EGYPT.... Izzayek??

My plane left from Beirut 30 minutes later than scheduled, but I think the pilot made up for it with his flying skills. Speaking of pilots, these guys fly their planes just like they drive their cars. He landed the plane immediately after completing a sharp turn. Then after we touched down, he hardly had time to brake and quickly made another turn off the runway. (It sounds worse than it was... don't worry). They plane was brand-new looking and very, very clean (Middle East Airlines).

Anyway I got off the plane ala Burbank airport style with the stairs. A bus waits for you on the runway and takes you to the terminal. At the terminal we had to fill out an entry card. I filled everything out except "address in Egypt". I told the security my friend is picking me up so i don't know where I'm going. A lady, seeing that i was getting a little frustrated/confused came over to help me. She was Egyptian who also lived in Washington or something. Anyway, she was sooo nice, spoke perfect English, and just told me to put her address. She also walked with me through customs, telling everyone i was with her and her family.

I am in a large building on the 7th floor. The first half of the building is one hostel... and the second half is in another hostel. It's pretty funny. My hostel is called Arabesque Hotel on Ramsees Street. I have two roommates. 1 is a pharmacy student from Hungary and the 2nd is a medical student from Poland. They are good guys.




Everything is so cheap here... i love it!! Dad was right, the difference between Lebanon and Egypt is like night and day.

Alcohol is very scarce, but you can find it if you look. So Mom and Grandma, don't worry... I'm not "drinking too much" =) Last night we went to this area where there is a huge bazaar where you can buy souvenirs and smoke argileh (they call it "shisha" here). That was fun. I forget the full name of the area but it ends in "Khalili" and the shisha place we went to was called El Fishawy and it is very famous because it is one of the oldest ones.





For the most part my program is not really organized. Typical Egyptian style I guess. I'm actually training right now in the Children's Cancer Hospital in Cairo. It's very modern and supposedly the best one in the Middle East. Who would have thought... Mr. community pharmacy working as a clinician in an inpatient setting....





We are going to Alexandria this weekend then next week we start a huge 10 or 11 day tour of the country. Should be amazing.

Rest, Relaxation, and Really old Ruins

At half way through our trip, we needed some time to relax, rejuvenate and recharge. We took the advice of some friends and visited the beach resort called Edde-Sands. It’s made up of a complex array of pools, ponds, and of course, the Mediterranean Sea. For lunch we had ice cold Almaza beer and some pizza. In the evening we had some chicken Shawerma sandwiches from a local joint. I went to bed while dad stayed up and did some work on the computer.





Our trip to Baalbeck the next day started slow. We first had breakfast at Wooden Bakery and enjoyed fresh squeezed OJ and a Manaiysh sandwich right out of the oven. To reach the Bekaa Valley, we planned on crossing the mountain ranges through Ale, Bhamdoon, and Dhour al Shweir. However, after 1 hour of sitting in traffic and frustration from not being able to figure out the freeway exits that get us there, we turned around. We then took the familiar route through Bikfaya, Bologna and Zahle. From there we turned north towards Baalbeck.

Baalbeck is named after the Phonecian God, Baad. The Ruins are some of the largest and best preserved Roman ruins in the world. Some of the buildings are dated as far back as the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. It is an incredible tourist site no visitor to Lebanon should miss.











On the way back to Beirut we stopped in Zahle and had dinner at the Arabi restaurant in Wadi, Zahle. The menu included tabouleh, garbanzo beans, frog legs, and Asafir. Asafir are tiny birds, unlike the quails we have back at home. As always, dinner was complemented by an argileh and we topped it all off with some ice cream and an assortment of fruit. The plums, in season, were so sweet and juicy; you could not eat them without making a mess.

Beirut 101

This is one class you cannot (or do not want to) sleep through. Our course began a little north of Beirut, in a town called Jbeil (Byblos). It is the oldest continually inhabited town in the world and still stands as it did during Phoenician times. We visited the famous Crusaders Castle, which would protect the city and the port at the height of its existence.






We later went to Tripoli where we walked around the fish markets and enjoyed some amazing “Fooul” at a local “hole-in-the-wall” hotspot.



On Monday we went on a tour of Downtown Beirut. Our adventure started at the American University of Beirut, George’s Alma Mater (one of them, at least). I was very impressed by the campus and could definitely see why he enjoyed his education so much back when he attended the University.







As we were walking around the different buildings we suddenly came upon the library. Thus began our mini-research project. A quick keyword search of “Keushguerian” brought up a certain Master’s Thesis preserved in its full, unadulterated form, written by the one and only, George L. Keushguerian. See for yourself:









After the AUB, we visited the Armenian Evangelical College (AEC) and met up with Dad's old principal/teacher, Zaven Missrlian. He gave us a tour of the high school after the two of them reminisced of the old days when Dad attended the school. After the AEC we also got to see Haigazian University which faces the AEC.





After visiting the different schools, we walked around the streets surrounding the AUB campus. It is a very lively area filled with all different kinds of people. The students are a very diverse and dynamic group and when among them you do not feel as though you are in an Arab country. For lunch we went to a famous falafel joint called Falafel BerBer.





After lunch we returned to the hotel and met up with Alidz and her daughter Talar. Talar took me around Downtown Beirut and showed me some famous landmarks in and around the city. She showed me Roushe, which is a famous rock formation in the sea that is commonly shown on postcards of the country. It reminded me of Los Arcos at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Downtown Beirut is the side of the city that everyone brags about. It is an extravagant area that is home to lavish residential communities, European-style cafes and restaurants, designer stores and boutiques, all with amazing views of the sea. At the end of the day, I even got to do some shopping at Zara, located in one of their newest malls, "Le Mall".



















At night, Hovsep's sons Raffi and Ara took us to an amazing restaurant set in the mountains close to the town of Faraya, which is a ski resort during the winter. It was only 30-40 minutes outside of Beirut. When we left Beirut around 9PM it was 35 degrees Celcius and when we arrived at the restaurant, the temperature dropped to a chill 21 degrees C. It had a beautiful fireplace in the center of the outdoor seating area and their specialty was Saj flatbread filled with cheese, zakhtar, or even lamb. We arrived at around 9:30PM ready to eat dinner. If you think that is a little too late to eat, try explaining yourself to the groups of people that were showing up just before midnight.





What a day!!!

Ya Habib'Albi!

The title says it all! This feeling of content pretty much sums up our experience at Shams Restaurant in Anjar, but that was the end of our day. Let's start at the beginning.

At about 9AM we got in our trusty Yaris and headed towards Bikfaya, a resort town about 30 minutes outside of Beirut. The driving got a little worse, not because of the drivers, but because of the terrain. As I explained before, driving in Lebanon is not for the faint of heart--believe me. The driver must expect anything and everything: motorcycles drive against traffic, men rushing across busy highways, tractors blocking traffic on winding roads, and where passing on the right is more common than passing on the left.

Dad noted how Bikfaya had changed a lot since he had last been there. In fact, it changed so much that we missed our turnoff for D'hour Shwer and we ended up on a narrow road leading to another small village. Realizing our mistake, we turned back, but no before stopping in front of an old lady who was busy preparing saj flatbread. That was a great snack.

















After getting back on the main highway, we passed through D'hour Shwer. Our next stop was Bois de Bologne. Unlike Bikfaya, Dad explained how this town had not changed one bit. We found a cafe and had a cup of coffee at a small shop. The owner of the cafe sat with Dad and discussed the glory days of Bois de Bologne.

















After coffee, we headed toward M'rouj and turned east towards Zahle. We passed through a number of army checkpoints as we made our way through the mountains.

Our next stop would be in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon at a winery named Clos St. Thomas in Kab Elias for some "serious wine tasting" (as my Uncle Vahe would put it). He is the one who recommended we stop here. When we mentioned his name to the owners, they were excited to hear we were coming.































We were given a private tour of the winery, which was built into the mountainside. The aging rooms felt like natural underground caves. Water trickled out of the rocks providing natural humidity for the aging wine.




































The owner had also built a small chapel in the mountainside and a reception tent nearby that they could use to host weddings. We tasted about 6 or 7 different wines including a dessert wine at the end.
































After the wine tasting, we made our way to the town of Anjar. As we entered in on the main road, we were greeted by the intoxicating smells of the open barbecues at Shams Restaurant.
































This place was huge. It consisted of a small market, where you cold buy to-go items from the kitchen, a large banquet area, and an even larger outdoor dining area. The decor was simple, but they made up for that with their excellent food and great SERVICE!!! As soon as an ashtray was filled up with only a few pistachio shells, it was replaced. Dirty napkins were removed immediately after they were used and argileh charcoals were changed every few minutes. Because the cost of labor is cheaper here, the restaurant could afford to staff so many different people, each having their own task. If you still don't have an understanding of the level of service consider this:
1. While you finished your meal, a separate table was prepared nearby with new place setting and a spread of fruit and desserts. When you finished your lunch, you would simply get up and move over to the new table that was already prepared for you so that you would not have to wait for the staff to clean the table you were eating your lunch on.
2. If you somehow couldn't finish your entire meal, they would wrap it up for you. Obviously, a doggy bag is not an uncommon amenity in the United States, but at this restaurant, the waiter would walk it out to the front of the restaurant for you so that you would not have to carry it yourself.

For lunch we shared some freshly fried Sultan Ibrahim (fish), fatoush, kibeh nayeh, mutabbal, cold beer, and an argileh. It was very relaxing. After lunch we had some hot coffee and ashta ice cream.

















After leaving the restaurant we explored the small town of Anjar. There is a very strong Armenian influence in this town which can be traced back to its unique history. It is in the town of Anjar where the French helped settle Armenian refugees escaping from Iskandaroun (Western Armenia) in 1923. A few of the single-room houses remain from the time when it was first settled.
































Our drive back to Beirut was along a shorter road. The road climbed up and over the mountain at a much steeper incline. It was very foggy at the top with low visibility, but people did not change their style of driving. It's something you have to see. Luckily, I took a short video.





That's all for now. I will update everyone soon when there is more to share.