About 3 weeks ago, Glenn & I were treated to a whirlwind tour of a number of sites just outside of Beirut, including some Roman ruins and an old sook (market). The day trip was organized by Nada, Glenn's co-worker, and we were also accompanied by two of her lovely friends, Nadine and Sabine (forgive my awful spelling!).
For me, the highlight of the day was our visit to the Grotto in Jeita in the mountains just outside of Beirut. The site is made up of a series of caves that were discovered by a shepherd in the late 1800s as he was a'tendin' to his flock.
This is a photo from the Upper Grotto -- unfortunately, I did not take it because tourists are not allowed to bring their cameras inside (this picture is borrowed from a tourism website). This is pretty typical of bright stalactite and stalagmite formations that we saw in the Upper Grotto.We were told by tour guides who were working inside the Grotto that day that there are almost 2 km worth of caves in the Upper Grotto area. We were able to see quite a bit, but the excavation is ongoing.
The conditions in the Upper Grotto remain constant at a temperature of 23C and humidity of 100%.
Once again, I did not take this photo, but I believe that this is a picture of the Lower Grotto. A river runs through it. During the winter season, the river fills the Lower Grotto with water
. We were taken through the Lower Grotto on a small motorized boat, and even I had to duck to get underneath one of the rock shelves.I found it rather dark and spooky in the Lower Grotto -- very Phantom of the Opera!
Here are Glenn and I on the cable car, with the lush mountains of Lebanon in the background. It was an absolutely gorgeous October day! This picture gives you a good idea of the great tan that Glenn has been working on since his arrival (hah!).
1 comment:
From one ex-pat to another: Nice to see you in the blogosphere ... even if you're lounging around in T-shirts and 18-degree weather ... My little slice of Japan was feeling almost tropical until just after the first weekend in November; now I am sitting here in my apartment cursing the fact that because this first-world country does not believe in central heating, I spent the evening wearing two sweaters and a toque!!! I was in a T-shirt, myself, barely two weeks ago...but at least any snow here seems to still be a long way off... :)
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