Jbeil, Byblos, has been a human settlement for 8,000 years. This is, at the far extreme of the human lifetime, only about 80 lifetimes old or, on the other hand, 650 or so generations. It feels more dramatic in some ways than Egypt because of the feeling of continuity. Whereas ancient Egypt feels like the […]
Six fish
This was a day in three parts. First came a couple of requests for quotes, which is always nice as it gives me hope that work will continue and I won’t starve, a perpetual fear for a freelancer. One of these was from an organisation in Kenya, so I was especially pleased as I do […]
By the sea
Byblos reminds me a bit of being in Karachi. The flat is airy and pleasant, like those in Karachi, and the balcony is sunny and has a constant breeze under hot sun. We can’t see the sea, but nor could I growing up in Karachi. Generally, though, I have enjoyed pottering around a quiet, well […]
Newcomers in an ancient land
Here we are, the newest of newcomers to the oldest of cities, Byblos, the mother of books. We have a little flat just on the edge of the old city – I say the edge, but running along our street is a sort of wide ditch between two roads and in it are the remains […]
In Hamra
Yesterday the Gentleman Friend had to go into the office, in Hamra (West Beirut) and I decided to join him. I dropped him off near his office as he was running late for a meeting, and myself went to Amal Bohsal, an old sweet maker, to try their breakfast knefeh. This is basically a warm […]
Sign of the pelican
We made another attempt to visit Onno, the famous little Armenian restaurant in Bourj Hammoud, under a filthy flyover. We took a car this time, and of course the maps were confusing so the driver took us over the flyover instead of under it. We had to do a long loop through traffic, and he […]
What to say?
The news of John McCain’s death left me rather double-minded. I do think his vanity overcame his reputation as an upstanding man rather thoroughly, and his moral compromises were less than admirable. I remember him being feted for that famous exchange with a supporter who said she was worried Obama was Arab, and he replied […]
Go west
On Saturday we explored a bit more of West Beirut. We got dropped off at Raouche, on the corniche, where there are two rocks in the bay, and walked down the smelly, gravelly path past bushes and concrete pieces of a breakwater, to where the waves were striking the cliffs and the rocks. There were […]
Down south
Our second ex-Beirut expedition, postponed from last weekend, was a lengthy one, but much, much nicer than our first. We were picked up by our guide at 7.30 in the morning and drive down to Sidon for a breakfast of fuul and hummus in a little old shop that felt like it could be in […]
Generally secure
On Friday the Gentleman Friend and I went down to Lebanese General Security, which issues visas, to get our 1 month visas extended to a a full three months. It was simple and quick, but also rather more fun than expected. We went in, were given a token by a security officer (the token was […]