - but have refused to take partners of other nationalities - not the British position I hasten to add!

Anyway, it's still not doom and gloom here. I shall close with one amusing (well I thought) anecdote:
F: (Answering phone) Can I help?
Caller: I would like to leave the country
F: We recommend you don't travel - a lot of roads to Damascus are down and you know that the airport is closed. (clearly I am paraphrasing here)
Caller: That is OK, I plan to leave through the southern border
F: ??!!!?? You can't go through the Israeli boder!!
Caller: Why not?
F: !!!!!

Under Siege

2006-07-13T18:40:00.000+02:00

I didn't ever expect to be blogging under these conditions. After all, the Israelis haven't done anything on this scale since 1996 when they bombed Cana. But today they surpassed themselves. I am not condoning Hizbullah's actions at all but the Israelis cannot go bombing airports, roads and killing civilians in this manner. It amounts to bully boy tactics and seeks to destroy a lot of what the Lebanese are trying hard to create - a vibrant and progressive economy that relies heavily on tourism. It was stupid to kidnap the soldiers - the response has been disproportionate. We cannot fly out, we cannot sail out and we cannot drive out. But, quite frankly, I don't want to. I enjoy living here; this is my home for the next two years and I want to stay. I like my job (but not the hours!).

There are no plans to evacuate at the moment. The advice we have is to stay inside, watch tv and we will be contacted if necessary. Tonight will be the test - the Israelis may well come down hard parts of Beirut and the South. I doubt if I will hear it though - I slept through the airport attack rather embarassingly...

So, anyone who is worried - we are fine. The magazine is going well - obviously we're rethinking our theme for August - we feel that bling may not be the best thing to go with, but we are still publishing. Life goes on here in Beirut!

Photos

2006-05-17T22:06:00.000+02:00

Attached are photos of the Ummayad Mosque in Damascus, the Baghdad Cafe on the way to Palmyra, Palmyra itself and the house shaped as a plane...

In Praise of European Directives - and Time Out of Beirut

2006-05-17T21:38:00.000+02:00

The first half of this post is carefully calculated to annoy my recently-elected-Councillor-of-Tooting friend Alex as being - gasp - a Tory, he will naturally be against said Directives. However, I have come firmly out in favour of the 40 hour week Directive as Beirut employment law states that the normal working week can be up to 47 hours. In fact my working week is 47 hours. (Before anyone comments, I am not entirely sure if Alex is in favour or not of the Directive, I am merely commenting on its effect on moi. And Many Congratulations Alex!). Also, there are no paid holidays in Beirut until you have been there a year. Also no maternity leave until you have completed your 12 months, which makes me wonder if there is a tendency for women to give birth on office floors. I shall continue to observe. But enough of such musings. I am really enjoying my job, particularly as I appear to have become their stand in restaurant critic. I have also attended a healing session where my aura was fixed, and am also diligently visiting Beirut's bars until 4am to check what type of ambience they have. (Usually dark, loud and swaying!).

Liv and Charlotte visited me a couple of weeks ago and we had a great time in and out of Beirut. In fact, they walked round a lot of Beirut too! We went to Syria, stayed in a great hostel/hotel in Damascus and chilled out in the old city itself, and also went on a day trip (driven by a mad taxi driver at 100mph) to Palmyra, a ruined and deserted desert city. It must have been amazing in its heyday. Pictures follow, natch. We also ate our way round Lebanon and Syria (sadly including at the worst restaurant in the most awful hotel I have yet stayed in in the Qadisha valley - very like the Shining) and walked, talked and had a great time.

This weekend too, I visited the Qadisha valley. This time with my friend Rachel, who I used to work with at IOCC, and her husband Bernard, and Dom. We went to a beautiful old Monastery called Mar Antonius and saw the first printing press in the Arab world. It was Made in Edinburgh!!! We then went to a strange town where people have more money than sense, and build their houses in strange shapes. One is shaped like an aeroplane - ridiculously small windows for such a warm country, in my opinion!

My sister Jo and her husband James arrive on Saturday, and we will be joined by Rich the week after - as we head yet again into Syria. This time the itinerary is Crusader Castles and Dead Cities. Can't wait!! Think I will stop now as anyone reading this will wonder why on earth Beirut's Premier Listings Magazine has employed someone who can't really write as their restaurant critic and all round space filler and I also want to catch the rest of the Champions League final which is being commentated on by a gentleman who thinks that you can disguise an uninspiring commentary with lots of statistics!

Pictures

2006-04-28T21:36:00.000+02:00

Dom singing and the sea castle at Sidon...

What a Couple of Weeks it's Been - Part Deux

2006-04-28T21:30:00.000+02:00

At the risk of sounding repetitive, it really has been another packed couple of weeks and I am only going to write briefly and hopefully catch up with it another day. Dom turned 40, my parents were here and we all had a great time, we went to Syria again and wandered round Damascus, went to a village called Malulla where they still speak Aramaic and Krak, my friends Liv and Charlotte come out tomorrow, and I also have resigned from IOCC and got a new full time (argh!) job with Time Out Beirut. Yes, the world renowned franchise has come to Beirut and I am reprising my role at University as Varsity's Chief Sub Editor. I am also web content person, which multi tasking suggests that the team is still very small. No matter, it is fun and I have enjoyed my first few days, hectic though they have been. More musings on Lebanese employment law to follow as it is a real shock to civil servants who have been used to flexi time.

Anyway, next post will see a couple of photos - one of Dom singing karaoke to celebrate turning 40 and a suitably nice one of Syria.

What a Couple of Weeks it's been!!!

2006-04-16T18:50:00.000+02:00

It has been some time since I blogged... However, I haven't been receiving anguished emails asking where I am, so I am assuming that my readership is confined to the people I saw when Dom and I were back in the UK!! For back in the UK we were, to attend the wedding of Big Steve and Laura which, naturally, was legend. More of that later.

Firstly, we were very pleased to receive our second guests, Vicks and Judith. Sadly, while they were here, we had the worst weather we've experienced. Hail, thunder, torrential rain, the works. Dom was constantly saying "we've never had ___ (insert freak weather condition here) like this before" which I think was scant consolation for our guests. No matter - we did have a nice couple of days and once Vicks and Judith decided to treat the holiday as if we were all in the South-West of England it was a lot easier!!

So, with V&J we went down to Sour in the South of Lebanon. There are some fabulous Roman remains there including the largest Hippodrome remaining in relatively good condition. We then had a lovely fish lunch - and then it started raining. The afternoon took a more depressing turn as we went to Cana - probably best known for where Jesus performed his first miracle, but also where in 2000 Israel massacred over 100 men, women and children who were sheltering in a UN camp. And they knew they were attacking a UN camp. The pictures in the memorial are very harrowing to say the least.

Sunday we went on a tour of the Qadisha valley. This tour was carried out in the pouring rain, and in thick cloud. Apparently there are some amazing views in the valley - or so we were told by someone we met who showed us where these views can be seen. Sadly the cloud had descended and we could see nothing. So we had the slightly bizarre experience of our guide saying "... and there is a fantastic view here" at various points on our trip when visibility was reduced to about 3 meters. Anyway, a lovely time was had by all, and V&J took buses, went on day trips and generally enjoyed themselves. I have now realised to my eternal shame and horror that I did not take a picture of them while they were here so unless Vicks can send me a scanned image of one of her photos, you will have to take my word for it that they were here!

More on the last few weeks will follow soon. It is Dom's 40th birthday tomorrow and we were out celebrating at a joint birthday party with our friend Caroline until 4am last night. I am shattered!!

Lebanon makes the news!!

2006-03-30T19:05:00.000+02:00

Now the ski season has finished, the Grauniad has seen fit to publish an article on its website... Slightly exaggerates the queuing times, but a positive piece nonetheless!!

http://travel.guardian.co.uk/activities/wintersports/story/0,,1743124,00.html

Just an ordinary day...(s)

2006-03-26T20:50:00.000+02:00

Not very much has happened over the last couple of weeks. In fact, its been a bit like living back home in that we've been out and about (including a karaoke session), but nothing specifically really worth blogging about. We've both been a bit run down and tired so last week really was nothing to write home (or on the internet) about. I have it on good authority that lots of people get ill at this time of year as the weather becomes warmer (my friend Suzy at work) and I can point to several people who have been ill too!

Despite the spread of lurgy in Lebanon, I have been on a wine tasting trip with my friends Hazel and William and her parents. The vineyards in Lebanon are set in the most spectacular locations, in the Bekaa valley, with snow-capped mountains in the background. The wines are great too!

Today we went up into the Chouf Mountains to have a look around (chouf means 'look' or 'see' in Arabic). So we had a look in the Look Mountains! Ahem. It is absolutely beautiful there - really green and the weather, although very cool, was sunny. Unfortunately I forgot my camera so you will have to take my word for it!

This week is very busy in work terms for Dom - less so for me, although I will be heading out and about again - I was in the North this week, taking pictures of schoolchildren eating food for the charity's website (all very illustrative). Then on Friday Vicks and Judith arrive! Our second visitors!!

So hopefully next week I will have more to report on...

Syria Pictures

2006-03-13T20:57:00.000+02:00

I've looked really carefully, and I can't find the axis of evil on any of them...

Syrian Sojourn

2006-03-13T19:40:00.000+02:00

This weekend saw the first of our many (hopefully) trips to Syria. One of the reasons for choosing to live in Lebanon was the fact that you can access Syria easily (well, foreigners can, for the Lebanese entering Syria and the Syrians entering Lebanon it has got a lot harder over the last year). I say 'easily'. 'Easily' means taking around an hour to get your passport, your travelling companion's passport and your car's passport stamped in and out of each country. It makes you long for the EU and the cursory glance your passport is given at the entrance to Eurostar!

Anyway, once we were through passport control (which also has the longest no-man's land I have ever crossed - about 5km!) we headed off for Damascus. (N.B for future visitors: I am exagerrating the timings for literary effect. Do not let this put you off coming to Syria). It was quite strange to see buildings not damaged by gunfire, to be honest. We didn't get to see too much of Damascus apart from the Souks this visit, but there is a very beautiful Mosque in the old city, and one of the oldest churches in Christianity - the church St Paul visited after his conversion on the road to Damascus. I too, waited for my Damascene conversion, but it did not come. I think I was on the wrong road.

So the weekend was spent in a reconnaisance fashion. We scoped out some good places to take my parents and my sister Jo and her husband James when they come out in the next few months. There is loads to see! Saturday we went down to Bosra (not to be confused with Basra in Iraq). This is one of the most complete Roman Ampitheatres in existence, and is built in black granite. Its preservation is thanks to the fact that it was covered in sand for a few hundred years. As we had sandy rain in Beirut for much of last week I am hoping that the preserving qualities of sand extend to humans, and that I will not age very much this month. But back to Bosra. The Ampitheatre is huge, and the acoustics are amazing. Unlike many ampitheatres, this one has not been hollowed out into a hillside and so the human effort required to build it must have been phenomenal. Next to the theatre are the ruins of the old city, and one of the oldest Mosques in existence - still in use today. Pictures follow below:

Oh well, picture appears above. One day I'll get the hang of this. Pictures will now follow in the next post.

You will note from the picture that appears at the beginning of the post, despite my best efforts, that there are some orderly queues forming in the base of the Ampitheatre. These queues were made up of some Syrian schoolchildren who were on an educational visit to Bosra. We had a brief chat with them - me using my Arabic and they using their English and we were about the same level!! I was delighted to realise that I have the same educational attainment in Arabic as an 11 year old Syrian girl in English. Truth be told, they were probably better, but I think that was because there were 10 of them and so they could pool their knowledge. Anyway, there is a photo of them with their teacher in the next post.

So, Bosra accomplished, we headed back to Damascus and the Souks (which are fab!) and went out to a really nice restaurant in the Christian Quarter in the Old City. The food in Syria is not as consistently good as in Lebanon, but in the good restaurants (which still cost under a tenner), the food is certainly the equal of the food we have had in Lebanon - and maybe a little better because there is more spice to it...

Sunday was spent visiting the Grandaddy of all Crusader Castles, Krak d'Chevalier. This has to be seen to be believed and the photos will do most of the talking for me. It is H.U.G.E and very well preserved. The view is fantastic and you can see why it occupied such an important strategic point. You can see enemies approaching for tens of miles. The castle itself is also impregnable, even today. In fact, its defences were never breached and it was only ceded by negotiation. How civilised.

Interestingly, or not, next to Krak is a restaurant were Sean Connery once ate. This is also the restaurant's main selling point - or so the owner would have us believe. Personally, I thought the views were a better draw...

Our historical appetites satiated, we headed back for the border and Beirut. Syria is an amazing country - it has so much more space than Lebanon and so many ancient and medieval sites to see. The only sign that you are in a one-party state are the ubiquitous photos of Bashar Assad and his father, and perhaps the reluctance of the Syrians to really discuss Syrian politics. (We had dinner with some friends of Dom's). One other sign might be that people actually obey traffic laws and stop at traffic lights, but I think that this is the norm and that Lebanon is the exception here!

This week, I will be resting.

Pictures of the South

2006-03-07T22:26:00.001+02:00

This picture is a view from Alma Chab
This view looks towards the border from the school roof

The two pictures above are of the Lebanon-Israeli border...

Break for the Border!

2006-03-07T18:05:00.000+02:00

The Lonely Planet, that esteemed publication which tells me most of the things I need to know about Lebanon stops somewhere short of Tyre (Sour in Arabic). This is not because Lebanon's territory ends there, oh no. This is because it is not actually that easy to travel more than about 10km south of Tyre if you are a tourist. This area borders Israel and although the territory is no longer disputed, (the Israeli army finally left in 2000), the area is not considered to be completely safe. It is run by Hizbullah, who make a pretty good job of it, providing social care, hospitals and the like for the area. Hizbullah now have 2 Ministers in the Lebanese government (the Energy Minister and someone else!) and so are quite far removed from the Hizbullah of old in some ways. However, they still have their weapons and the big debate in Lebanon is whether they are classified as a militia (in which case they should disarm) or the resistance against Israel. So far they are still the latter...

Anyway, suffice it to say that if you are a British tourist, you will not be able to get into the far south of Lebanon very easily - which is a shame, as it is absolutely beautiful. However, if you go on a field visit with IOCC to some of the schools there, you not only are able to pass the checkpoints (after a fashion - I was greeted with the words "she doesn't look Lebanese". Well, clearly I don't - I am not very slim and ultra stylish!), but you are also able to stand within 500m of the border with Israel.

As I said, the area is beautiful. Once past the checkpoint we drove along the coastal road - still under construction - and made our way to Naqoura, a border town. The 'border' is actually a couple of km wide as on one side you have Lebanese, and on the other, Israeli forces. You also have the UN present, and we drove past their camp. I think they are mainly Fijians there at the moment. No idea why. Maybe it was their turn. I wanted to get a picture of the UN tanks, but thought, on reflection, that I was lucky enough to get through the checkpoint, I wasn't really ready for a scrap with men with guns.

So, we got to Naqoura, which is, as you might imagine, very poor. You can see the gate/building through which you pass to get to Israel. Again, I wanted to take photos, especially of a road sign that said "Palestine" pointing straight ahead (most Lebanese maps refer to all of Israel as Palestine), but again I felt that being surrounded by Lebanese soldiers on one hand, and no doubt Israeli surveillance on the other meant that photo opportunities would have to wait!

From Naqoura, we went up into the mountains for a short while until we got to a village called Alma Chab. This village was split in two in 1932 when the Israelis retreated back from areas of Lebanon they had occupied. Half of the village remained in Israel, the other half is in Lebanon. The only area they share is the cemetary. We spoke to some of the teachers at the school there. When the village was cut in half, families were separated and many have not met again since - although they can see each other at a distance. You can see Israel from the roof of the school and one teacher was telling us that when her cousin got married she could only see the wedding and half of her family by going up there and waving. Going to Israel from Lebanon is not an option. If a Lebanese was to go over the border, they would not be allowed back in the country. Many of the people in the Israeli half of Alma Chab are also not that keen to have it reunited with Lebanon as their standard of living in Israel is much higher. Better healthcare, schools, jobs etc.

The saddest and most sobering story we heard was that of a young woman who, on hearing that her father was dying in the Israeli half of Alma Chab, set off to go and see him and hang the consequences. However, as she crossed the 'no-mans land' she was seriously injured by a landmine - she lost her leg.

Despite these stories, and the poverty and threat posed by Israel, the people are incredibly friendly and welcoming. They all practised their English on me, and I did my bit of Arabic, and I felt very lucky indeed to have been able to visit this area... I get the feeling it won't happen again!!!

Below follow the usual photos. They are not excellent as I was somewhat constrained as I have explained above. However, if you want to know which direction Israel is, look for the antennae/pylons/anything that makes you thing that there is a massive army presence nearby, which they are not afraid to use!!

That is the end of my 'intrepid blogger' post - I'll post more mundane details of my social life/blue run on the snowboard/fantastic Lebanese night out soon!

Baalbek pictures

2006-02-26T21:06:00.000+02:00

Siobhan and Dom are at the bottom of the first picture!!

Our first visitor...

2006-02-26T20:31:00.000+02:00

Before I moved out to Beirut I thought about the sort of jobs I might like to do while I was here. One job I thought might be fun was being a tour guide. I'd learn a bit of history, learn a bit of Arabic et voila! I would be a fully fledged tour guide! In truth, the Arabic is taking its time to progress to fluency level, and the history of this country is very complex. So, when my sister Siobhan came out last week I decided to wait a little longer before testing my tour guide patter on her, and just have a fab week.

And I did! Siobhan was our first visitor, and I think I can safely say that she had a great time - we certainly did, and she assures me she did too! She negotiated the flights, visas etc with ease and everything (minus a couple of snowboarding-induced injuries) went very well!

As always, photos follow below. (I am going to try to load them onto a sister site so the posts don't look too long but I fear that may need html and my html is even more pitiful than my Arabic). We kicked off the weekend with a couple of snowboarding sessions - we got an instructor who was excellent and kept yelling at us to get up and try the turn again... even after our fiftieth fall - and by the second day we could both negotiate the turns reasonably well. Snowboarding does make you look cool and although I found it harder than skiing at first, I think I will keep at it as it is really fun. It is also easier to get up when you fall over!!

Well, the week wasn't all about twenty-first century sports, we also got a bit of history in. Lebanon is home to Baalbek - known as Heliopolis in Hellenistic and Roman times. It is, to put it simply, incredible. The second, and smaller temple (which is almost whole) is bigger than the Acropolis. The larger temple, of which only 6 columns remain standing, must have been huge. One of the photos show Dom and Siobhan standing at the bottom of the columns which gives you an idea of their height. (Not an original idea for a photo, I must admit, but it still looks good).

Siobhan and I also went to Byblos, the oldest continuously inhabited town in the world. (Their claim, not mine!). The first example of a written alphabet (the Phoenician) was found here on the tomb of a king. The tomb is now in the National Museum which reminds me a lot of the British Museum except it is smaller, and doesn't consist of things we have nicked. The site at Byblos consists of a Crusader Castle, a Roman collonade, some burial shafts, and evidence of settlements in Prehistoric times (I think). It also has a great Mexican restaurant and some souks that sell fossilised fish. Slightly bizarre but all very interesting. Despite the fact that it was a lovely warm day there was no ice cream for sale as they only sell it from March onwards. This is because many Lebanese are convinced that it is still winter and wear heavy coats and wooly hats even for a short walk outside. I was even told yesterday that the weather here was "just like London". It was grey, granted, but it was also 15 degrees walmer!!

Siobhan left yesterday, and by happy, but slightly late coincidence, Dom has gone to a conference to learn how to increase tourism to Lebanon. I await its conclusions with interest... I might even get some tips for the next visitor!!!!!

And here are the photos...

2006-02-17T18:58:00.000+02:00

Looking Back, Looking Forward

2006-02-17T18:26:00.000+02:00

As anyone who follows current affairs in Lebanon will know, Tuesday passed off peacefully. So peacefully, in fact, that I had a lovely little wander around the demonstration and was able to sample the atmosphere, take some pictures, listen to the nationalistic songs and generally look like a tourist, albeit a tourist who attends demonstrations. (On a "actually I do not feel like a tourist note", I bumped into someone - and a Lebanese someone - I know on the bus on Wednesday. Clearly I am now a local).

But back to the demo. At the top of Martyr's Square, where I started my wander, it felt like a family day out - lots of children and a generally chilled out atmosphere. Further into the demo, nearer the Mosque that you will see in the photos I am about to upload, the crowd was more energized, but the good natured atmosphere prevailed. As a caveat, I left around 12.30, so I am not sure if that was maintained, but I believe it was pretty peaceful all day. The police and army were out in force and much searching and looking into handbags was going on, but I certainly didn't feel intimidated at all.

So there you have it, a 'not much to report' shocker. And even the cars weren't hooting as much that evening! Fab!!

So instead of trying to analyse what that means for Lebanon, I will now go on to give you a narrative of what I have been up to this week. Walshe-James towers has been quite busy. I have worked two full days (very hard for a part timer!) and the social life has been full. Dom went to a birthday party last night where he was the youngest one there!!! I have been bonding with my work colleagues and have had a Lebanese haircut. Pretty similar to a British haircut, as you would imagine, but much speedier!!

However, the main news is that my sister Siobhan is coming over today to stay for a week - my first guest! We are going to learn to snowboard (clearly I am hoping that my prowess on skis is to be repeated - hopefully minus the long, embarrassing trudge down the hill this time), visit some Roman ruins, eat food, drink wine and bond!

As promised, I close with some pictures of the demo and of Dom in front of a fire truck.

Ski Success!

2006-02-13T21:09:00.000+02:00

Thanks to the unique way that internet access can come and go in Beirut, I am blogging a day later than I planned. This means that for those who were looking for an insightful analysis of what may happen tomorrow, you will have to wait because a) I do not know - in fact, I don't think anyone knows and b) I am far too proud of my new-found ability to get down a ski slope to let my descriptions of this occasion go unpublished.

Dom, I and a few others went up to the Cedars at the weekend. Thanks to the wonderful bank holiday system here, where there are more bank holidays than hot dinners at the moment, we went up on Friday morning. I was determined to face the nemesis that was the red run at the Cedars, and lay the memory of me walking down the slope to rest. The Friday was bad. The snow was not good, and the skis we hired of poor quality. In fact, my friend Michelle managed to end up with skis that were different lengths! We persevered however, and I did make it down the red run once. But v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y. I then kept going up halfway on the draglift to practice turns... but I kept falling off and I find it very difficult to get back up again. I know it is the first thing you are supposed to master but I appear to have zero upper body strength.

No matter, after a good evening out singing karaoke (I managed another Bonnie Tyler, a Mamas and Papas song and Alanis Morrisette - very eclectic!) I appeared to find better snow and some skiing ability! I got down the red run several times with only slight pressure on my hamstings and a slightly overworked backside from the effort of not falling over, even when headed in wrong directions!

Now, before readers of this site think that I am either very boastful or a late candidate for the winter olympics I must add that the skiing style I have developed is functional, not elegant. Purists would raise their hands in horror at the technique I have adopted. But, as the ski season in Lebanon is due to finish in a few weeks, I fear that the Walshe-Crouch, as I think I may term it, is here to stay, for another year at least.

Sunday was spent back in Beirut, listening to a variety of vans with loudspeakers broadcasting a mixture of political entreaties and pop music. And it is LOUD! Not only do have have to listen to people honking their car horns on a normal, everyday basis (as Lebanese drivers are wont to do), but everyone was honking their horns in a pattern yesterday. (The pattern is familiar to all who watch football matches: duh duh, duh duh duh, duh duh duh duh, DUH DUH). I am pretty pleased that I didn't have a hangover!

Anyway, this is continuing this evening. Beirut is gearing up for tomorrow, but for what, we won't know until then...

More pictures of Sunday...

2006-02-07T12:37:00.000+02:00

I've uploaded some more pictures of Sunday. As I wasn't venturing out, they are all taken from different vantage points from the flat. They show men being chased by the army, people gathering in Sassine Square, and the scenes in my road after the police and army had closed off Sassine Square to prevent counter demonstrations. It is certainly a lot quieter now. I'm going to head past the Danish Consulate today to see the damage (what a voyeur!!) but it is likely that there will be a few more demonstrations over the next few weeks. There was one yesterday, for example, by some Christians. However, the fact that a lot of the more violent demonstrators were not Lebanese (many were Syrian, Palestinian or Bedouin - no nationality) seems to confirm the fact in a lot of people's minds that it was a minority of troublemakers, out to discredit the Lebanese government and give an impression of instability, who began the riots on Sunday.