Our Lady Of Light

I've driven past the green mountains of Chekka a countless number of times before, on my routine city escapes to and from Beirut. And with each time I passed, I'd look to those mountains and wonder what lay on the other side, that looked out to the sea. "Our Lady Of Light", they'd all tell me, breath-taking views overlooking the coast. And it's in the North, "my North"...

So with each drive to and from, I'd look and long to go up those mountains, and finally see what they'd all been talking about...

Last week, I promised myself I'd finally make the drive this weekend. And Mum promised she'd be the one to go with me. And so, after a pancakes Sunday breakfast and a few chapters of "The Forty Rules Of Love", we set out. I had checked for directions online, all we had to do was take the side road just before the infamous tunnel of Chekka, and drive up to Hamat. It took about 15 minutes to reach the monastery, where people were just finishing up their Sunday prayers. We walked on towards the blue we saw right behind the convent, which turned out to be one of the most breathtaking sights I've ever seen in Lebanon... 

 

 I also learned of The Lady Of Light's legend, where "It is believed that two sailors built the shrine in the 4th century. One winter night, on a very stormy sea, the two sailors found themselves in peril. They began praying, and the Virgin appeared to them as a light and guided them gently to the shore of Theoprosopon near modern day Chekka in North Lebanon. The grateful sailors carved a cave in the cliff and dedicated it to the Virgin Mary, and called the shrine, Our Lady of Light. A Greek Orthodox monastery was built in the 17th century. The miraculous icon of the Theotokos has been venerated for centuries for having glowed with light to attract wayward ships.^"

Lebanon really is full of hidden wonders, and if you haven't visited The Lady Of Light, I encourage you all to do so. As for me, I'll always be on the lookout for the next hidden gem... stay tuned! ;-)

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! :-)

Shoot As You Walk (Ramadaniat 2 - 2012)

So last night was the second of WLT’s Shoot As You Walk (Ramadaniat 2) series. I couldn't attend the first one due to the shenanigans in the city last week, but this week, I was determined to make it against the odds…

As usual, we met up infront of Nawfal Palace at 10:00pm, and it was good to see familiar faces again, especially Taha N, who always puts the adventure in all our outings. He also gave us little lanterns that light red, in the Ramadan spirit, which I now have resting on a shelf in my room. And so it began…

Now I have to admit, I’m still a little flustered at how difficult night photography is turning out to be. I’d think after at least 10 night time outings, I’d have gotten the hang of it but still my camera seems to be outsmarting me! Despite the lack of good nightshots though, I still enjoy taking in the “Ramadan Street Spirit” throughout this holy month…

One of the highlights, at least for me, was walking by my gran and gramp’s (may their souls RIP) old house (the haunted house, as some members of the group called it). I didn’t tell anyone it was their house but standing in front of it made me feel safe, and I couldn’t help but smile and remember how gran would stand at that window, and wave out to me. I don’t think anyone lives in that building anymore but their spirits all remain and wave at me as I pass…

Come to think of it, I hadn’t passed by their house since last year’s Ramadaniat shoot-as-you-walk, here. My brother was with me at the time, and we both stopped and said a prayer for them. I did that too this time, I miss you both so much…

We continued to Bab-El-Ramel, which also gave me a couple of better photo ops (probably because there was more lighting in that area!) and so I leave you with my favorite shots of the night: 

Ramadan Kareem 2012

It’s that time of year again, when we fast, count our blessings, and pray a little more each day. I always appreciate Ramadan because it brings me back to my roots, back to religion, back to God…

I especially love spending Ramadan in Tripoli, because there is no other place on earth where I feel the spirit of the season as much as I do in this town, among my family and friends. Though it’s a little tougher this year, with the massive heat wave and all, the faith I have is ever enduring. Hamdella! 

Throughout this blessed month, apart from the personal goals I’ve set for myself, there are two local initiatives that are keeping me inspired, and I’d like to share them with you:

Like last Ramadan, We LoveTripoli is going to be organizing weekly Shoot As You Walk events, starting next Saturday 28th of July 2012. It’s a wonderful opportunity to take my camera out again and revision night photography and Ramadan in the old souks. It’s also the gathering and the spirit of togetherness that I’m looking forward to as well!

And also like last Ramadan, I’ve become hooked to watching the Ramadan Web Series, Be7ke, which “is a series-based free-talk initiative that seeks to present the voices, concerns, ideas, and stories of a number of speakers. It is an independent project meant to inspire the youth who find themselves struggling against a tidal wave of stereotypes and misrepresentations… Three-minute episodes are released online every day throughout the month of Ramadan, featuring speakers who aspire to inspire…” To access these episodes, tune in to http://www.youtube.com/Be7ke

Ramadan Kareem to all, May God bless this month for us all… :-)

Ramadan Karim 2011

اللهم بلغنا رمضان واعنا على الصيام والقيام وقراءة القرآن