Jeitta Grotto & Byblos Citadel

This week has been full of a lot of meetings, so taking the afternoon off to go sightseeing was a nice change.  After a meeting at the Parliament building with the chairman of the Youth & Sports Committee, we drove for an hour or so outside of Beirut to a Zaatar w Zeit for an absolutely delicious lunch.  Melkar has it in his head that Americans like to eat a lot, so when he orders our lunches and dinners, every meal we have consists of about 4 dozen trays of food on our table, and I’m not even exaggerating.  Just as soon as we sit down, waiters will typically place a few trays of fries on our long table before taking our order for drinks and then not long after, that’s when the salads/pita bread/dips/sandwiches really start pouring in.  We all tried many samplings of the different sandwiches at Zaatar w Zeit and then those who needed to changed into their spelunking clothes for what was next on our itinerary.

Next to its cedars, the Jeita Grotto is perhaps Lebanon’s greatest pride and joy, measuring at 108 meters from the ceiling to the water (tall enough to fit a 35 story building).  The cave was discovered in 1836 by an American missionary who stumbled across the natural wonder while on a hunting expedition.  The Grotto is so massive that today it has been divided into two parts, the Lower Grotto (7800 meters long) and the Upper Grotto (2200 meters long), which we accessed by taking a “ropeway cabin” (a gondola), a cheesy train car, and an electrically-powered boat (pictured on the right).  Both parts were equally breathtaking; the formations ranged everywhere from your traditional stalactite/stalagmites to unusual mushrooming formations that took on the shape of jellyfish and massive coral reefs.  We were not allowed to take any pictures, but here are some from the internet, although as a disclaimer, I can’t find any pictures online that will do the Grotto justice:

(http://wonderfulworldreview.blogspot.com/2011/08/jeita-grotto.html)

After cooling off in the Grotto for a little while, we headed west to the Sea for a lovely tour of the ruins of Byblos and then a delicious seaside, seafood dinner.  Our tour guide at the Byblos ruins was a funny, little old man, and he provided a humorous but memorable tour of the history of these beautiful fortified remains of an ancient city. (Pictures available in the “Pictures” link).  The group split in two parts following the tour, either to do a little shopping or to do a little connoisseur-ing of the local cuisine.  Turns out those who chose the shopping ended up joining the rest of us for a little Byblos wine-tasting after all, so the entire group sat around some high tables sipping on some drinks while the charming souk shops closed up and the sun went down.  On our short walk to Pepe Abed, the Old port seafood restaurant, I quickly ducked into one of the few souk stores that were still open where I had earlier contributed to a discussion that took place between the storekeeper and Linda, as well as spied one of those traditional-looking jingly belly-dancing wrap-around skirt.  The beautiful sky-blue skirt I picked out was inexpensive and I’ve wanted one for years now, so I figured if I were to give in and purchase one, it might as well make a good Lebanon souvenir.  I waved goodbye to the woman for the second time that day, reflecting on the conversation I had had with her and Linda just a few hours earlier: the discussion progressed to a point where the storekeeper was adamant about insisting that the people of Lebanon were not “Arab”—they were Christians and Muslims, or any one of the many other religions that make up the country’s demographics.  She made it clear by refusing to sell any books in which the publishers claimed that the Lebanese are Arab, that it is important for the outside world to understand that the people of Lebanon view themselves first as their sect, rarely as a “Lebanese”, and almost never as an “Arab”.  She echoed what I’ve been hearing all week and I imagine I will continue to hear similar opinions on this same subject as the next week progresses.

Of even greater significance to me than this conversation was one I had later at dinner.  As I struggled to behead and de-spine a half a dozen delicious fresh Mediterranean fish, I got deep into discussion with someone at dinner regarding the strict secularism of the Lebanese university campuses such as AUB (American University of Beirut).  Having been exposed to multiple interfaith events while studying near the Michigan metropolis of Grand Rapids, whose mayor declared 2012 the Year of Interfaith Understanding, I view the approach of open interfaith discussions as a very positive one, so this seemed a logical step that the Lebanese universities could take to bring religion back into their students’ lives instead of viewing the touchy subject as taboo.  It was discouraging, therefore, when my mention of this was returned with negative feedback and an insistence that these discussions are not the answer and would not be effective in reaching a solution to Lebanon’s sectarian obstacles.  I am doubtful of these remarks, and I think that I will continue to believe in the effectiveness of open dialogue between faiths in such a place as Lebanon even after being told it will not work.

Overall, the evening was very pleasurable, however, as I enjoyed fine conversation the rest of the night and viewed the many photographs that lined the restaurants walls which depicted Pepe Abed appearances of internationally-famous people.  Upon our departure, every guest of the restaurant left with a real copy of an old French airline’s magazine, from the 60's I believe, which was quite an unusual souvenir but showed extent of hospitality here in this country.  The bus ride back was quiet and peaceful as we all looked out our huge tour bus windows at the breathtaking coast lined in the dark by Byblos’ city lights.