Archives: Travels - Libanon

If you could see what I see

if only you could see what I see now. Ended up in craq des chevaliers, the most important thing to see, along the holy bible of the traveller -lonely planet-
i tend to do what the lp doesn't say, but this morning when the hotelowner asked me if i wanted to go with a japanes girl, i thougth 'what the heck, why not?'
i don't like to see this touristic stuff, but there are no tourists now, and this castle has have a reason to be on this place and not another.
Which turned out to be true.
I am sitting on the highest tower, enjoying the views, looking at snowed libanon mounains while where i sit it must be atleast 30 degrees.
this silence, these views, this is why i wanted to travel for some time.
i like pictures with people, but i do enjoy silence and views.
this is why travelling alone is also a bless. soo egoistic, but o so relaxing.
Nobody to tell you what to do, where to go or to be depended of.
It takes some time to adjust to that -and sometimes it is difficult especially with nasty men-
but once you can live with it, it is panuts.
Although, I'd like to travel like M. Helsen -the belgian worldtraveller/journalist- beyond all borders and leave all tourists behind.
But as a woman alone, i don't take that risk.
no way.
Being faced at is one thing, neglect it is another thing. Travelling alone beyond borders is not yet what i can do.
-This is the only time i 'd like to be a man...-
-Because every man youmeet, you meet with the idea that he wants something. although it's not always in their intentions. a big pity-

Posted on May 3, 2003
in Travels - Libanon

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Grandmother in Tripoli

Still in Tripoli, I am wondering. In this cosy hostel, that profilates itself with the slogan 'better than your grandmother', the grandmother is indeed not far away. She's jumping around, makes a fight with her son of 50 years old, and murmels some words of french.
Her daughter rules the place, but doesn't speak english very well, what leads to funny moments.
Yesterday evening we (read: some Syrians, an new-zealander and me) were making some fun. A Syrier (the one that wanted me before) drunk too much and wanted to sell me a kilo of pistache. I started bargaining. Fun.
Also the New Zealander was hitting on me, and I think he was dissapointed when I went asleep without him.Anyway, this place is getting full after we found out that the visa for Libanon is free (and we told everybody in the hostel in Hama)

Posted on May 4, 2003
in Travels - Libanon

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Tripoli, what Tel Aviv could have been...

I am sitting on the 'Esplanade' wit a nice icecream, and after all those time of women with scarves, here I see another reality.
While I am watching the scenery, I start to laugh.
THis is exactly Tel Aviv. If only they know how they ressemle, these enemies...
If somebody would ask me what I expected to see in Tel Aviv, I think the answer is 'What Beirut is like'
Didn't see Beirut yet, but considering Tripoli is just the top of the icemountain...
Libanon has the charm the rest of the Middle-East misses: coffeehouses with french names, loads of icecream and croissants, nice sweet croissants.
I guess the French had some good influences the Libanese people liked.
The view is stunning, behind me a nice port in front of me, in the horizon snowwhite mountains, before my feet, beautiful women parading, and boys trying to get contact -is this Tel Aviv beach->
A few metres away some old men are staring too. Indeed, the women are beautiful.
I guess tomorrow I ask to sit next to them all day.
And stare.
-grin-
PPS: Hei Jake, maybe you should change that ticket to Beirut...

Posted on May 6, 2003
in Travels - Libanon

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Beirut, here we are

Arrived in Beirut...
Quinten -my dearest fellow traeller for helas only 2 days- and I took the bus in Tripoli, which turned out to be a great experience.
We only payed 2 dollar, and started wondering about that allready.
After 20 min of driving.. BANG!, a collapsed tyre. -That explained the 2 dollar only. joke!-
Well the next 20 min were quite funny: a crazy woman saying crazy things -in arab-, a hole bus laughing and we too, although we didn't understand a word of it.
I think aI made some good pics.
In Beirut, Quinten and I take a walk in town.
'Ice-cream' my head and body scream. It is soooo hot and we're aching for refreshment.
Beiruts ice-cream turn out even better than he tripoli ones -but also more expensive..-
Views of a renewed city next to old destroed buildings. I am amazed when I see how good everything is restored.
But houses with bulletholes or even bigbig holes remind of the past they're trying to erase.
I was right saying that Beirut is what Tel Aviv would like to be...
A remarkable nice fashionable city -with big fashionshops!- but expensive.
Oil-shahs from Oman, UAE etc come here to spent their summer, which explaines the prices...
Remarkable is the trafficlightsyndrome... Nobody stops for red... Somebody gives us the explanation: during the war there was no trafficlight working and people got used to do without, now trafficlights are putted on again, but everybody still ignores them.
Also remarkable is the fact that almost everybody speaks French and English. In Tripoli we met a girl that talked Franch and English quite good, she was only 10!

A day later we get in touch with the openness of the Middle-East -Israel included!-
A guy picks us up at the market and guides in town, telling how libanese people are like.
-It seems that everybody in the middle east claims the label of most friendly people...-

We get to know about the Israel-Libanon conflict, but also the syrian-libanon conflict, the muslim-christian conflict, the palestinian-libanese conflict, the men-women conflict.. and once again we realize how many conflicts this region counts...
Nobody likes nobody. Libanon doesn't like Israel, Syria, Palestinians and vice versa.
When we hear the news on the road map, we start to laugh.
Sorry to say this, but we really don't believe in this peace.
If only you see the expectations of phase 1.. Doomed to collapse.
Quinten, who is UN observer on the Isr-Lib border seems to agree with that.

To my friends in Israel, once again. Take that foreign passport, get it issued not in Tel Aviv, but in country of origin and come and see.
And learn how economics are running here -maybe not optimistic yet but better than elsewhere- Might be interesting for Israel.

Posted on May 10, 2003
in Travels - Libanon

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Bloody hot...

Waaargh. Again a bloddy hot day. I am so happy I am here and not in Syria or elsewhere.
Here a woman can where short sleeves and shorts.
You're not stared at because short sleeves but because my lack of taste in clothes. Carlos told us yesterday that women like to show of.
Well they do.
Beirut is for me: bulletholes, mercedesses and beautiful short skirted women parading (grinning).
Amazing how many women drive mercedesses (or big cherokeejeeps.)
(And how they're allowed from their lovers to drive them. Wow...)

Posted on May 11, 2003
in Travels - Libanon

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Shabra -without Shattile-

Today I decide to visit Shabra. Maybe some of you don't know it very well, it's a former refugeecamp for Palestinians, in Beirut.
Sharon is charded to have committed violations against human rights here, after having commanded a so called massamurder...
Still the truth is not know about what happened here, and we will never know.
One thing is sure, I have never seen so many houses full of bullets....
The new Beirut lost traces of this war, most things are restored and on several places you see houses that are not done yet.
But once you get out of the center, things get different...
Shabra is a poor neighbourhood, and money to restore is not existing, so houses stay in the same way they were.
No words for what I saw...
Pictures will show just part of it. I you start thinking how this war should have been...
Yesterday Quinten -dearest fellowtraveller for too short time- and I came across this nice guy who guided us in his big Mercedes -one likes to show of here...-
But the most stunning part whenhe showed us his appartment, a penthouse to be. Everything had been ruined in the war, and we saw bullets in a window.
So we asked Carlos. He looked and said ' Off course bullets.... This are rests of the war.' And explained us what it was like.
He was 12, and one day several bombs, they were used to it.
'But the biggest of them all, well it made us have a swimmingpool in just some seconds...
It landed 10 meters from our bomb shelter and it made so much noise.... Wow. I was scared to death.
But afterwards I asked my father to leave it as a swimmingpool. He didn't.'
He said it laughing, told it like a joke, but it was no joke, it was real. For all those people this war was so real.
No wonde rthey hate Israel so much -which they do....-
Everywhere traces of this past.
Later today I spoke with the hostelowner -the sweetiest guy I know, we get free tea and food- if he believed in peace with Israel.
'Never peace with Sharon', he said.
'Not even if it's good for tourism and your economy?'
'Never with Sharon... It is not a man of peace... Netanayu was better, he tried to do something. Now nothing happens...'
I guess a lot has to change in this region before peace will be achieved.
A lot more than talking....

Posted on May 11, 2003
in Travels - Libanon

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Tyre, looking to Israel from a distance

Michel -the Brazilian guy- and I went to Tyre to day.
Watched Israel.
So close and so far away...
Went back to town, ate an ice-cream -probably really the last one in Libanon, Quinten...-
and started thinking how close the end of this journey is.
Almost back in Tel Aviv, almost back in Belgium.
Great 7 months till now.

Just wanted to say that.

Things do have changed. especially in my head.
I don't seem to care where my head lies, I never get awake wondering where I am.

That's great...
It really is.

But also the desire to see more
And more and more and more....

So won't stay long at home I think....