Tour Of Dhahran November 24

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Bcharre
Gibran's Birthplace This lovely mountain resort town is perched above the eastern end of the beautiful Kadisha Gorge and at the foothills of the Cedars of Lebanon. It is the brith place of Lebanon's most famous author Khalil Gibran. It has a small museum which pays tribute to him.
Beiteddine
"House Of Faith" Beiteddine palace was built over a period of thirty years by Emir Bechir Chehab II. It's architecture reflects the typical oriental architecture of the 19th century Ottoman Era. It is remarkable for its glamorous arcades, multicolored mosaic floors, reception rooms, harems, hammams and even by its guest house "Diyafa" where passing guests were lodged (French poet Lamartine stayed once there).
Byblos
Ancient Phoenician City Detail of the Sarcophagus of Ahiram, king of Byblos, seated on a cherub throne, before an offering table, 13th century B.C (National Museum of Beirut). Around 1200 B.C. the scribes of Byblos developed an alphabetic phonetic script, the precursor of our modern alphabet. By 800 B.C., it had traveled to Greece, changing forever the way man communicated.
Baalbek
Roman Temple of Jupiter Located in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, Baalbek is an ancient city that has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Originally Canaanite (3rd century BC), the Assyrians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, and Arabs successively occupied Ba'albek and left their imprints on the place, often modifying what existed previously.

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Beirut, Lebanon

Local Time: 00:16

Report: 22:00 UTC

12°C

scattered clouds

Feels like: 10°C

Dew Point: 4°C

Humidity: 58%

Wind: SSE at 15 km/h

Visibility: 10 km

Barometer: 1021 hPa
(30.15 in Hg)

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Tour Of Dhahran November 24 - 30, 2011

Written by Jay Fares

Friday, 16 December 2011 16:08

Tour Of Dhahran November 24 - 30, 2011

The Tour of Dhahran (TOD) is considered the toughest race in the Middle East. It is a series of six races to be performed within seven days. It starts on Thursday and ends on Wednesday with Sunday being a rest day. Since it first started in 1987, only 304 athletes were able to finish it. Not bad for the JAYMAN to be one of these three-hundred and four! Thank you all for your support! My greatest thanks to the “CS Wellness Running” group outstanding coach and leader Ian Wilson!

Day	Description	Comments	My Times
1	5.2 miles desert cross-country	Tough hilly and rocky terrain with some stretches through sand embankments	1:00:18
2	12 miles road race	Normal road conditions	2:29:26
3	1 mile downhill race	Rainy, cold and slippery	08:49.7
4	Rest
5	8 miles king-of-the-hills race	Nice, liked uphill more than downhill	1:31:56
6	5 miles road race	Ran in triennial rain and cold weather conditions with temperature 11 C. I could not see through my glasses with the rain and darkness. At times I ran in ankles-deep water. I overcame my phobia of running in the rain.	1:01:08
7	5K track race	The weather was cold, but not rainy. I felt that I should quit because the track loops looked endless. What helped me was that during the last four laps I thought of one of my family members. Each lap I dedicated it to one of them with the last lap dedicated to my Dad's soul, who trained in his youth, at AUB, to represent Lebanon in the 100m race at the London Olympic Games in 1948, but was unable to participate.	0:32:50
		Total:	6:44:28