City of Gardens

Sidon (Saida in Arabic) is about 25 miles south of Beirut. It's an active, scenic port town and maybe most well-known for being the birthplace of Rafiq Hariri, the prime minister who was assassinated in 2005. I arrived in the morning from Tyre and couldn't find a hotel room so was going to head on to Beirut. After some searching in the old souq (market) area I finally found a room for $20 a night at a hotel attached to a church. The room is basic and clean and reminds me of a monk's quarters. There's a small single bed, a desk, a fan, that's about it, but it's enough.

South Lebanon

Lebanon is a small country yet differs dramatically from one region to the next. Here in the south it's hotter, less developed, and has a relaxed Mediterranean feel similar to the Greek islands (due to the proximity to Israel, however, there is a heavy military presence as well as numerous UN personnel in this region). Tyre, known as Sor in Arabic, is a large port town with a pleasant boardwalk area along the Mediterranean and also several large ancient Roman sites. I didn't have any luck finding a hotel room in Tyre, so ended up paying an old Lebanese woman some money to sleep in a spare room in her house. As it turns out, she spends much of her time in the little alcove just outside my room, smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee, visiting with neighbors, even sleeping there at night. Having someone just outside my door is a bit hard to get used to, though on the positive side it's like having a security guard on duty around the clock.

City of Wine & Poetry

Zahle, Lebanon, is only a few hours by bus from central Beirut, but it's much cooler as it's at a higher elevation. The city isn't particularly famous, although according to the tourist brochure Omar Sharif and Shakira's grandparents are both from Zahle. I stopped for one night on my way from Baalbek to Beirut and found it to be a pleasant enough place, full of fancy clothes boutiques and also some decent Lebanese restaurants. The Akl Hotel, where I spent the night, is right across the street from a large hospital and I swear while sitting on my balcony I heard someone cry out in pain from one of the hospital rooms, but that could just have been my imagination. In any case, the hotel is an ideal location if a guest falls off a balcony or has some other sort of hotel accident.

City of the Sun

Baalbek, Lebanon, which used to be known as Heliopolis (City of the Sun), is one of the most important ancient Roman sites in the Middle East. It's said that more than 100,000 slaves worked on the huge monuments over the centuries, and the place was a "host to sacred prostitution along with all manner of licentious bloodthirsty forms of worship," though you won't read much about these practices in the free brochure or at the site's museum. I had a great couple of days in Baalbek. It was much cooler there than in Beirut and Tripoli, and the large room with a view of the ruins happened to be available at the Shouman Hotel. Also, in the morning when I bought my ticket to visit the site, the ticket seller agreed to let me return in the evening, so I was able to explore the site during the two best times of day.

Marching on to Tripoli

Well... actually busing to Tripoli, and that's Tripoli, Lebanon, and not the more famous city of the same name in Libya. After about a 2-hour bus ride from Beirut, I checked into the Palace Hotel in Tripoli (the second hotel by that name I've stayed at this month). This hotel is a somewhat dilapidated old palace and doesn't get particularly good reviews from my Lonely Planet guidebook. When the owner was giving me a little tour of this ancient museum-like hotel earlier today, she told me I'm the first Westerner she can recall who requested a streetside room. She said most tourists from the West want a back room as far as possible from all the street noise. Personally I like a room facing the street, and a balcony is a bonus as you can sit outside just above all the activity.

Paris of the East

Starting in Egypt and then traveling from southern to northern Jordan, I'd hit a roadblock when denied a visa at the Syrian border. As far as continuing to travel overland, not being able to enter Syria left two choices, bus to Israel or backtrack through Egypt. Instead I shelled out $157 for a 45-minute Middle East Airline flight from Amman to Beirut. As it's turned out, each time I cross a border the country is more developed -- and more expensive. The hip city of Beirut, filled with stylish outdoor cafes, clothes boutiques, and upscale hotels, still has a Middle Eastern feel to it, but also in many ways seems like a European city.

Brick Wall

The above photo was taken in downtown Amman, Jordan, the city where I'm currently staying. A couple days ago, when I tried to get into Syria from Jordan, Syrian border officials told me I had to go back to Amman to get my Syrian visa. When I returned to Amman and went to the Syrian Embassy, however, they told me to get my visa at the border. So, even though I really wanted to visit Syria that's not going to happen right now because instead of a visa all I'm getting is the runaround. During my morning spent going from Jordan to Syria then back to Jordan, I started thinking about what would happen if for some reason Jordanian immigration officials refused to issue me a visa to reenter Jordan, leaving me stuck in that 1/2 mile no-man's land between Jordan & Syria, living off roadside plants and duty-free candy.

Silver Lining

This morning I succeeded in getting into Syria -- for about one hour. Then a Syrian immigration official escorted me outside and directed me to the Departure Area back to Jordan. It seems that within the last week or so Syria has changed its regulations, and visas (at least for Americans) are no longer issued at the border. It was interesting to note that on my way back into Jordan, border officials checked my baggage. What arms, drugs, or other contraband could I possibly have picked up during my 60-minute stop at Syria's border? So now it's back to Amman, Jordan, to try to secure a tourist visa from the Syrian Embassy. Despite the cost and hassle today, there is a bright side. Upon arriving back in Amman I lucked into a $20/night hotel room right downtown, with great views of the city and the Nymphaneum (Amman's chief fountain about 1,800 years ago) which is right next door to the hotel.

Final Stop

Assuming I'm able to secure a tourist visa at the Syrian border tomorrow, today is my final day in Jordan. My last stop in this country was Jarash, said to be "one of the largest and most well-preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world." Though often overshadowed by Petra to the south (see Petra blog posting below), Jarash is well worth at least a one-day visit to explore the Hippodrome, Oval Plaza, Colonnaded street, and numerous other ancient Roman sites.

Border Issues

Irbid is a pleasant college town in northern Jordan. It's the country's second largest city and, as it's close to Syria, Irbid is a good place to visit for a few days before crossing the border. Due to poor relations between the US and Syria it's not always easy for Americans to secure a visa for Syria. On the internet are reports of American travelers waiting 8 hours or more at the border while the immigration officials fax Damascus for permission to issue the visa. On the other hand, supposedly it's rare for the border officials to deny the visa, so it seems if you're patient you will eventually be on the road to Damascus ...

It's Good to be Specific

The Ubiquitous Chicken

In my previous blog posting about the countless mosaics in Madaba, Jordan, I forgot to mention the chicken that can be spotted in many of them. My Lonely Planet guidebook says trying to spot it as you look at the hundreds of mosaics around town might help prevent "'mosaic fatigue syndrome." I did a little research trying to find out why the chicken is so pervasive in Madaba's mosaics but couldn't come up with an answer.

Mosaic City

Madaba, about a 1-hour bus ride south of Amman, Jordan, is a pleasant little city famous for its ancient Byzantine mosaics. The region has a large number of colorful rocks and this is what gave rise to the city becoming a center for mosaic art. About a third of the people living here are Christian, and Madaba "was once a Moabite border city, mentioned in the Bible in Numbers 21:30 and Joshua 13:9." Very close by is Mount Nebo, and it's believed that "Moses was buried on this mountain by God Himself." Because Madaba is populated by both Muslims and Christians it's quite different from the Muslim places I've visited this past month in Egypt and Jordan. For example this morning I heard both the call of the imam from the city's mosques and the ringing of bells from Saint George's Church.