life is beautiful around the world! spring break: lebanon

Not that I haven't developed a complicated affection for this city, but I never expected to hear myself say the words "I can't wait to go back to Cairo." And as much as I was completely blown away by the places I visited on my spring break trip to Lebanon, Jordan and the Sinai, by the last leg of my 12-day trip, I was ready to go "home." Sure, Cairo may not have clean air, or my friends and family, or even Diet Coke, but my time away made me realize just how comfortable I feel here. I know where everything is, how much taxis should cost, and the local dialect (the huge changes in Arabic from country to country are ridiculous), and here in Zamalek I have free wireless (SO hard to come by, even at nice hotels), laundry facilities, a shower with a curtain, and my Cairo friends and family, who I really did miss while I was gone.

Sorry that I haven't been able to blog in a while. For the two weeks or so leading up to spring break, which began March 26, I was drowning in midterms, and wasn't able to leave Cairo for any fun weekend trips. There wasn't really much to write home about, haha. But now, I have finished my tests and gone on the trip of a lifetime, so I have a LOT to tell you about. I may split this up into two posts so it doesn't get too long.

I started planning my spring break trip back in February with three of my best friends at AUC, Chelsea, John, and Leo. Most of the AUC kids spend spring break traveling to multiple places within cheap flight or bus distance from Egypt: Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Greece, and the European resort-style beaches on the coast of Egypt's Sinai Desert. After a lot of thought (and research about flights, bus routes, and ferries), we settled on visiting Lebanon for four days, Jordan for four days, and Sharm el-Sheikh in the Sinai for four days. We decided to fly from Beirut to Amman rather than crossing through Syria, since obtaining visas into Syria can take many hours due to the lack of diplomatic relations between that country and the U.S. I'm sad, though, that I wasn't able to visit Syria; all of my friends who went over break (and who have gone in the past) say it's beautiful and the people are extremely hospitable. Insha'Allah I will have another chance to go in the future!

We set out for the Cairo airport (those of you who may have traveled with me before will be shocked to know that my bag weighed the least of the four of ours, and that's with two boys in the group!), running into two other groups of AUC students before our flight even took off. As soon as we stepped off the plane in Beirut, we could feel a palpable change in the air, and it wasn't just the refreshing lack of pollution. The customs officers were largely female (because the Egyptian military/police operates on an all-male draft, this would never happen in Egypt), and they were all wearing perfectly tailored uniforms and high heels. The first woman I saw out of uniform was wearing a tight pencil skirt that hit above her knee! It was honestly like surfacing after having been underwater for two months.

I need to mention that the Lebanese people are gorgeous almost without fail. The women are beautiful, the men are handsome, and the babies are absolutely the most adorable babies I've ever seen. Plus, they're all very well-dressed, thanks to Beirut's substantiated reputation as the "Paris of the Middle East," and because there are no taxes on foreign cars here, you can't walk a block without seeing multiple Range Rovers and Maybachs. It's just an aesthetically pleasing place, and a nice change from the trash- and animal waste-filled streets of even the wealthiest parts of Cairo.

Our hotel had a view from the balcony of the Mediterranean, but that was where the amenities pretty much ended. The manager of the hotel was so rude to us that we just found it hilarious (he told us that other guests had complained because Chelsea took a shower at night, and it was "too loud"). Add to that the spider infestation, towels that smelled like a Cairo sewer, and a tiny TV nailed to the ceiling. Mumtaz (excellent). We were, however, getting the rooms for a very low price, and other AUC groups who passed through said they didn't mind the manager as much. It didn't matter to us in the end; Beirut was awesome, regardless of the hotel.

If you are at all interested in visiting the Middle East, Beirut (and the rest of Lebanon) should be a top priority. It's cheaper than Europe (not by much, but still), but very European in atmosphere; right on the Mediterranean, with beaches, etc.; great food, from sushi to hot dogs to amazing, traditional Lebanese; excellent shopping; and lots of sights to see. It's very sobering to drive through the city and see bullet holes and other damage left over from the Lebanese Civil War and the more recent conflict with Israel in 2006. As Chelsea said while we were there, "If you live here, what is there to fight about?" It's that beautiful.

I was lucky enough to have a contact in Beirut through my friend Karim, with whom I interned at the Carter Center last summer in Atlanta. He attended AUB prior to the 2006 war, and still has many friends in the area. One of them, Sarmad, hosted us for a night; he picked us up at our hotel, introduced us to his friends, and gave us a great tour of the famous Beirut nightlife! Because of him, we had such a unique and authentic experience. It was great. During the days we spent in the city, we visited the National Museum of Beirut and the newly-built Blue Mosque in downtown, some lovely churches (Lebanon is around 35% Christian-- another refreshing change!), and the breathtaking campus of the American University in Beirut. We AUC students were green with envy upon seeing the rolling hills, lush flora, and private beach that AUB boasts. It reminded me of the climate and look of Stanford.

The National Museum of Beirut!

"Sarcophagus of the Drunken Cupids." Haha.

The beautiful Blue Mosque.

We had to wear special robes and headscarves inside. This is not always the case with mosques, but if they do want you to cover your hair they usually provide a scarf.

The AUB campus football fields, sloping down to the Mediterranean.

On our days out of Beirut, we visited Jeita Grotto, a network of caves full of otherworldly stalactites and stalagmites, including the largest stalagmite in the world (8 meters long). The mountains that form the western coast of Lebanon (on the Mediterranean) make for a beautiful drive, and the Grotto was embedded in the mountain range. The top cave area is walkable, and guides drove us on motorboats through the lower area. It's considered one of the natural wonders of the world and is worth seeing for sure.

With Chelsea at Jeita Grotto. No pictures were allowed inside the caves :(

After Jeita Grotto, we went on to Byblos, one of the (if not the) longest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It's a coastal town with an ancient castle and excellent seafood. We only had a few hours there, but it was really fun-- I'd definitely go back. The next day, we made a lengthy expedition to Baalbek. Although this city is the site of the largest intact Roman temple remaining anywhere in the world, we had debated going there because it is located in the Bekaa Valley east of the aforementioned mountain range, also known as Hezbollah territory. We had heard from AUC friends, though, that it was very safe, so we took the plunge. We really didn't have much to worry about; short of a sudden prevalence of stores selling weapons and ammunition, campaign signs for the political party, and salesmen hawking bright yellow Hezbollah t-shirts to tourists, it was pretty similar to any other rural Middle Eastern area. The ruins of the temple of Jupiter at Baalbek were so, so worth it. As you can see from the pictures (although they don't even do it justice), it is massive, and it's mind-boggling to think that it was constructed in Greco-Roman times. It's also shocking to think about the distance between Baalbek and Rome. Even though I studied Latin for all of middle and high school, I think this was the first time I had actually grasped the sheer size and impressiveness of the Roman empire.

Byblos!

Huge remaining segment of columns from the inner room of the temple of Jupiter at Baalbek.

We flew out of Beirut the next day, and it was awesome for two reasons: first, Royal Jordanian Airlines is the best airline I have ever flown with (the flight attendant even handed me my muffin before John got his, saying "Ladies first!" I have never heard that phrase here and am rarely served first in Egypt if there's a man present). Second, the sky was clear and the flight brief, so I was able to watch the landscape below the whole time. The mountains we had driven through the day before were just as impressive from above, and I could even see the exact road we had taken most of the way to Baalbek. Syria looked just as beautiful. I think perhaps the most enlightening aspect of my trip so far has been the realization that the Middle East is geographically diverse to an extent we don't even see that often in the U.S. There's a Western perception (and I'm not saying I haven't been guilty of it) that the Middle East is all arid, unbearably hot desert, from Morocco to Iran. That couldn't be further from the truth. With beach resorts, snowy mountain skiing, wide agricultural plains, hilly seaside towns, and deserts, Lebanon is a perfect example of this.

I'll discuss the legs of our trip spent in Jordan and Sharm in my next post!