Mount Lebanon

Mount Lebanon has historically defined Lebanon.

Its snowy peaks have given the country its name “Lebanon”, from “Laban” which means “white” in Aramaic (a Semitic language still spoken in some parts of the Middle East) and many patriotic songs refer to the white mount as a symbol of the country.

We arrived to Baakleen, lovely town in the Shouf Mountains, a district of Mount Lebanon governorate.
Birth place of Emir Fakhereddine Al Maani, who founded “Lubnan el Kebir", (the Great Lebanon) and fief of Lebanese Druzes (a Muslim minority) and Christians, this lovely town stands proudly on the Mount, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

After a yummy home-made breakfast prepared by local women (oregano and paprika bread, olive oil and goat cheese), and a warm welcome speech from the Mayor of the city, we started the ride through the mountains.

Mediterranean mountain villages have all this “little something” in common, and cycling through Lebanon’s mounts, I felt several times that I could have been anywhere in Spanish Alpujarras or Moroccan Rif. White houses with flowery balconies and charming orchards, small stone-built churches with red bricks rooftops, little ceramic fountains plazas and olive and pine woods between villages…What an amazing feeling of tranquillity and security, as opposed to Beirut’s hustle and bustle and endless security check points!

The region seemed totally spared by the climate of political instability and a group of over 250 women passing by cycling was definitely an uncommon event that brought out of their houses many people: women, men, old, children, youth, waving to us and hailing “Marhaba!” (Welcome!).
I was touched by the many shops’ owners leaving spontaneously their counters and standing at the edge of the road, offering us juice, fruits and candies. What a good excuse to stop a little bit (especially in uphills!), rise up our glycaemia and have a quick chat with Druze people.

This curious Muslim community has principles that are greatly influenced by Greek, Sufi and Gnostic philosophies and claim to be a reformatory sect, rejecting traditional religious practices and privileging spirituality. They follow the Sunni train of thought on history and their principles focus on honesty, loyalty and altruism. They’re known far and wide for their hospitality and warm welcome of visitors to whom the doors of any Druze home, wealthy or modest, should always be open.

A few “improvised” stops, yummy snacks and little chats later, I realized that I was running far behind my cycling mates and decided to speed up a bit, responding (with regrets!) to many other invitations to fruits/candies/juice-stops by polite “Yaatekom el Afieh” (May God give you good health).

A little after we passed Sheheem, where local NGOs welcomed us with more sweets and the traditional Lebanese Dabkeh (a Middle Eastern dance in circle), and in a totally unexpected steep slope, my bike’s fore tyre went down and I had my first fall off.
Nothing serious, just a few scratches and a sour ankle but Jawad our “Beirut by bike” team boss was firm: no more cycling for me today, I had to join the little emergency-minibus… :-(

By the beginning of the afternoon, we reached Jiyyeh, a seaside town famous for hosting the country’s largest power station. This power station, along with the nearby bridge connecting Beirut to the south of Lebanon was severely bombed by Israel in the July 2006 attack and the resulting oil spill released over 16000 tons of crude oil into the Mediterranean sea, destroying marine life along Jiyyeh’s coast and reaching as far north as Syria and Turkey…

The vision of the disemboweled cooling towers brought us back to Lebanon’s reality of constant instability and frequent wars, after a short break in the peaceful and quiet environment of Mount Lebanon.

But the multiple cranes and concrete blocks’ transporters around the bridge - which reconstruction is almost finished - showed an other reality…the one of a country challenging wars and instability and never ever saying die :-)