Feb 23, 2010 - Tripoli

@@@@@@@ While there is evidence of human settlement into the distant past, by the 8th century BC, the small Phoenician village had grown with the arrival of traders from Sidon, Tyre, and Tartus (Syria). Each community settled within its own set of walls, thus giving the name Tripolis, three cities (Trablous in Arabic). A massive earthquake leveled the buildings in 543 AD and from then on, through history it was invaded and conquered by various ethnic groups. Five hundred years later, it became a centre of learning, with the school known as...

Jul 11, 2006 - Ehden and the Cedars

Last Friday and Saturday we went camping in the Cedars region near the village of Ehden. The Cedar is a beautiful area, but it is unfortunately being deforested because the government does not have enough money to protect most of the area. We also saw the body of Youssef Kazam, a 19th century Lebanese patriot who was named a saint after it was found that his body was not decaying. Needless to say, seeing the body in tact was a very spiritual moment for me.