At land border crossings, there is always a little desperation (not all in the queue of hopefuls will pass), a great deal of filth (usually spewn and thrown from the convoys of tailbacked semis), and a fair amount of unscrupulousness (to be found in any ill-considered transaction with the money changing sharks circling the checkpoints). The Lebanese - Syrian border was no exception. I was pleased, however, to have the one-month visa stamped in my passport at no charge. Other than the free visa, my introduction to Lebanon was rather grim, with by far the worst stretch of road that I have seen since starting in Portugal last June. This was followed by a series of depressingly squalid Palestinian refugee camps that lined the highway. That sounds a bit like the imperialist traveller, doesn't it? Like, "Curse those refugees for spoiling my holiday merry-making!" In Tripoli I recovered from some food poisoning that I picked up in Syria - I'm very glad to have packed some powerful, fast-acting antibiotics in the medical kit. Wandering around the souq in Tripoli, a little kid wanted to try my camera, and he ended up taking a photo of these lettuce vendors, which I think is the best photo in the Lebanon album. (3/26/05) *

In Lebanon it is possible, maybe even a little too easy, to forget that you are in a foreign country. This happened to me briefly as I was eating in a spotlessly chic Italian restaurant in Tripoli, watching the U.S. womens' curling team defeat the previously undefeated Swedes in the semifinals of the World Curling Championships in Scotland. It was an intense match that was not decided until the last of the stones had cleared the hog line. Twins are on our team, one of whom is the talented team skip - so you should highlight womens' curling for your winter olympic viewing schedule - they've got gold in their eyes. (3/27/05)

On the way down to Beirut I stopped in Byblos to see the crusader castle and Phoenician ruins in a city that claims to be the oldest continually inhabited location on the planet. They are not alone in making the claim - Damascus is also a contender - but regardless, eight thousand years of human habitation is not too shabby. (3/28/05)

When I was about to leave Byblos behind to continue on the road south to Beirut, a group of swanky young urban Lebanese professionals invited me to join them for coffee at an outdoor cafe. They all spoke perfect English and were up from Beirut to enjoy the Easter holiday on the Byblos coast until their return to the grindstones that awaited them Beirut. These are the remains of the Temple of Baalat Gebal in the foreground, which dates back to the Egyptian empire, around 4000 B.C. You can see the modern city highrises climbing the hills in the background. (3/28/05)

Although the 17-year civil war between the Christian and Muslim militias in Lebanon ended in the early 90's, there is still evidence of the ferocity of the fighting in the form of bullet-riddled and bombed out buildings throughout the country. The downtown Holiday Inn in Beirut was spanking new at the commencement of the fighting in the mid-70's, and was a magnet for bullets and explosives due to all the snipers who liked to take up positions here. It stands in sharp contrast next to two of the swankiest hotels in town, but is not the only example of the new building boom sharing space with casualties of the war. (3/29/05)

The bombing of Rafiq Hariri is obviously still recieving a lot of attention, and there are commemorative posters all over town on buildings, car windows, on fruit carts, the front of scooters, and basically any place that will accomodate his image. In the downtown area there is a memorial site set up near a tent city where protesters are camped out in support of an independent Lebanon. Security is reassuringly tight all over town, and to enter the downtown area you have to go past soldiers that check any packages you might be carrying (even my camera bag was opened). Everyone is going about their daily business, and to my untrained eye the vibe that seems to be coming off of the protesters is one of excitement for the possibilities of change, rather than a call for violence. (3/29/05)

Beirut's Central District (BCD) in downtown Beirut is totally new, so it must have been in really bad shape at the end of the civil war. Now Place d'Etoile is ground zero for all the swish new cafes that always seem to be doing brisk business with the monied set. I have also been paying this area some visits to get back to the good life - I had the best Indian food of the trip not too far from here. Incidentally, I was reading the March issue of Wallpaper at brunch in an NYC-style cafe called Tribeca located in the club strip near Rue Monot, and there was a piece about a Lebanese architect named Khoury. He said that Beirut was the ugliest city in the world, and that architects should embrace this ugliness rather than trying to create something cute or pretty. I would agree with him on the ugliness factor, but that does mean that the city does not have a lot to offer in other departments. (3/30/05)

I think that this is what all sunsets looked like in the 1970's in terms of the color scheme. At least it's been a while since I've seen a golden brown sunset. It made me nostalgic for Niel Young - pre-Crazy Horse, that is. This was taken from the Corniche in front of Beirut's landmark Pigeon Rocks. The Corniche is an active promenade full of Lebanese jogging in track suits, couples out for the sea views, or dogs out for bathroom breaks. (3/30/05)

Beirut is a university town, and houses the American University of Beirut - what the trusty book refers to as the most prestigious university in the Middle East. The area around the university is a bizarre mixture of university town fixtures and Rodeo Drive accessories. There are the low key eateries, but they seem populated by students driving up in luxury automobiles and designer clothes. This is another part of town where you have to remind yourself that you are in Lebanon, because English seems to be spoken more than Arabic (all instruction at the university is in English). I wanted to tour the campus, but that is for i.d. holders only. This stern security guard kindly let me take a picture of the hallowed entrance gate, but responsibly denied me further access. (3/30/05)