Visiting Lebanon? Check these links out

I assembled some links for those of you who want to visit Lebanon. My advice of course, try to talk to a resident Lebanese person and they will prepare a whole program for you, and tell you where to go exactly depending on the type of activities you like, meanwhile, you can check these links.

Country Clubs:
http://www.wbccbekaa.com
http://www.batrounvclub.com/

Beach Resorts:
http://www.eddesands.com/
http://www.ocaponline.com/
There are no links, but there are some great beaches (sandy or rocky) in Jbeil (Byblos), Amshit, Batroun, Chekka, Herri, Tyr...

Water Parks:
http://www.wavespark.net/
http://www.splashmountainlb.com/

Nature & Environment / Adventure:
http://www.lareserve.com.lb/
http://www.ecoecovillage.com/
http://www.afdc.org.lb/mdfcl.php

Festivals & Concerts & Cultural Activities:
http://www.baalbeck.org.lb/
http://www.beiteddine.org/
http://www.byblosfestival.org/
http://www.batrounfestival.org/

Other
http://www.downtownbeirut.com/lb
And more Calendar of events

Make sure you check the block on the right, Where to go when you visit Lebanon. If you need more info or help, comment here or send me an email.

Byblos Festival

What I like about the festivals in Lebanon are their locations. Byblos Festival has a wonderful location, they build a stage on top of the sea, the weather in June and July at night is the best, you will sense a light breeze, see the Old Castle in front of you, and all the mountains of Keserwan, just amazing.

Check out the program of Byblos Festival here.

Where to go when you visit Lebanon - Site 6: Batroun

I have been wanting to write about Batroun since quite a while. As you have probably read on this blog, I have already written about 5 places you should visit when you visit Lebanon.

If you want a rich, entertaining, educational, out-of-this world, fun, gastronomic vacation, just follow my advice, I know what I am talking about!

Just look at the right of this blog, you will see the recommended sites (or activities): Baalbeck, Gemmayze, Byblos (Jbeil), Skiing and Outdoors Adventure!

Today I will tell you about Batroun, and the next recommended place will be my newly favorite area in Lebanon, and that is Hamra (in Beirut)

bot'-ris (Botrus; modern Batrun):

This is how you get to Batroun, it's almost 14 km after Jbeil on your way to the North, and just a little bit before Tripoli.


Batroun is definitely a village/city to visit. It was once just an old village, tight streets, archeological sites, old houses and churches, but now it's much more, it has been booming lately with a big number of restaurants, pubs, night-clubs and an infamous beating night-life.

But that's not the only more like many things Batroun is know for, it also has an amazing sea-coast, it's just beautiful. It might be a long ride (relatively to Lebanon) from Beirut to Batroun (approximately 40 minutes) but it's definitely worth it. It's more quiet, it has a nicer and cleaner beach, and a very friendly ambiance... Quick Note, it's cheaper than other places!


Fish lovers, go to Batroun, and have a great meal. Oh, and in the hot summer, you have to go drink Lemonade in Batroun.

One of the archaeological sites in Batroun is the Phoenician Tour (Sour Al Finikey), see image above. To know more about these historical places, visit www.batroun.com


Heard about Phoenicians? Want to know more? See more with your own eyes? Want to live a real down to earth experience with modest and great citizens, then just visit Batroun and you will get a taste of wonderful time.

For more pictures, check my account on Flickr, hopefully I will update some pictures of Batroun's night life.

Would you like to play with the snow?

Nothing is as fun and warm (if the sun is shining) like a day spent on the snow. This is one of the things I like about Lebanon, even though I don't know how to ski or snowboard, but I still like the sight of snow, and especially the sight of the cedars in the snow. Like to ski? Visit this post that I've written sometime ago. It's a part of the series "Where to go when you visit Lebanon".

Where to go when you visit Lebanon - Site 5: Adventure

It's been really a long time since I chose a place to visit in Lebanon and told you about it. (See top right of the blog for the whole list of places to visit in Lebanon).

Well this time, it's not just one place, it is many places at the same time, the key here is not the location, but what you will be doing in this location.

For all adventure lovers out there, Lebanon is a great place to do a lot of different kind of activites, and they are so many. Getting closer to nature is possible in Lebanon, and highly recommended for the great reserves we have and the beautiful scenery you will see.




First of all, there are the classic getting-to-know mountains, such as Rappelling, Climbing, Hiking, Rope Courses (walking on ropes and stuff), caving!





If you got some good sense of direction, wind knowledge and feel like you want to get the stress out, Archery and Tyro are just the things to do! And if it is not things you want to shoot at, but people, then Paintball it is! We have many ready-locations that you can go and play paintball in! Rent your suit, your gun and your paint bullets and "FIRE IN THE HOLE".

If you feel like going from one place to another at a high speed, you can always go on ATVs, or if you feel like you want to really go back in time, horseback riding is very thrilling. And if you are feeling like working those legs, than you should just go biking! Beautiful.





I aready mentioned in a previous post "Where to go when you visit Lebanon - Site 4: Skiing", but of course it is not only skiing that you can do, you can also snowboard, snowshoe, ride a jetski... But that is only during one season (From January to March)

Feel like flying? There are trained monitors who can help you paraglide over the hills of Lebanon!



If you just want to walk your energy off, reach your limits and see what you an handle, there are many valleys you can go to, but I highly recommend taking a long walk in the valley of ANNOUBIN, which is location in the North.

The typical activity which of course is an amazing experience which I personally had the pleasure and opportunity to excercise for over 13 years is Camping. We have great locations, also made especially for installing that tent and preparing that beautiful fire camp to grill some potatoes in.

Finally, if you are a water person, we have those great rivers you can go to and go some rafting, canoeing and if it is not the rivers you want to swim in, you can go to our cost long beach from the North to the South of Lebanon and do some diving, skinautique, voilier...







These are three websites I can think of at this moment, if you want more info you can always contact me and I will help you search for other organizers.

http://www.lebanese-adventure.com/
http://www.blue-carrot.com/
http://www.lareserve.com.lb/
http://www.pine-land.com/

Where to go when you visit Lebanon - Site 4: Skiing

Okay, yes there is snow in Lebanon and is NOT a desert and yes Lebanon has 6 Ski resorts. Usually we get snow around Christmas time and it lasts till April or May depends on how strong the winter was.




The 6 Resorts are: Faraya Mzaar Kfardebian | The Cedars | Faqra Club | Zaarour | Laqlouq | Qanat Bakish



What is great about it, is that you can reach a couple of Ski resorts (such as Faraya, Faqra, Laqlouq) in an hour or so from Beirut, you can rent a small apartment (chalet) and spend a weekend there, and when it's night you can either drive back to downtown Beirut, or Jounieh or Jbeil or Batroun to club or dine in less than one hour, or just stay indoors, enjoy the view and sit beside the fireplace. But of course, if you're here for the first time, it's a 2 in 1 if you go to the Cedars.

Everything is so close to each other in Lebanon, that a Ski trip is just the perfect thing to do in Lebanon winter time. You can go skiing, snowboarding, jet skiing... you can surely just do about everything you desire.

To read more about skiing in Lebanon, you can visit: http://www.skileb.com/

I received the first and last picture by email, no source was specified.

Where to go when you visit Lebanon - Site 3: Jbeil

Jbeil ya Jbeil. My favorite city in Lebanon. I love going there. It is just mind-blowing. It has the best horizons an eye can see, colorful sunsets, amazing food, old souk (market) to check out and buy souvenirs from, and it is in itself one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. It is not just a city on the beach, it is a archeological site as well.

If you like swimming, if you just like sitting by the beach, or walking by the beach, going on a trip in a boat, fishing, dining with a view, walking inside the city and visiting shops, shopping in the old Byblos souk (market), visiting museums (wax, fish fossils...), archeological sites and churches, sitting on the marina and chilling... Then this is the place to be!

Byblos (biblical Gebal, modern Jbeil) is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. According to Phoenician tradition it was founded by the god El who surrounded his city with a wall. The massive Early Bronze Age city walls (2800 B.C.) on the site reflect this early religious belief. Thus Byblos was considered, even by the ancient Phoenicans, to be a city of great antiquity.

Click here to read more.

Sources of photos: yours truly.

Where to go when you visit Lebanon - Site 2: Gemayze

The below pictures have been taken yesterday, on a Thursday night, while we all had work the next day

Gemayze Street 1
Inside the pub, this picture was taken before anyone got there, we were early because we were supposed to surprise a friend for her birthday.
The above picture was also taken inside the pub, but this time it was a bit late, I made a bit blurry so people are not recognizable
Gemayze street 2

It is not a historical monument, or archeological site, however Gemayze is just a town located in Beirut at a walking distance of Solidere (Downtown Beirut). This town is basically one of the oldest inhabited towns in Lebanon, and you can notice it due to the architecture of its buildings and only made of 3 or 4 storeys.
Only recently has this city become the booming place of night life in Lebanon, just after Monot. Its a long street, with pubs and restaurants situated on both sides from its beginning till its end.

What can you do in the pubs in Lebanon?
Well as I have noticed the word pub differs maybe from country to country, but you can mainly have a decent meal there, however its main purpose is having a drink with friends, listening to music, any kind of music, depends on the pub's style, and on a program made out throughout the week, can be 80's music, cuban, pop, etc... And of course, dancing!

If you like the night life, this is the place to be.

Where to go when you visit Lebanon - Site I: Baalbek

Every now and then I will post a small paragraph and pictures about a place in Lebanon that I recommend for tourists (next year?) to visit.

I will start with the famous Baalbek ruins, where the special Baalbek International Festival happens every summer, with an exception this summer 2006 due to the war between Israel and Hezbollah.


Temple of Jupiter in Baalbek, Source: National Geographic

Description: The Temple of Jupiter in Baalbek, Lebanon, was the largest Roman temple ever constructed. Although much of the temple was destroyed under the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius, 6 of its original 54 columns still stand today.

First established as a holy site by the Phoenicians, Baalbek, once known as Heliopolis, became a Roman colony in 47 B.C. There the Romans constructed three temples in honor of the gods Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury. The complex that includes the well-preserved ruins of these temples is a major archaeological site in Lebanon.

Source: NationalGeographic.com


Temple of Bacchus in Baalbek, Source: National Geographic

Description: The Temple of Bacchus, which many historians consider the best-preserved Roman temple of its size, is part of Baalbek's immense semiruins. Its peristyle of forty-two unfluted Corinthian columns (nineteen still standing) embraces sturdily preserved exterior walls. The approach to the cella or worship room proclaims grandeur with its powerful scale...The inner side walls of the nave are divided into bays by projected Corinthian half-columns to produce a series of superimposed niches, round-headed below, angled (pedimented) above, the latter originally with statues. The temple was roofed with cedar trusses."

"The temple, however, is but a single aspect of the vast complex. Baalbek is unequaled for boldness of concept and skill in utilizing Herculean masonry."
— G. E. Kidder Smith. Looking at Architecture. p34.