Weekend in Lebanon

We decided to take a last minute trip to Lebanon this past weekend, just a 3 hour plane ride from Abu Dhabi. Our good friend Matthew Kuhl has been living and working at an architectural firm in Beirut, so it was a good opportunity to catch up with him and get an insider's view of the country.

Lebanon has a fascinating and complicated history full of many overlapping cultures and religions that are visibly evident, even on such a short visit. Its geographical location, where East meets West on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, and fertile Bakaa valley have made it a desirable land for millenia. Evidence of civilizations dates back 7,000 years and include the Phoenicians, Persians, Romans, Syrians, Arabians, and Ottomans. Current religions present in the area, noted by places of worship and distinctive clothing, include the Shia, Sunni, Greek Orthodox, Christian Maronite, and the curious Druze. Common languages spoken today are Arabic, French, and English. Many Lebanese switch easily from one language to the other, frequently blending all the languages into the same conversation.

Unlike Abu Dhabi, which is a very new city, Beirut is old and full of character. It has been called the Paris of the Middle-East, which is understandable due to its colonial architecture and vibrant neighborhoods. But bullet holes are everywhere, remnants of the civil war from 1975-1990 and the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. The downtown area has been beautifully gentrified, with high end shops and new buildings in tones of ochre, designed to compliment older restored buildings. The renovation is largely due to the financing of billionaire Rafir Hariri, the prime minister of Lebanon that was assassinated in Beirut in 2005. Despite tensions, Lebanon is recovering from its most recent battles and is working hard to restore its image. Its efforts have paid off: in 2009, a New York Times poll voted Beirut as the #1 top tourist destination.
The roads of Lebanon are full of old cars that get beat up on a regular basis due to cavalier driving habits. While having breakfast at a corner cafe our first morning there, we were admiring a funky looking dune buggy driving down the street when it intentionally backed into the car behind it - twice. Apparently there was an argument over a parking space. But this is totally acceptable behavior in Lebanon. Many cars, including our driver's car, have extra heavy duty metal bumpers applied to the regular bumpers. Red lights? Completely optional. That solid double yellow line down the middle of the road? That's the line you straddle to pass slower traffic, even if there's a blind curve ahead of you or another car is doing the same thing in the opposite direction. I can safely say driving in Lebanon is the unsafest I have ever seen in the world.

Our weekend included a day trip through the Lebanese Mountains and into the Bakaa Valley. If Beirut is the Paris of the Middle-East then the Lebanese Mountains should be considered the Italy of the Middle-East. The scale and colors are strikingly similar. The hillsides are tiered for grape vines and other crops. Numerous ancient hill towns dot the landscape. We visited one partiularly picturesque town called Deir El Qamar, known as the Village of Princes due to the many Lebanese aristocrats that were born there. We made a brief stop at a much more recent quirky castle that was built by a man in an unsuccessful attempt to win the heart of a woman he loved. Further up the road, we stopped by the Beit ed Dine Palace, built by a local emir starting in 1788 and full of beautiful gardens, waterworks, inlaid stone floors, and inlaid wood walls and ceilings. Moving higher up into the mountains, we hiked through the famous cedars of Lebanon with vistas of the valley that we had just crossed. On the other side of the mountain pass we got views of the lush Bekaa valley. We ate a very pleasant late Lebanese lunch at a restaurant called the Seven Eyes in a garden setting surrounded by the fruit and vegetable crops of the region. Our final stop was at the Kafraya Vinyard with grounds on par with what you might find in Napa Valley. Our day ended with a white-knuckle return trip over the mountains and back to Beirut.
We thoroughly enjoyed our weekend in Lebanon, even though our visit was brief. The weather was sunny and a refreshing 75 degrees. The scenery was beautiful. If we had more time I would have loved to visit one of the many coastal resorts, the Roman ruins of Baalbek, or the ancient town of Byblos. But those will have to wait for another time. Maybe we can combine those sites with a winter ski trip in the Lebanese Mountains.

Matthew and John, before the dune buggy incident

Typical old colonial building being restored

Combination of old and new buildings

Pedestrian friendly downtown

Bullet holes are everywhere

Deir el Qamar

 

 The Castle of Unrequited Love

Detail

 

Making minutia at Al Almira, Beit ed Dine

 Beit ed Dine Palace

Beit ed Dine Palace

The Cedars of Lebanon

Top of the World

Top of the World, II

Bekaa Valley with view of Qaraaoun Lake

Late lunch at the Seven Eyes



Pictures!

So we still don't have our own internet service. Waiting for 3 months now, which apparently is not unusual here. We've been dreading getting too much computer stuff set up because inevitably it doesn't work which just lead to more frustration. However, downloading pictures on the laptop patched into our neighbor's wireless ended up taking about 60 seconds to figure out. Wish I had done it weeks ago. Here are a few:
(Okay, that took 60 seconds to download onto the computer and 2 hours to figure out to download onto the blog. Facebook download is just going to have to wait.)

 Zoomed in view from our balcony of the Emirates Palace Hotel

Dragon Boat Races at the Shagri-La Resort

Inside the Grand Mosque

Helen admiring the view from our balcony

Marina Tower at dusk

Our beach

Skating at the Marina Tower Mall

Outside the Grand Mosque

View of Burj Al-Arab from our hotel room at Atlantis-Dubai

Atlantis-Dubai, lots of fun

The Bottom Line

So I was flipping through an American Vogue magazine, poolside, the other day. Lest anyone is concerned about my choice of reading materials, don’t worry, I have Paul Harding’s Tinkers, Barbara Kingsolver’s The Lacuna and a New Yorker bedside (all excellent pros that I highly recommend). I just need something a little lighter when I’m trying to keep an eye on the girls running around from pools to water slides to beach (tough life, I know). Once again I was wondering why I bothered with a fashion magazine since it’s full of painful looking six inch high heels and outrageously expensive clothes that I will never wear. Some of them are actually quite beautiful, but I’ll wait until they’re watered down into something more affordable at the local Forever 21 (think Old Navy). And there it was, near the front of the magazine, a two page advertisement featuring the model Kate Moss. She is lying front side down on a beach, casually staring at the camera, stark naked except for the fact that her butt has been scribbled out with a big fat marker. This made me laugh out loud. Somebody in the UAE has a government job that must be titled something like Fat Marker Scribbler Outer. She (I’m guessing a woman has this job, otherwise there is a definite conflict of interest here) has to go through thousands of magazines from throughout the world wiggling her sharpie over visuals that are deemed offensive. Then it really got me thinking. The black and white photo is very tastefully composed. It reminded me of the coy neo-classical Odalisque painted by Ingres way back in 1814. It might be almost 200 years later, but a different culture now considers this inappropriate. The United States, of course, have their own limitations, which are more conservative than France, for example. Even Greek statues, naked and glorious, had fig leaves strategically placed centuries later.
Had the backside not been scribbled out, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought. But instead of the sharpie making me ignore what it was hiding, I want to know much more about it. Is it just a silhouette or is it her, umm, bottom line. Except for maybe being slightly annoyed by her pretty pouty face, I can’t say I’ve ever thought much about Kate Moss in my life, let alone her backside. And now it’s really bugging me. So, what is allowed visually in the U.S. these days? Somebody stateside, help me out here. It’s the Vogue with Halle Berry on the cover, page 60.

The long flowing black abayas that women wear here are a little like the big black markers. You’re not supposed to see what’s underneath. Like Kabuki theatre stage hands dressed in black, you’re just not supposed to notice them at all. When I first arrived in Abu Dhabi, I asked Abdul, the nice Public Relations Officer (PRO) helping me with my residency paper work why it is that he and other Emirati men wear all white while the women wear all black. He laughed, while driving his fancy car and drinking a Starbucks coffee, and simply said he didn’t know. So maybe the clothing is so ingrained in the culture here that the Emirati don’t even think about it. When we visited the Grand Mosque, I asked our fully covered female guide the same question. She responded that the myth is men wear white because they are angelic and women wear black because they are the devil. But she emphasized that is the myth and not the truth. Right. The real reason, she explained, is because you cannot see through the black gowns at all. I’ve also been told that there is beauty in sameness. I’m not entirely satisfied with any of these answers. Perhaps it is because I’m not entirely satisfied with the very fact that men and women have such a limited choice in their exterior appearance and will never be happy with any answer I hear.

Back to my Vogue, there are lots of malls around here chalk full of the very expensive clothes advertised in the Magazine. I might not be able to afford them, but for the local Emirati, money is no obstacle whatsoever. In public, The Emirati women may be covered in a flowing black abaya, hiding their hair under a sheyla, and possibly hiding their face behind a burka. But underneath the abayas, they are more likely than not to be wearing the latest Armani creations. The only people that can appreciate these fancy threads are immediate family members and girlfriends. I have not been to a local traditional Muslim wedding myself, but from what I understand, this is one of the few opportunities for the women to show off their amazing outfits. Except even at weddings the women and men have their parties in completely separate rooms.

It should be noted that hiding the face behind a burka is more of a Bedouin tradition than a Muslim requirement. Less than 1% of Muslim women worldwide wear a burka. Most are in the middle-east, home of the Bedouins. Burkas have caused quite a stir much further away, in France, where burkas were recently banned. Many Muslim women protest their abolition and say wearing a burka is a personal choice. Interestingly, burkas and sheylas have become more prevalent in some countries recently. The UAE has become an incredibly international country in just a few decades. It is full of tall modern buildings and fast cars from all over the world. Aside from numerous unimpressive small mosques and a smattering of heritage centers, there is very little left that can be identified as local character. Perhaps the black abaya, sheyla, and burka that the women wear and the long white dishdasha that the men wear can be considered a way to preserve the local traditional and religious customs. I suspect that there is lots of peer pressure involved too. Once a young woman or man starts to wear the national dress, they are expected to wear it for the rest of their lives. Perhaps I'll have a better understanding of the traditional dress the longer I live hear, but right now, I have a long way to go.

Posting from John

Okay, I am going to relate random events and moments that resonated with me in some way. This will not be a typical narrative.

Within the first week of arriving I was walking to work early one morning through a nice park when I heard the sound of leaf blowers - a common sound in Oak Park. I turned to see what leaves they were blowing in this desert environment and discovered it was not leaves at all but litter from the night before. Long lines of trash being blown to a central location to be collected and hauled away. Manpower takes care of the fact that littering is a very accepted practice here - let me give you an example:

A local family is walking along and I am behind them. The kids have ice cream treats that they are unwrapping while they walk. When they free the wrapper from the treat they both discard the wrapper and continue walking. Their parents are a few steps behind and they do not bat an eye. I am shocked.

Local lady exits her car with a big water bottle, as she walks to the gate to her house she throws the water bottle on the ground and then enters her yard throught the gate. Why bother taking it to the trash can when you have all this space in front of your house to park your junk...sort of like rural Kentucky (did I just say that?).

I went on a site vist for a potential project in an area called the Empty Quarter. It is a few hours south of Abu Dhabi and it is comprised of huge sand dunes and nothing else. Absolutely stunning and in an odd way reminded me of the mid-west...a simple textural ground plane and big sky - that's it. A wonderfully seductive landscape.

Our balcony overlooks the Corniche and we are about 11 floors up. We have a great view of the water, Emirates Palace and Marina Mall (yes, a mall, but a nice looking one). Tonight Adrienne and I sat and watched the sun set while enjoying some white wine. It was lovely.

Speaking of our place here it is about the same size (without the basement) as our house in Oak Park. It is a duplex and the corridor from the elevator to the entry door is exterior - people put plants out and it has a great vibe about it and we are happy with our place here. The only bummer is the local cable company is totally unresponsive - we have no internet, cable or land line. We tap our neighbors wireless (with his permission) to get on the internet.

That's it for tonight.

American Community School

When we visited Abu Dhabi last March, we got a tour of the American Community School, or ACS. There was a waiting list to get in, but both John and I agreed that we wouldn't be moving to Abu Dhabi unless both the girls got into ACS. Fortunately, we did not have to wait for long. The girls started mid-August and we have not been disappointed.
There are about 900 K through 12 students here from all over the world. The compound has separate buildings for the elementary, middle, and high schools with shared facilities in the middle. Most of the staff and students are originally from the states, but there are also others from Greece, Holland, Brazil, France, and India, just to name a few that Hannah can think of off the top of her head right now. There are also a few Emirati. A surprising number of students have already lived all over the world. Often when I ask ACS families where they are from, they say, "The States, but we've lived in London, Paris, Kuwait, Germany, Singapore, Australia, you name it, for the last 3, 5, 10 years." It suddenly makes the world feel like a much smaller place. Everything is just a plane ride way.
The facilities are well maintained and include everything you would expect at American schools and more: a well stocked library, a cafeteria that actually has good food, gyms, a climbing wall, several outdoor playing fields, and a pool. Circulation is mostly outdoors, which gives the place a nice open feel.
The curriculum is very familiar, down to Everyday Math from the University of Chicago. A very thorough website keeps families up to date on assignments, grades, and school activities.
The best part of the school is the amazing number of field trips that the students get to take. 5th graders go camping in Oman. 6th and 7th graders have a week in Turkey. 8th graders go to Thailand the first week of November. I am lucky enough to be able to help chaperone that trip, and will tell you all about it once we go.

Atlantis-Dubai

For anyone that is feeling the least bit sorry for us over here in Abu Dhabi, you can stop that right now. Here's why: We just went to Atlantis-Dubai. It. Was. Amazing. I got John a book for his birthday a week before mine and he got me (us) a weekend at Atlantis. I think I'd go for Atlantis over a book any day. If I had time to figure out links, I would post photos of the place. Once we get our internet set up at home, I'll post our own photos.
Atlantis is located at the top of one of the Palm Tree peninsulas that juts into the gulf off of Dubai. The trunk is full of nice apartment buildings, the fronds are full of big villas, and a tunnel at the top takes you to the crescent/breakwater for the palm tree. The big opening in the Atlantis hotel building is centered on the drive up the trunk. Their water park and other resorts under construction are along either side of Atlantis.
The resort's secret weapon is the check-in receptionist who easily sweet-talked us into an upgrade, which in the end we don't regret. In fact we had relatively reasonable rates since it is still off season and Ramadan specials are also in effect. We had a corner room with a terrace and a view of the nice pool, the beach, the palm, the Burj Al-Arab (the fancy hotel that looks like a sailboat) and, in the distance, the Dubai skyline with the Burj Khalifa, currently the tallest building in the world. It's 828 m (2,717 ft) tall. In comparison, the Willis tower (aka the Sears Tower) is 527 m (1,729 ft). That's a lot of building.
The resort has lots to offer. The pool below was refreshing and incredibly relaxing, even in the heat. The breakfast buffet included in our package was the nicest looking, biggest, and most diverse I have ever seen in my life. I am not exaggerating. Even the water park was wonderful, which I really wasn't expecting since I've done more than my share of water parks in the Chicago area and the Wisconsin Dells and thought I was done with them for good. None of those can compare to this one. A 2 kilometer long lazy river. A 60 degree drop slide off a ziggurat that ends up in a tube chuting through a tank of sharks. Plenty of other fun water rides for all ages. We spent half the day there and never got too hot. In the afternoon we wandered through the Lost Chambers, an aquarium with lots of enormous beautiful tanks full of 65,000 fish. That's a lot of fish.
Friday night we headed into downtown Dubai. We started by wandering through the Dubai Mall, one of many enormous high end malls in town. Next door to the mall is the Burj Khalifa. Separating the two is a small lake. Every 20 minutes throughout the day and evening a sounds, water, and (in the evenings) light show takes place there. We had dinner at one of the many restaurants along the lake and enjoyed three completely different shows. Think Bellagio, Las Vegas, except (I just double checked the facts here), the Dubai Fountain is 25% bigger, shoots 500 feet into the air, and can be seen from 20 miles away. Seeing that fountain with the Burj Khalifa rising even higher into the sky beyond it is completely jaw-dropping.
After another very pleasant morning at the Atlantis pool, we returned home, 90 minutes away, to our furniture free apartment. The ship with our 40 foot container is allegedly docking in Abu Dhabi today, so there is a slight chance that we'll get our furniture this weekend, just in time for Eid.

Etisalat, Apartment, and Helen

Since we don't have internet at home yet, I'm creating posts when and where I can. We also don't have a telephone, television, or furniture at home yet either, even though everything was supposed to be in place weeks ago. But we're getting used to that. In shaa'al-laah, as they say around here, which means "God Willing" or "Maybe somebody will take care of it if they feel like it". The communication company in Abu Dhabi is called Etisalat. We like to call them It-is-a- lot as in It is a lot of work or It is a lot of money. We call them every other day (on our mobiles) to find out when they will be making our connections and they say someone will get back to us in 48 hours. John first asked for the connections a month ago. Hmm. But don't worry, in shaa'al-laah.

I was horrified when John first sent photos of the outside of our apartment building a few months ago. In fact, I went into denial and hid the photos in some forgotten corner of my laptop. When we visited in March, we had looked at so many gleaming new apartment buildings and villas (really town-homes) in nice compounds with all kinds of ammenities like rooftop pools, gyms, and tennis courts. Yet somehow we end up in one that's twenty years old without any ammenities? Our first visit spoiled us. But now that we're here, I love the place. It has views of the parkway along the Corniche, the Gulf, The Children's Park, and, in the distance, the amazing Emirates Palace Hotel and Marina Mall. The views alone sold me on the apartment. The kitchen (no dishwasher!?) and bathrooms need work, but that can be overlooked given the generous size of the living/dining area and the bedrooms. It even has maid quarters (standard here) which will end up as storage space for us. It's a duplex apartment with a nice central staircase. The apartment is as large as our house in Oak Park. Plus, it's a one block walk to the Corniche, a five minute walk to the beach, and a ten minute walk to the girls' school. There is a Choithram Grocery store in the base of our building, so I can get all the food we need within 75 steps and a short elevator ride. I'm sold. We're staying.

Many of you have been asking about Helen (of Troy), our big Golden Retriever. She was the most stressful part about moving to Abu Dhabi, but we're all happy she's here now. Yes it is hot for her and there is no back yard, but we have the shady green parkways of the Corniche just one block from our house. She gets exercise when we walk to school in the morning and the temperature is cooler. Then she gets 3 or 4 shorter walks the rest of the day. She misses the rabbits and squirrels of Oak Park, but there are enough stray cats around here to keep her entertained. I'm not sure if she wants them as a friend or as dinner, but I haven't let her close enough to find out. There are other dogs around here, both big and small. We have already made friends in the building through our dogs meeting along the Corniche. One family in our building owns nine dogs and has two Phillipino maids working for them full time to take care of them. But most Muslims have been raised to fear dogs, so we get lots of apprehensive looks and people crossing the street when they see us out walking. Occasionally people have wanted photos with Helen, so dogs are still a bit of a novelty around here. It will take a lot to convince the Emirati that Helen is the sweetest dog out there and just wants to be friends with everyone.