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 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).
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.
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.
www.kaftoun.com
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Kettlebell Double Arm Swing
Kettlebell Double Arm Swing
- Pick up a kettlebell with both arms, keeping your knees slightly bent, your back arched flat, your head up, and the weight on your heels.
- Observe how the weight remains on the heels and the shins are vertical. You should feel that the K-bell is pulling you backward and loading your hamstrings. The position illustrated is essential to master; if you let your knees protrude forward you will never get the leverage to bring your hips in on the action.
- Snap the hips through by contracting your glutes explosively, a motion similar to a vertical jump. Visualize jumping up and at the same time projecting the girya straight ahead with the power of your hips.
- You can pull the bell to the level of your waist, your chest, above your head, or even straight up as you get more confident.
- When you reach the top of the movement, immediately let the bell free fall to the spot slightly below and behind your knees. Once that destination is reached, proceed with the next rep without hesitation. No pause at all; as if you are touching a hot stove!
- For men, performing this exercise by itself on a daily bases in sets of six or eight, of 30 reps each, using 16kg kettelebell, with rest of 1-2 minutes in between, is sufficient for maintaining strength and fitness.
