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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Not Running Makes Me Said - Friday July 1, 2011
I intended to run this Thursday morning, but the dust kept me indoors. Also, this morning I woke up excited to go on my regular Friday Morning Run, only to find out that the dust was much worse then before. So I decided to save my lungs and stay indoors. I don't know if this was a wise decision, as suffering the withdrawal symptoms from not running overshadowed my whole being and sucked the happiness out of my day. Whatever activity I tried to divert my mind away from my addiction failed. It appeared I badly needed to listen to the rhythmic pounding of my feet on the pavement in order to release my mind and free it from its anxiety. Now, I am getting myself ready to go on the Friday Evening Run and I can't wait! I have to feel the exhilaration that comes from the fluid movement of my body and the rhythmic beating of my heart that also frees my mind.
