Beirut and Jeita Caves

Don't know why is has taken me so long to write this week's post.  Ok, I had a very busy week, with double aqua aerobics classes, Schengen Visa applications and heaps and heaps of laundry to do.  On top of that, my old friend, Mr. Procrastination came around for a visit and has still not left.  So, if I don't write this now, it will never get done. 

 

A short but jam-packed visit that has left me "gat-oor-kop" (head over heels), truly, madly, deeply in love with Lebanon.  We saw and did so much that I find it too much for one post, so I will be posting several instalments about our visit.

 

As you know from previous posts, TVOR* and I visited Lebanon this past weekend.  We arrived to a sweltering hot, sticky and very humid Beirut around midday on Thursday and was met by our driver for the weekend, a very bald, incredibly jolly Mr. Hani, who seemed painfully shy at first but became almost over-friendly as the weekend progressed. 

 

Checked into the elegant Phoenicia Intercontinental on the Corniche and, after freshening up, André left for his business meeting while I wiled away the hours in the spa.  "Treated" myself to a mani-pedicure and was reminded of why I hate these things.  Someone with as low a pain threshold as I should never, ever let anyone near their delicate tootsies!  After a lot of ouch! owie! and damnit's, I hobbled off, grateful to be alive, albeit with perfectly manicured and pedicured hands and feet, much to the relief of the horrified manicurist.

 
 

Beirut, or Beyruth as the locals call it, is the battle scarred grand dame of Lebanon and reminded both André and I of Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.  The pre-Civil War (Civil War: 1975 – 1990) architecture is much the same as one can find in Maputo, with modern buildings popping up next to now decrepit art deco-style (amongst other styles) buildings, many of which still bear the scars of not only the Civil War, but also invasion(s) from the Israeli side of the border (Most notably the 1982 attacks and the 2006 war).

 

The Holiday Inn was just completed when the Civil War broke out and stands on the border between what was then known as the Christian side (East) and the Muslim side (West) during the Civil War. This hotel became the centre of many horror stories that unfolded during the war. 
 

 

One such story goes that the Christians and Muslims fought valiantly and vigorously for the right to make the hotel their stronghold.  One morning, after heavy gunfire, Christian soldiers took over the hotel, chased the Muslim soldiers to the top of the building, where they were promptly forced off the roof at gunpoint!  A couple of hours later, Muslims took back the hotel stronghold and chased the Christian soldiers to the top of the building, with very much the same end results.  Apparently this cycle repeated itself a number of times during the course of the war.

 

In the photos below you can see some of the damage done to the Holiday Inn.  The signs of shelling and heavy gun fire a stark reminder of a particularly bloody part of Lebanon's history.

 

 

After André's meeting, we took a leisurely stroll along the Corniche.  This was where we decided that Beirut reminded us of Maputo.  The weather was very much the same as in Maputo, there was a buoyant, almost party-like feel to it, locals were very friendly, but most notably, the juxtaposition of old and new buildings, the used and the abused, bullet holes and now defunct buildings ever reminding the observer of Lebanon's brutal past, much the same as in Maputo.
 

 

The building next to the site where the late President Rafik Hariri was assassinated

Monument erected on the exact spot where President Rafik Hariri's motorcade was bombed. 
Look at the damage to the building, not only from this bombing, but remnants of the Civil War.

 

 

On Friday morning we set off to the Jeita Grottos (caves), some forty kilometres outside of Beirut.  The Jeita caves is a set of two cave systems that spans almost nine kilometres in total.  To reach the Upper grotto you take a short but scenic cable car ride up, in-between the mountains.  Once you get to the grotto entrance, they insist you lock you mobile phones and cameras inside lockers, as no pictures are allowed inside the caves.  I had to "borrow" some pictures off Google Images to show you what some of it looks like.  I did not quite understand this policy.  Clearly people had been allowed to take pictures in the past and they even lit the Grotto up for music and dance festivals, so the "no camera" thing made no sense to me but... when in Lebanon...
 

Allegedly the Upper grotto boasts the world's largest stalactite, but I cannot vouch for this.  It was so overwhelmingly beautiful that I could not pick out the largest of the massive structures if you paid me.

 

Below are some pictures of the Upper grotto.  I half expected to hear organ music when we walked through one particular part of the cave.  Doesn't it look just like massive organ pipes? 

 

 
  

 
 

The Upper grotto is a set of massive, deadly quiet, damp chambers, with the occasional drip-drip-drip the only noise that breaks the silence.  There weren't many visitors while we were there, but everyone visiting the caves at the same time as us spoke in hushed whispers, as if by mutual agreement, so as not to break the almost hallowed silence that filled the thick, humid air.  
 

 

After a very long walk we arrived upon a set of small pools with crystal clear water.  Probably the halfway mark. The pools looked like miniature rice paddies one might find on the hills in the Far East somewhere, clear water cascading down and through each pool with a gentle, steady gurgle.  Here we tossed a couple of coins in one of the pools and made a wish. Wonder if it will come true?  I was a bit in two minds about the coin-story.  On the one hand it is a cutesy tradition, but tradition none the less, judging by the amount of coins in the two upper pools.  On the other, it smacked of littering, pollution and who was I to add anything to the otherwise pristine caves?  Anyway, coins tossed.  Wishes made. Fingers crossed.  End of story.
 

 

Compared to the Upper grotto's almost extreme heat and humidity, the Lower grotto was rather cold, but easily one of the most beautiful natural phenomenons I have yet come across.  After a short walk and many descending stairs, you reach the internal lake.  From there you travel by boat on the way-too-short trip around the caves.  Crystal clear water, ice cold to the touch made me wonder what it would be like to explore these lakes with scuba gear (And with the correct protection from the cold water, of course.  Oh, and a scuba diving course may also be helpful, while I'm at it!).

 

I find words completely inadequate to describe the magnificence that is the Lower grotto, so I'll end this post with some pictures (again, "borrowed" from Google Images) so you can see for yourself.

 

 

I'll try to cover the rest of the trip in my next post.

*The Voice of Reason