Day 10 (Dec 30)
We had high hopes for Tania Travel as the tour group only had 12 peeps and we didn't want to feel like sheep like we did 2 days before at Baaaaaalbeck. Unfortunately, we found out that we can't have it all. While the group size was good, the tour guide was meh. Her English was a little difficult to understand, her tour seemed a bit disorganised and she kept rushing us.
Not sure if I've already mentioned this, but it's so odd seeing all the police and soldiers guarding various structures/buildings in different parts of the country. They carry such big guns and drive big tanks!! Been really wanting to take a photo with a big scary police/army person with a big gun, but too afraid to ask. :( Another sight that I've never seen before were the Palestinian refugee camps - tented, boarded up areas outside of Beirut. Can't even imagine what it's like to be without country/home. It's good to belong, even if my country of citizenship sux.
So this day, we headed south to Tyre and Sidon. Not always the safest place as it's near the Israeli border and whenever they decided to attack Lebanon, the southern cities get hit first. This time though, it was safe to visit. Still in one piece!
It is said that Jesus performed his first miracle at a village near Tyre when he changed water to wine. If u believe in Christianity/Catholicism, it's quite insane to think about how life changing this event was. Even if you're a non-believer, it's wondrous that the land is so steeped in history/legend and I am so glad that I had the chance to visit.
Tyre houses a rather vast cemetery space with lots of sarcophagi. Our guide pointed out bone remains in some of the sarcophagi, but we were skeptical at best. Can bones really survive the years? Think the site was only excavated in the '60s, but that's still a good 50 years of exposure to weathering.
There was also reconstruction of a super large hippodrome for horse racing. I think it was at this point that our guide showed the most emotion. She exclaimed quite gleefully, "...and now you may go up to support your favourite horse!!" Sea Biscuit? My question was, why was the hippodrome constructed right next to the cemetery. A little disrespectful to gamble next to the remains of the dead, but hey, the Romans seemed to know what they were doing.
We proceeded next to Sidon where we visited the souq where they did woodwork and sold all kinds of items including furry bedroom slippers and huge carcasses. Also went to soap museum to learn the process of soap-making with a fierce guide that showed displeasure if we got distracted from her lecture.
On the way to Beiteddine, we passed by Moussa's palace, which was situated by the mountain side. The funny thing was that he was just an ordinary guy who wanted to live in a castle so bad that as he grew older, he constructed the castle by his own hand (he had some expertise through his occupation). Apparently, he also did it for love, his first love, who told him that she would marry him only he was wealthy enough to support her.
Beiteddine itself is a museum and the president's summer residence. The Emir who built it was originally a Druze and then became Muslim, according to our guide. Parts of the palace still have traces of Christian inspiration. Of particular mention are the bathroom ceilings, which have circular holes covered by glass pieces from the outside to provide skylight. If you were to look closely, the circular holes in each bathroom form various patterns. In one of the bathrooms, the pattern is a cross. These patterns were not obvious to us at first because of the width of the ceiling, but the guide captured the skylight pattern on a pair of sunglass lenses to show us.
At this pt, must confess I was experiencing a bit of sightseeing fatigue, or perhaps it was tour fatigue. Getting up early every day and being on the go was pretty tiring!! Hence, because it was our holiday and we could do whatever we wanted, we spent most of the night resting in the hotel room. :D
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