Lunch at the Captains

This afternoon I was invited over to my landlords for a Saturday afternoon lunch. He has been asking me numbers of times to come over, and now that I am in between semesters, I have some time to break and enjoy a bit of Lebanese hospitality.  I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Ghanoum or Captain, as everyone refers to him , just after my arrival here in Beirut.  A colleague at the university had been apartment hunting and was kind enough to pass his number to me. It turns out that the apartment was perfect and him and his family even greater. I have been over a number of times already in the past three months. They live only two blocks over in a 150 year old home overlooking the sea. The Captain is a retired pilot and tells many a story of living in New York City making once a week flights to Anchorage Alaska and/or Amsterdam. But now he and his family are back in Beirut, where he watches sports on his big flat screen tv and plays tennis on the AUB courts.

This Saturday I was asked to come over to lunch as his daughter and family would be there.  Lunch was at two. I had to actually call my local Lebanese friend to find out if that meant 2:30? In surprise he said it actually meant a little before 2. I grabbed some nice little chocolates from a local bakery on my way over and arrived about 10 minutes before 2.

Though the Ghanoum’s do live in a 150 year old home, several stories have been added about 30 years ago. They live on what was the top floor, the third. Their home is a classic Lebanese layout with a central living room that stretches front to back with three arches as the windows. The main living room and dining room are there filled with many a gilded item, an elephant tusk and an incredible hookah pipe collection.  The bedrooms are off to one side of this space and the other side houses the kitchen and what I will refer to as the “parlor.”

I arrive with the captain in his “parlor” with his hookah pipe at his feet. He doesn’t smoke those flavored kinds, but the real deal, plain ol’ tobacco. The room is lined with couches on both sides with one end in book shelves crowded with family photos and a tv. The other end is walled with full glass French doors with amazing views of the sea. We walk out to the balcony to take a look at the sea and enjoy the incredibly warm and clear day for January. Across the street a 30 story luxury condo is going up, now with only the underground parking slabs in rebar exposed…the yellow construction crane makes its way across the site, the extent of its steel arm within only one meter of the Captains home.

I am early and we sit on the couches. I am served some fresh squeezed orange juice (one cannot imagine drinking cartoned juice after living here) and watch as the Ethiopian and Filipino maids make their way around the place, preparing the lunch. We talk of subjects like “do you like politics?” without getting into detail. “Do you play any sports” gets nowhere with me, so we talk about hiking and the recent plane crash and the missing black box. Around 2:30 the family arrives, the daughter and brother in law  and their two cute little curly topped girls.  We make our way over to the dining room, the table set before the hookah pipe collection lit up from behind.

Where I get to go everyday

AUB and the Architecture Department. I've been told that out of the entire city of Beirut, the campus of AUB makes up 1/4 of its green space. Unfortunately its not public, fortunately, I get to go there everyday for work. I leave about 7 minutes from campus. So all this time, I have spoke about the city and the greater country...and haven't mentioned about what I actually have been doing day to day.

The University was founded in 1866 by American missionaries, but now stands today as a secular, private and independent university. The student body is primarily Lebanese. There are approx. 7,500 students on this amazing 72 acre seaside campus.

I teach in the Architecture and Design Building in the faculty of Engineering and Architecture. With classes almost daily, teaching studios and elective courses...

Here are some websites of the student work:
http://www.beyondgreenfall09.blogspot.com/
http://beyondgreenfinal.blogspot.com/
http://beyondgreencasestudy.blogspot.com/

And additional photos from campus


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The Ancient Ruins of Baalbek

Some elements of the Ruins of Baalbek date to the 3rd millennium BC and some could say is one of the oldest civilizations on earth. The temple is thought to have begun in 60 BC by the Romans...its interesting to note that this wasn't a "city" as we think of it, but a kinda of tourist site for pilgrams. The site, located within the water rich Bekaa Valley was considered sacred and the temples exerted influence on politics as much on religion. The Temple of Jupiter has the largest columns in the world at 22.9 m hight with a width of 2.2 m - with today only 6 of the 54 still standing.

The other well perserved momument is the Temple of Bacchus (Venus/Astarte) completed around 150 AD. It is larger than the Parthenon in Athens.

And finally we strolled thru the neighborhoods surrounding the ruins. The vernacular architecture is a huge reminder of greater Mediterrean architecture and even the styles of Northern New Mexico. But even more important is the incredible amount of decay they are experienceing and the families that are living within. The amount of mishandling of funds from World Bank and the millions pocketed was expressed by the friendly people that let us take a look.

See more photos here


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Where am I?

The Kingdom of Jordan

Just around the corner from Lebanon is Jordan. Four quick days, a rental car and you can experience a lot. I traveled with friends Haitham and Ben...

Amman:
Population 2.5 million. Pretty much the place to fly into, sleep, eat Falafel and leave. The city is a mess of hills and valleys with roads and buildings wrapping and clinging on. Not the best place to get lost in, and not the best place to walk.

Petra:
They say it takes 3 hours from Amman. Make time for 5...especially if you are taking the Kings Highway (speed bump!). Its all worth it of course, Petra being right out of film and fantasy...experiencing it hardly makes it any more real. Those Nabataeans were crafty little people. We caught the sunset on the Treasury, and the early morning light on the hundreds of other ruins and tombs...( I really did try to edit my photos!)

The Dead Sea:
A mad dash out of Petra to get to the Dead Sea in time for some last minute sunlight. Up the Dead Sea Highway and into the oily-feeling Sea. You do float, You can't swim...and that cut on your hand...oh, close your eyes too... ("ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch" - Ben).

Jerash:
The Roman city, once of 20,000 still stands in amazement. Located an hour north of Amman this 2000 something year old place is...big.


Umm Al-Jimal:
The last stop on our whirl-wind adventure led us out east on the Iraqi highway. The city of Umm Al-Jimal was founded in the 1st century BC by again those crafty Nabataeans. The place is constructed out of black basalt rock...and was completely empty except for us...along with the rains rolling in, it felt like we were walking in on some post-apocoliptic war zone.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years Beirut!

All Things Lead to....Dubai?

At a time of a still weakened global economy and with the latest announcement from Dubai in failing to make their loan payments, one would think this isn't the best time to discuss new island projects...in the Mediterranean? But the Cedar Island Development envisioned by NOOR development is still an image along several highways here in Lebanon...and the latest news say, its not off just yet.

The 127.8 square mile island would be off the coast of Lebanon just north of the City of Beirut.

But...I couldn't resist getting a chance to see the Dubai first hand....see the pics here


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Taanayel

This weekend road trip was with some a group of friends. Eight of us piled into a SUV and made our way over the Lebanese Mountains and into the Bekka. It was my first time that far "east" and was blown away (yet again) by the beauty, the food and the sites. Check out the photos here

From small villages to local artisan foods...

Local Druze guys making grape syrup from the newly harvested grapes.

A stay at the local "ecoresort".... straight out of new mexico....

And of course, not be missed... 2000 year old ruins...Aanjar, a rare Umayyad ruin built on the distinct rectilinear grid of the Romans.


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Beino and Olive Oil Pressing

This weekends adventure took me to the most north I had yet to venture - The Akkar. Its olive picking season and the trees were loaded with green and purple little sour devils. This tour and a half visited the Zejd Olive Oil Company and their processing "plant" (a family run business on the bottom floor of their home). Zejd is the only organic olive oil company in Lebanon and its newest family member to take over, Yuessef (sp?) is a master olive oiler. After studying in France, he came back to pretty much revolutionize olive oil for Lebanon. The name of their company comes from the Phonetian name for olive oil, as it is said they invented the liquid substance ages ago in this very land known today as Lebanon. But today, it is Italy that is known for their olive oil, with Lebanon consider substandard...poor. And we got learn how olive oil is made, the steps to mess it up and the techniques to keep it Extra Virgin! Like did you know that you need to keep the olives at a under a temp of 30 degrees C (cold pressed) or else it looses valuable nutrients...and that only extra virgin can hopefully promise that?  Or that pressers mix their oils upon the season to obtain the best blends...that the olives are green (unripened) and then turn brownish purple on the tree...the unripe ones are good for table olives, the more ripe are better for oils. And, in proper olive oil tasting you swirl the oil in a cup, heating the oil with your hand...breathe in the aroma..and then take a sip...not swallowing...and breathe in with your mouth and out your nose...if your throat starts to burn...its a good one!

Check out the images...captions and geo-tagging included!

Deir le Qamar and Beiteddine

Deir el Qamar is a UNESCO protected town with buildings dating back to feudal times. Its a short drive south and east from Beirut. Perched up into the Chouf mountains the village still maintains its windy narrow streets and amazing stone architecture.

















Further up the road is Beitaddine (house of faith), a 19th century palace with styles of traditional damascene, due to the use of Syrian craftsmen in its construction. The grounds include an impressive courtyard, staircases, entry gates, reception hall, a private palace "apartment" and a hamman!


More photos with captions and geo-tagging here


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Big Bowls, Bikes and Kebab's

Some little news bites from the Land of Lebanon:

The Lebanese re-claim their name to Tabbouleh and Hummus....almost the size of bowl we make for Thanksgiving....photos of the stuff
LA Times article and video here

A web series featuring a Brazilian guy returning to Lebanon to reclaim land from his family...
flying bebab

The Hogs of Lebanon take the streets and rally in Downtown Beirut
Hog Heaven
more photos


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Laqlouq and Aaqoura hike

Sunday Hike - 
check out the pictures here - geo-tagged and captioned for your satisfaction


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Jbail = Byblos

Claimed to be the world's oldest continually inhabited town, Jbail got its name Byblos from the Greek bublos, meaing papyrus. The place is as old as 8000 years! I don't even think I can imagine how long ago that really is. The major sites in the city are the renovated souq and the incredible crusader castle dating from the 12th century....the blocks its constructed out of are huge, most likely reclaimed bits and pieces of older Roman ruins. The views from the top are great. The city is only a short drive from Beirut and has a nice laid back sea side village feel. A stroll through the town allowed visits to medieval churches and the harbor.

Here are the pics


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The Cedars of Lebanon

The Cedars of Lebanon - The Chouf Cedar Reserve at Maaser ech-Chouf. Elevation: 5,300 ft.
Cedrus libani...quite possibly the most magic place I have been since the Redwoods of California.
Only 5% of Lebanon still covered in forests...some of these trees date back as far as 3000 years.

I will let the photos do the talking on this one


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The Trip Over

This was the ship that Elias, my great grandfather came over on. He arrived at Ellis Island, alone, age 18...with 15$ in his pocket and a ticket onward to New York City. The ships manifest listed him as a farmer, dark skin, brown hair, 4'-8" tall.  In line before him were the Yacoub family...US Citizens returning from Beirut to St. Charles, LA...presumably with more family. I like to think Elias confided in them on his trip over.

His journey wasn't as simple as one would think. He took a boat first from Beirut (Beyrouth) that would have most likely gone first to Alexandria, Egypt, then Italy and then to Marseille, France. From there, they departed from the boat and got on a train, crossing the country to a port and their final boat for America. for Elias this was the La Gascogne at Le Havre, France. This is all a guess. But according to a researcher that I just heard speak, the train ride would save the passengers actually three days of travel, and a significant amount of money.

The researcher is Raff Ellis, the author of "Kisses from a Distance." He spoke at AUB this week with the topic "The Lebanese Emigration - 1881-1914". Nearly every detailed matched my family stories.

So, who were the people leaving Lebanon at this time? Mostly Christians in fact. The Lebanese spread out all over the world, but mostly Christians headed to the US. The most common of them the Maronites (typically farmers and laborers) and the Orthodox (mostly traders and merchants)...Elias was a shoe man...and I was

The Qadisha Valley

This Sunday Hike took me up north to the Qadisha Valley. Its the final resting place of Khalil Gibran and possibly one of the most beautiful places in Lebanon. I will let the local historians tell the story below...

click here to get right to the images

Below from the Ministry of Tourism Lebanon:
"At the bottom of this wild steep-sided gorge runs the Qadisha River whose source is in the Qadisha Grotto at the foot of the Cedars. And above the famous Cedar grove stands Qornet es Sawda, Lebanon's highest peak.  The word "Qadisha" comes from the Semitic root meaning "holy" and Wadi Qadisha is the "Holy Valley". Filled with caves and rock shelters inhabited from the third millennium B.C. to the Roman period the

The Tale of Two Aintoura's

While I was told by my grandfather the last time I saw him that my great grandfather came from the village of Aintoura, I didn't think there would be two villages both named Aintoura and both a bit north and a bit east of Beirut.

In my first week here I had been making my introductions stating that I was both a visiting professor at AUB and on a bit of a family ancestral exploration. And that is how it came to pass that there were indeed TWO villages of Aintoura, one slightly higher than the other. I knew there was a "school" there...and I knew it was in the mountains. It turned out that BOTH fit those descriptions. One new faculty member from the "higher up" Aintoura asked what my family name was, and with authority, insisted that I was not from her village. I still wonder what tipped her off? Must be the ears.

And with further research I found that the Aintoura the family is from is indeed from the lower Aintoura village, laying within the area of Kesrouane - I found an envelope in my grandfathers basement with that as the return address.

Aintoura is less than 20 miles from Beirut. A short drive if there wasn't such maddening traffic and if I had a car. I actually manged to take a bus through the village, and found it hilly, filled of stone houses and indeed a beautiful regional high school. Click here to see it in Google Earth

The most amazing thing is that a man on that bus (the Sunday hiking group) was also from that village and KNEW the name Ghosn, and thinks he knows the family, the story of them going to the US...and has invited me up to help investigate...He even thinks there might be some left over land...?

Time to get up there...this will for sure, be continued...

Graffiti

I always like to read the graffiti on a cities street. Its a nice way to read the city, its under currents, its anger...its humor...its creativity. Beirut is full of great graffiti. Its limited to locations and size, but from what I have experienced, it seems a more accepted form of expression - even in the class room.

I have asked around, about graffiti and what they mean. Most of the tagging occurs on either abandoned (read bombed out) buildings or blank privacy walls along sidewalks (the ugly ones - not the nice stone ones). And they arn't quickly covered over. From what I can see, there isn't a sort of need to "preserve" or even "maintain" certain elements in the city. Its where memory perhaps prefers to be encoded with new thought, new exclaimations. The graffiti is political, humours. The work is graphic the work is repetitive, abstract and some is just bad.

On the first day of studio, after doing our introductions to the course, the students returned our assigned room. They are each given one desk, one stool and a locker. In the long tradition of architecture studios, the fight for the best desk and the right stool - as well as proximity to or from certain individuals is an immediate first minute action. Surprisingly...not only did the students claim their desks in person, but they passed around a red spray paint can, tagging their desk with fresh paint. The room filling with aeresol. How cool is that.

And how could this come as a surprise even, the architecture and graphic design programs share the building together and the halls are adequetly marked with a series of life sized to miniture artwork, colors and verbel exclaimations. My favorite is a collage of color prints under the stair case documenting all the graffiti in the building.

I will try to give some translations to the graffiti I do know under the images. Check them out here. I am sure there will be more to come.


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The Corniche

In a city like Beirut, public space is a rarity. While the government struggles to simply organize itself, the city is left to fend for itself - typically with money making the decisions. Big tower development and high end commerical hubs are springing up faster than you can even say United Arab Emirates- there are even plans for a coastal island community in the shape of a ceder pine. But, what does work here is the Cornich.

The palm tree promenade becomes one of the rare public gathering spaces. It was formally cleaned up with new railings, sidewalk patterns and planters in 2007, and now regularrly hosts a number of bikers, walkers, strollers, fishers, swimmers and late night rendezvous. You can sip coffee from traveling vendors or even catch an occasional art/music performance. And of course the whole time taking in the incredible Medeterrian Sea views.

What makes it work? If I could make an assumption after only being here 15 days...its becuase its linear. Its not one open space. This is a city of movement and commuting. With no public transportation, its the automobile that gets people around. Its a city of diverse neighborhoods, communities, beliefs...perhaps its a space that one can be moving in that feels the most familiar, secure...safe?

Maybe the question to ask is more like...how did stay public and not get privatized? And what does it take to get manipulate the city space for MORE public spaces like this?

Check out more images here


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Maasser el Shouf to Baadarane

It was only three days after I arrived to Lebanon that I was told about a local nonprofit that charters a bus every Sunday to distant parts of the small country. And on the fourth day, I was on that bus, a day trip several hours south of Beirut in the Chouf region. It was an 18 km hike from Maasser el Shouf to Baadarane. The name meant little to me at the time, but it was an incredible introduction to the country side of Lebanon and the villages, orchards and communties that dot its landscape. We walked through small towns of homes built of white stone with orange clay tile roofs, fig trees and grape vines just about picking time and trees full of ripening pomogranets.

Here are images from the hiking trip, and I have many many more to share from trips since I arrived.

Most of the hikes are in the Lebanese Mountains. A recent project called the LMT Association (Lebanese Mountain Trail) documented the trails creating a continuous 440 km trail from north to south. The trips are arranged through a non-profit called TLB Destinations and CIFA. Their mission states:

Established in September 2005 by tour operator TLB Destinations, CIFA has initiated training programs which focus on the linkages between tourism, conservation and sustainable development, all within the movement for responsible tourism. CIFA also supports and creates projects to provide motivation, income and livelihood for members of the local community, with a focus on rural regions.