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| Byblos harbor as seen from the breakwater |
After a prolonged absence, I'm back with updates from Lebanon. We finally made it out of the city over Eid weekend. We were stuck in Beirut for several weeks while we were finding an apartment and Andrea was getting settled at school. Our first out-of-town foray was to the ancient Phoenecian / Greek / Arab city of
Byblos (or Jebeil - it's Arabic name). We got there a little late as we took our time waking up and buying groceries for the weekend. Because we got there so late we decided to not pay for admission into the archeology sites which were only open for a few more hours so this update will cover our forays into modern day Jebeil. Don't worry though - I'm sure we'll find another reason to return soon as the town was spectacular. It is a very quaint and compact city with an active fishing harbor that was once one of the major international commerce hubs in the region.
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| A typical Jebeil fishing boat |
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| I love this scene - the fishnets and the city's entire fishing fleet moored for the holiday weekend |
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Back in Lebanon's glamorous years, Jebail was a popular watering hole for the yacht crowd. We went to one of the more famous outdoor bars and had a drink.
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| Mojitos in Lebanon are so good! |
The whole town is very picturesque and they have a beautifully restored historic district with the original souq. This street that lead from the harbor to the souq captured both of our imaginations.
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| Imagine living on this street |
After a very relaxing day of wandering Jebeil taking in the sites we walked out to the breakwater and watched the sunset over the Mediterranean.
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| The yacht days of Jebeil seem to be returning |
All in all, it was a great first experience of Lebanon's many seaside towns.
