The Lebanon is the same size as Wales - but a lot warmer and we wanted to go there before the sh1t hit the fan in the whole of the middle east or their culture was completely obliterated by the West (which ever comes first)...
It's a fantastic country, since the previous militias that split The Lebanon have united in a coalition government it's become very diverse as far as culture goes but all the people were great as was the food and we were made to feel welcome everywhere we went...
It takes a few days but you do get used to going through an army check point every time you cross from one "sector" to another (we weren't stopped once)
Here's a selection of pix:
View from the roof of Hotel Le Bristol in Verdun, West Beirut (on a par with a 5 star Paris hotel except for the price - £70.00 per night)
The Corniche (promenade) East Beirut looking towards the Chouf Mountains
Temple of Jupiter, Baalbek, Bekaa Valley (Islamic Hezbollah sector)
Base of the temple using my wife for scale (the base stones pre-date the Phonecians (neolithic) and are the largest cut stones from
that date in the world - weighing up to 1,600 tons each how they managed to cut and transport them remains a mystery)
The Hezbollah Arch, Bekaa Valley
Back out of where the bad boys live and up into the mountains to Zahle (Christian French Colonial sector)
Wine cellars at Ksara (definitely Christian)
Roman Citadel at Anjar in the Bekaa Valley on the Syrian border (Armenian sector)
Jounie, back in the Christian sector, on the coast road heading north from Beirut
The harbour at Jbail (Byblos) (Phonecian / Christian)
:Smiler:
