Hezbollah Country.

Beirut, Lebanon

After a 4am start to get to the airport in time in Amman, two cab rides and a lot of coffee I landed in Beirut.

Two of the travelers I met at Petra, Matt and Caroline (both from the 'States) were planning on spending the weekend in Lebanon, and so I decided to join them.

I’m so glad I did. While I haven’t had a chance to really check out the city, the small parts of it that I have seen are great. The down town area has a much more European vibe than Amman, it’s filled with bars, bakeries and restaurants.

More on that in another post…

Our first stop in Lebanon, after a delicious breakfast at a local bakery of Lebanese pizzas, was the Roman ruins at Baalbek.

About two hours drive from the capital; this town has the air of a rural retreat. It also happens to be what one of my travel companions called, “Hezbollah Country”. Apart from the old dudes selling Hezbollah T-shirts at the bus stop and photos of Islamic leaders plastered all over the place, the average schmo would have no idea about the politics of this region.

There was the distinct sound of gunfire in the distance and we explored the ruins, but in this part of the world that could just mean there was a wedding party, or some other sort of thing.

We were there, for the most part, to see the ruins. The scale of this site is unbelievable. 

The flight in gave great views of the snow on the mountains of Lebanon 

Donwtown Baalbek

A cobbler in Baalbek works on a pair of Caroline's shoes.

This dude made a great felafel roll.

The ruins are huge.

A soldier holding a kalashnikov walking down the tunnel in the Roman city.