MY Favourite Beaches in North Lebanon

Driving back to Tripoli from Beirut on weekends, I alwaYs notice how beautiful the coastline gets as I near home, and how it especiallY calls out to me right after I exit the tunnel in Chekka and drive further North. When You take a closer look along that coast, You’ll see that it’s lined with a haven of special spots for sea lovers of all kinds. This summer, I made it a point to visit as manY of those different beach spots as I could, and with a little help from Instagram, I ended up discovering places that made me fall even more in love with mY North!

Let’s start with Batroun, a citY just before the infamous tunnel leading North. It’s home to Pierre and Friends, which also doubles as a pub and restaurant. I've known the place for a good ten Years now, ever since high school, and what I love most about it is its verY laid-back and chill atmosphere. But mY favourite reason to love it, are it's incredible sunsets, behold:

Not too far down that coast, is another gem of a spot: White Beach. Like P&F, it's also got a pebblY shore but the water is cool and it's got a mini rockY island in the middle of the sea with a Lebanese Flag proudlY poled to it. White Beach is also a surf school, and You can alwaYs catch windsurfers in the waters. 

Kfaraabida (the area between Batroun & Chekka) is trulY one of the best locations I got to discover this summer, especiallY after the #SaveKfaraabida Campaign, that was launched to raise awareness about the recent project that aims to turn the area into a private Yacht Club. But for me to describe to You how incredible the area is in just words, I’d be doing it no justice... 

One of MY favourite spots there is Joining Beach. And to be honest, if I hadn't come across a few pictures of it on Instagram and known where to look, I'd have missed it completelY! All You can see from the road is a sign that reads "Joining" in Arabic. And even standing from the edge, You'd never have thought it to be an actual beach spot. It's 100% comprised of rocks, most of which is downwards slanting, not a verY comfortable place to laY down and tan (though a lot of people do) but the reason I loved it was because of everYthing that was underneath those rocks! It's also a great spot for cliff diving, and once You're under that water, You'll see an entirelY different world down there!

But if You want to swim awaY from all the rocks and pebbled beaches, then You've got to take that tunnel in Chekka and You'll end up in El-Herri. And here's a little secret: If You're willing to make a little detour on Your waY, if You take Your first exit after the tunnel and head up, You'll end up at the monasterY of Our LadY of Light (SaYdet El Nourieh) where You can catch a breathtaking view of the sea from up above:

Of course You've got the most famous in the area: Florida Beach, but You've also got an endless collection of smaller beaches that include BennY Beach, SandY Beach, and mY personal favourite: MiraLand. I love the latter because of its huge sandY shore. It's also one of mY favourite spots to rent a paddle-board (haské) and row it out to the sea. The water is usuallY calm and just knowing that a holY place rests in the cliff above You gives You a magical kind of feeling...

After Chekka comes a little area known as Anfeh. And boY has it ever grown in popularitY this summer! You’ve got the most well-known beach resort in the area, Las Salinas, and the slightlY less popular, Marina Del Sol. But right adjacent to those two, is the now-popular Ta7t El Ri7, which is comprised of a collection of private chalets on a rockY cliff that is open to the public. The location has been painted in white and blue, reflecting Santorini-like vibes and nicknamed Anforini. All You’ve got to do is dive in! 

FinallY, it's back to mY hometown, Tripoli. If You want to talk beach resorts in the area, You’ve got the big three: Palma, Naji, & Miramar (in Kalamoun). Each resort has got it’s own charm, and nice beaches (& pools) to swim in. 

But if You reallY want the best beach experience ever, take a boat (for as little as LBP 5,000) from Mina's Port out to Rabbits Island!

El Mina is home to nine islands, four of which have been declared as nature reserves, the most popular of which is Palm Island (better known as Rabbits Island). It’s the second largest of the islands with a beautiful sandY shore and crYstal clear blue waters. 

You’ll want to make a full daY trip out of this one. You’ll need to pack some snacks and drinks to take with You as there's no food on the islands, and an umbrella for shade if You need one. Nothing beats a breakfast here (preferablY a man2ouché):

While I've listed some of mY favourite Beaches in North Lebanon, I'm sure there are still a lot of more secret spots to discover! If You'd like to share, please leave a comment!

Let's Talk About The Food (Prague)

Before flying out to Prague, I had heard from a good number of people who had previously been, that the food was no good. So let’s talk about the food…

On the first night, we had dinner at Uno Mediterranean Restaurant & Bar (located on the last level of Palladium Shopping Mall). I wanted to try out a traditional Czech meal so I ordered the beef Goulash, which is served with potato pancakes and red onions. I have to admit, it was quite good (a lot better than I expected)! We even ended up having dinner here again on our last night, where I had a fresh greek salad, mixed with balkan cheese, lettuce, cucumber, red onion, peppers, olives, tomatoes and olive oil. And as a main course, Gnocchi pasta, served with salmon, spinach and creamy sauce which was also delicious!

But as a Burger Addict, Burgers is what I was really into trying out! So on our first full day after the walking tour, we found ourselves back at Old Town Square, where the first food place to catch my eye was Meet Burger. And it was hands-down, the best burger I had in Prague, let alone in a very long time. What I loved most about this place was that their buns and sauces are homemade. And the meat, which I ordered medium-well, was just delicious! Oh, and another cool thing that I (being a banker) liked about the place was that they have a wall filled with bank notes from around the world where visitors sign and pin bank notes (of course in small denominations) from their country on the wall:

On the second day after coming downhill from Prague Castle, we decided to check out the eateries on Kampa Island in Mala Strana. The first place we came across was called U Zlatych Nuzek, which is actually a Hotel/Restaurant. I definitely wouldn’t classify it as a burger place, but a burger is what I ordered. 

On the third day, I wanted to go for Joy Burger Bar And Grill, which is located close to Powder Tower. It was quite packed at the time, but we managed to find a small table in the corner to chow. Their burgers were also good but out of the three burgers that I  had tried in those four days, I have to give Meet Burger the crown. Nonetheless, here’s my Joy Burger: 

As for the desserts, one of their most famous delectables in Prague is The Strudel. Though it’s sold in many spots across the city, one of the best places to try it at is Good Food Coffee & Bakery, located at Karlova 8 (not far from Charles Bridge). I’d been passing by the place almost every afternoon and seeing the long lineup outside the shop, I had to finally stop and check out what all the fuss was about. So on the last day, I got in line. Boy, was it worth the wait! I had this Chimney Strudel which is filled with warm molten apple, walnuts, raisins, and topped with soft ice-cream (or whipped cream, your choice). A must try in Prague!

The Vltava River (Prague)

One of the most beautiful things you can do in Prague is take a boat cruise along the Vltava River (the longest river in the Czech Republic) at around sunset. There are many companies that offer rides for lunch or dinner, but even our hotel concierge suggested skipping the food and going along just to enjoy the scenery. Indeed, it was magical…

At sunset, which was close to 6:30pm in late March, you begin to visibly see the skies changing colour. The birds & ducks start making those deep quacking sounds, & flying across the river, as Prague Castle lights up from the distance…

Another delight that can be found along the river bank is a small stretch of a pebbled beach ground that many people have come to know as “Swan River”. It’s an area that’s usually filled with a flock of swans that waddle around the Vltava, and visitors can feed them as they’ve grown quite accustomed to human interactions... 

The John Lennon Wall (Prague)

After crossing Charles Bridge from Old Town to Lesser Town, if you take your 1st Left & then Left again, you come across one of Prague's iconic gems: The John Lennon Peace Wall (located at Velkopřevorské náměstí, Malá Strana):

This famous wall first started collecting John Lennon & The Beatles’ inspired graffiti in the 1980s, as a symbol of Peace & Love, which it still stands for today. Everyday, new drawings and lyrics are added to the wall by its many visitors, constantly changing visuals.  

& To add to the ambiance, we came across a street musician singing and playing his guitar to The Beatles' “Let It Be”. I took this video of him and shared it on Instagram, where I later received a comment from one of his fans that he was actually a rising Czech musical artist, by the name of Thom Artway. I looked him up online and he appears to have some good music. You can check out his official page here.

The Magic of My Tripoli...

It's been a while since I've written anything worthy of my city. Over the past few months, I've kept my head low and my expectations lower with all the shenanigans and trouble that's been cooking up in the city. I didn't recognize it anymore, and if I called it by name, you'd only hear it a whisper: Tripoli…

Two weeks ago, the holy month of Ramadan graced us. With it, the gunfire quietened, the burning tires and blocked roads stopped burning and opened up, and a fresh breath of faith breezed through the city. In this light breeze, I heard a voice. It sounded familiar, from not so long ago. It was my city, Tripoli, calling again. It was barely a whisper, but I heard it, I listened. And I answered... 

This calling was from a group and event I oh so love, We Love Tripoli's "Ramadaniyat" Shoot As You Walk. Every shot of every corner, street, place, and person in this city, every new lens test, and photographic learning experience, I am forever grateful to this group, esp. to it's head, Taha Naji. Our latest meeting was last Sunday, after the Taraweeh Night Prayers. Taha had decided we gather at a new checkpoint, The Municipality of Tripoli (i/o Nawfal Palace). It was quite a crowd; some there to socialize, some to walk, and some to take pictures. When we started, as we do every time, I like to make my way to the front of the group. I think you get better pictures of the streets and spirits as they are from up front. And that's where it all begins...

We walked as we always do, and I always start off frustrated with the difficulty in taking good night photos. After several darkened and blurry snapshots, I finally find an acceptable camera setting and scout my eyes for "moments". I sometimes don't have words to describe what I see and feel. But when we entered the old souks, to the children, that's where my heart started beating for Tripoli again. From the drummer kids in the street, to the children playing with fireworks, to the mischievousness and carelessness on their little faces, that was their real life, raw. And for a moment, I was a part of it. See there's a quote about photography which speaks from my heart. It reads: 

"WE ARE PHOTOGRAPHERS. We are not here to show people what they can already see. We are here to give them experiences they would otherwise never have experienced. We are here to preserve moments that otherwise would have been forgotten. We are here to capture things which have no words to describe." 

And then, I saw him. I hadn't seen him since last Ramadan, at this exact same location in Moussa's Cafe. I wouldn't mistake his cute face anywhere, and God, how he'd grown... 

I don't think he remembered me, as the only words I've ever told him year after year were "can I take a picture of you?" And he'd flash me his cute grin and enjoy the spotlight I'd give him. I later learned that his name is Omar. Omar had grown up so much since I first met him in 2010. He'd also gotten his hands on a motorbike, which he seemed to be enjoying more than anything. And his beautiful smile never left his face...

Omar in 2013

Omar in 2010

We walked through the crowded cafe, bustling with hubble-bubbling locals, kids with toy guns, and of course, Omar circling around on his motorbike. I knew when we reached this point it was the end of our tour.  But it was in that moment that I found it, I found that though I love shooting people candid, I loved shooting children candid even more. The souk kids, all of them, they just stole my heart. And I just can't wait to see them again!

So if you're still reading this, then with all my heart, I invite you to join me on some of the most beautiful experiences anyone can go through in Tripoli, and that's "Shoot As You Walk". And for double the magic, join a "Ramadaniyat" event because I still haven't shown you how beautiful it is… :-)

Jordan Day II: Madaba, Mount Nebo, & Bethany Beyond the Jordan

I woke up early this morning, with aching legs and feet. I guess it's because of all the walking we did in Jerash and Ajlun Castle yesterday. Despite the pain though, I felt excited as ever because today was the day I was looking forward to the most! 

Madaba, located 30km south-west of the capital Amman, is best known for its Byzantine and Umayyad Mosaics, especially a large Byzantine-eara mosaic map of the Holy Land. We visited two churches in Madaba, The Greek Orthodox Basilica of Saint George and The Church Of Saint John The Baptist...

The top three photos are of the former church, with the third being of the Mosaic Map unearthed in 1864, which was once a clear map with 157 captions (in Greek) of all major biblical sites from Lebanon to Egypt. The mosaic was constructed in 560 AD and once contained more than 2 million pieces, only 1/3 of the whole now survives…

The bottom three photos are of the latter church, which was built in 1913. What's special about this church is that it has a lot of underground tunnels and holds The Shrine Of The Beheading Of Saint John The Baptist (Patron Of Madaba And Jordan). It also has The Bell Tower which you can climb...

The Bell Tower of this church is the highest vantage point in Madaba. It's quite a climb, but once you're up there, you can experience a wonderful panorama of Madaba and all its surroundings...

We then stopped for lunch at Haret Jdoudna, a magical village of restaurants, coffee shops and a traditional Jordanian Souk and Crafts Market...

Next up was Mount Nebo, an elevated ridge in Jordan, approximately 817 meters above sea level, mentioned in the Bible as the place where Moses was granted a view of the Promised Land that he would never enter. The view from the summit provides a panorama of The Holy Land and, to the north, a more limited one of the valley of The River Jordan. The West Bank city of Jericho is usually visible from the summit, as is Jerusalem on a very clear day...

Next, we went to Bethany Beyond The Jordan to the place where Jesus was baptized, located on the Jordanian side of The Jordan River...

At the end of the day, we went back up to The Dead Sea Panorama, which boasts a breathtaking view of The Dead Sea. It was a little too sunny to take good pictures, but I set up this tripod to get the three of us at the top of the world! :-)

Jordan Day I: Jerash & Ajlun Castle

On my first Jordanian morning, I woke up at 8:00AM and Nadine made waffles which we gobbled up with a drink of orange juice in under 15 minutes before heading over to Sari's, who was our driver, tour guide, and of course best friend during the trip! The first direction on my Jordanian vacation was compass north, to the ancient city of Jerash, famous for its Roman ruins. We reached our destination in roughly an hour, with The Arch of Hadrian looming in front of us, indicating (especially to Nadine :-P) that we had arrived! I later found out that this arch was built to celebrate Emperor Hadrian's visit to Jerash in 129-130 AD...

When entering, the first thing you see is the Hippodrome, a partially restored Roman-era stadium. At only 245m long and 52m wide, it was the smallest hippodrome in the the Roman Empire... 

I took this cover picture with the background of The Oval Plaza, surrounded by a broad sidewalk and a colonnade of 1st century Ionic columns. This Cardo once lined with the city's major buildings, shops and residences. A complex drainage system lies below the stone paving, and chariot tracks can actually be seen in the stone!

Below is the South Theatre of Jerash, which seats more than 3,000 spectators and serves today as the primary venue in The Jerash Festivals. The brilliant design took all the factors in consideration, such as the sun's brightness and direction. For this reason, the theatre was built in a way so to allow the least amount of sunlight to disturb the audience. And the remarkable acoustics allows a speaker at the centre of the orchestra floor to be heard by the entire auditorium without raising his/her voice!

Daily features include bagpipers in traditional Jordanian military dress such as this friendly one we took a picture with!

Next up was The Temple of Artemis (daughter of Zeus and sister of Apollo), built on one of the highest points and dominated the whole city. It's an impressive temple ruin dedicated to the patron goddess of the city. The temple was designed to be earthquake-proof so some of the columns move and you can feel it if you insert your fingers between the section of the columns!

Below is the smaller second North Theater, which was planed to be either a small performance space or a city council chamber. If you looks close enough, you'll see that the group of tourists behind us have their arms outstretched like Nadine and me, what a funny British group they were!

By the time we had finished our tour, we were absolutely famished. So for lunch, we went to The Lebanese House. It's one of the oldest Lebanese food restaurant in Jordan, established in 1977 in Jerash by a Lebanese woman named Antoinette Rami, better known in Jordan as Umm Khalil. The food, especially the mezza, was scrumptious! I even tried the famous Labneh Jerashieh, a thick cheese-like yoghurt which also tasted incredible!

After lunch, Esper (Sari's Nokia GPS, which was surprisingly accurate!) lead us to Ajloun Castle, located on the top of a mountain just outside the small city of Ajloun, a mere 10 miles away from Jerash. It's an Islamic fortress, built during the period of the Crusades. The castle is an interesting maze of passages and levels, and offers a wonderful view of the surrounding area of northwestern Jordan...