Walid Jumblatt, Beitddine, Ksara and Baalbeck: Trip 1

Last Saturday, we went on our first SINARC Excursion. Our first stop was to the Shouf Mountain, to visit the home of prominent Druze political leader Walid Jumblatt. The official leader of the PSP, or the Progressive Socialist Party of Lebanon, Jumblatt lives in a private complex in the heart of the Shouf mountains. The Druze are a religious and political community in Lebanon. They are technically an offshoot of Islam, but with their own unique religious and cultural traditions. We met with Jumblatt, and were allowed to ask pretty controversial questions, which was really interesting. Beyond supporting Syria and Hezbollah and strongly opposing Israel, Jumblatt also recommended some good reads on the Middle East, including: Beware of Small States by David Hirst.

Our next stop was Beiteddine, by way of Deir al-Qamar. The Beiteddine Palace is a beautiful national hallmark, which also hosts the Beiteddine Summer Music Festival, showcasing local and international artists and performers. There were some really beautiful views of the mountains, and some great natural springs to cool off and recharge before the next part of our trip.

After grabbing a quick lunch of Labneh sandwiches, we headed to Ksara winery for a wine tasting. Ksara is located about 10 minutes away from Zahle, and I had visited the winery earlier this summer. My uncle owns a travel agency in Zahle, Hajjar Travel, and he hosted the business attache for the Polish Ambassador as part of the celebration of the opening of a direct flight from Warsaw to Beirut. We met with some of their reporters, toured the wineries, went to lunch at the Shams restaurant. This visit to Ksara was similarly fun, and the caves underneath the winery are really cool.

Post wine tour, we headed for our final stop, Baalbeck. This is one of the most famous Roman ruins in Lebanon, and is truly fabulous. The temple was originally built to honor Baal, the Roman god, and now serves as an awesome venue for Lebanese art and cultural performances. Definitely an awesome site, and the ruins are amazing.