Lebanon

Tuesday September 29th
Today I began my voyage to the Middle East with my father and uncle. Our first destination was Beirut, Lebanon.
My preconceievd notion of what the country would be like was totally incorrect, and it was evident once I got off the plane. I expected an extremely conservative society with all the ladies with head scarves and most men wearing traditional robes and long beard. As I walked out of the airport I saw this was not the case; I saw girls wearing mini-skirts and billboards for Absolute Vodka and Heinekien Beer on the walls.
During our drive to the hotel, I noticed that the terrain was reminiscent of Greece's land. Even more astonishing were the many reminders of Western and American lifestyle: KFC, TGI Fridays, Starbucks, the radio station Lite FM...
We dropped out stuff off at our hotel and went to look around the city. My dad's costumer, Imad, picked us up and gave us the quick tour of Beirut. He has been asking my dad to visit him every year, and was extremely happy that my father and uncle finally came. However, Imad was also upset because we were only staying in Lebanon for one night.
Our first stopn was a downtown, antique looking area, filled with shops and cafes. There were also 3 churches, a mosque and Greco-Roman ruins all next to one another. That was another surprise for me. I knew that there were many Christians in Lebanon, but I did not realize that there were this many (Imad said 1/3 of the population= about 1 million). In fact, as we drove around Beirut I saw many more churches and mosques.
After walking around the town, we went back to Imad's shop. It was really beautiful store with elaborate carpets and magnificent art work. We went to his office and the adults spoke business; I just ate fruits and baklava.
(Imad's business partner, Seri, also came into the office for business.)
After the business talk, we went to a place callec Herissa, a really high place so we could see the whole city below us. It is also a Catholic holy site; there is a Church and a huge statue of Mary. It was really cool to see the entirity of Beirut with millions of lights and houses.
After Herissa we went to dinner at a Lebanonese place called Mhanna. It was a huge Lebanonese feast with dozens of dishes to eat: hummas, zucchinni, fish, raw lamb, chicken, lamb, salads, lamb, chops, pork, shish kebab, chick peas, stuffed grape leaves. For desert there fruits, sweets and baklava: plums, pears, apples, grapes (the size of my thump), pineapple, tomato looking fruit, which was amazing, and guava. The stuff was so tasty and delicious.
I sat next to Seri and I talked with her about Lebanon culture, asking her so many questions. We talked about things such as religion in the daily life (there aare 19 religions in Lebanon), Hezbollah, the night life and Western/ American influences in the region.
After dinner we said our good-byes. Imad was such a nice, hospitable person who showed us an amazing time and gave us a great, however brief introduction in Lebanese culture. He even gave me his beautiful watch so that I would never forget him, and he invited us to go to his house in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt whenever we wanted. Lebanon was a beautiful country where I learnt a lot and experienced such amazing hospitality.