KMII
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Lebanese roadtrip pt. 2 - sights and cars 🇱🇧
Some weeks ago I posted the first installment of the Lebanese road trip here: www.watchprosite.com
The other trips taken there some years ago were light on driving pleasure, since they followed the main coastal road, but provided other perks - including many cars that one would not believe to have survived for so long.
So here a short pictorial, covering sights, cars and the occasional meal 😉
For those that think Lebanon is only populated by the odd old Mercedes or Peugeot, here a counterpoint right at the start 🏎️
But there will be many an old Mercedes featured 😉
Next up is Byblos. One of the many old Phoenician city states, this one famous for inventing the alphabet if I recall correctly.
A bit of car related Byblos 👍🏻
Next up is Sidon / Saida, another famous Phoenician city state. You have both the water and the city fortresses in decent shape…
A nice souk…
And here the city fortress, renovated with Italian support.
The VW Type 1 and 2 vans were popular in the old days, too. This one being quite the specimen 😁
Possibly drawn by this W123…
An AD from times past…
And a true rarity, old Ford…
Maghdoucheh with the Basilica of Our Lady of Mantara - where Mary waited in a cave, since as a pregnant woman she was not allowed to enter the city…
Not quite sure I recognize this car… anyone?
Entering Tyre, another famous Phoenician city state of old…
Just so you do not claim I am partial, a BMW, too.
And an old style, Phoenician ship builder. Not sure it’s made from cedar wood, like traditional Phoenician triremes…
Downtown Tyre…
Suffering life Mediterranean style 😉
One of the two World Heritage Sites in Tyre…
And here the other one - with the second largest ancient hippodrome in the world.
Another one of the mystery cars…
And one more BMW 😁
One of my favorite dishes (MadDruid - look away) - raw lamb liver with lamb fat and onions 😋😋😋
Back in Beirut, heading North. No Lebanese pictorial without the Pigeon Rock 🪨
Favre Leuba marketing from the heyday… still punctual twice a day 😉
Entering Tripoli, the penultimate ancient city state of the post.
Mercedes is featured strongly here 🦾
Some US metal, too…
The fortress of Tripoli…
And finally the Phoenician fortress at Batroun.
Overall it was a fantastic trip, with an amazing combination of sightseeing possibilities (few countries offer so much in such a small space), fabulous food and hospitality, many an old car and many a nice Mediterranean beach.
At the same time it’s not the easiest country from a tourism perspective (admittedly, my experience is three years old) - no credit cards outside the hotels, you need bundles of cash (the largest denomination back then was the equivalent of 3US$, much less now), so you need some sort of bag to have the cash for a night out. In some ways it might be a memento of the 1970s but if you are not put off by a bit of adventure, I can highly recommend it.
Lebanese roadtrip pt. 2 - sights and cars 🇱🇧
Some weeks ago I posted the first installment of the Lebanese road trip here: www.watchprosite.com The other trips taken there some years ago were light on driving pleasure, since they followed the main coastal road, but provided other perks - including m...
The cars you don't recognize...
1- Toyota Corona Mark II 2- Honda Accord Both from the early to mid eighties.
Somehow....
you've managed to outdo your own self from the first Lebanon pictorial you shared with us here!! Unbelievable one-of-a-kind scenery which avails itself to picking out countless details, whether topographical, or vehicular like you are so fond of doing ......
Thanks for your kind endorsement 👍🏻🙏🏻
Glad you enjoyed it. There is indeed so much to do and see. The vehicular shots might be skewed towards what I find interesting - your standard modern Kias and Volkswagens don’t raise my pulse that much. In terms of the historical you have an immensely ri...
You really shoul consider visiting 😉
Don’t worry, the Rado shop pictured is not the only watch related store - downtown Beirut will have it all 😁
Impressive pictorial, thank you 🙏🏽…but I was looking forward to more pics of excellent Lebanese food!😁
Actually, I couldn’t believe that raw lamb liver and fat is an actual dish! I’ve never heard of that before 😯. But if it’s Lebanese then it’s good.👍🏽
I wanted kibbeh nayeh…
Which is lamb tartare mixed with ground wheat but they said they have something better if I am willing to try. Just in case they recommend arrak to chase it down 😉
Thanks 🙏🏻
The only downside is that it was some years ago. Would have loved to do a return journey sometime soon 🤞🏻
Glad you enjoyed the virtual tour 😊👍🏻🙏🏻
There is a lot to see for sure and the range of options caters to practically everybody. From beachgoers, to wine connoisseurs, to history buffs or automotive fans. And of course there’s superb food and weather to go with it. And over 12 meters of snow in...
I think…
The next stage has to be you verifying what I posted live in Lebanon. If I recall correctly it would be the first time for you, right? 😊 And there is so much to enjoy 👌🏻👍🏻
Yes my First Time 😊
There were plans with my friends but plans fell through, still optimistic one day will visit 😊👍🙏
I think you would thoroughly enjoy it 😊👍🏻
It is certainly a very vibrant place with lots to explore. And I am sure they like watches 😉
Travel with MEA 👍🏻🇱🇧
Adds to the experience 😁 The safety video alone probably has more panache than most other airlines possess in total 🦾
Have read this in the meantime 😉
Different times I guess… Whether these or others, many friendly people there 😁
Makes for an almost perfect breakfast 🍳
Lebanese breakfast is a joy in its own right. And now I am hungry again 😂 Sadly the restaurants here calling themselves Lebanese don’t really compare 🤷🏻♂️
One would…
There are quite some issues, though. Often the ingredients are hard to source in the right quality or of the right type. And the restaurants quickly adapt to local tastes, as they seldom cater primarily to the original group. Even if I go to a restaurant ...
Just like in places of Sweden…
Many Italian restaurants used to be run by either Croatians or Turks 😉 That was some years ago, maybe it changed in the meantime 🤷🏻♂️
That is interesting...
Most Indian restaurants are run by Bangladeshis in NYC, so makes sense 👍
Thank you for such an enjoyable trip!
I would love to visit Lebanon someday. Best, Emmanuel
I am sure you would enjoy it 😁
French is still very frequently spoken and taught to many children in schools. And in addition to all the history, the food is delightful 😊👍🏻
For you and me, both 😁
Lebanese wine is amongst the nicest from the region, too (and I certainly do not mean this as faint praise) 👌🏻👍🏻
Exotic location and cuisine 😁👍🏻
Looks like there is no requirement for periodic vehicle inspection to check on road worthiness 😂
All a question of period 😁
Apparently there is still a railway company with around 100 employees even though the last train operated in the 1960s 😉 It is a tad different, shall we say? But very fun 👍🏻
As the Toyota is guessed
In Europe the car called Cresida instead of Corona elsewhere. The old neighbor droves one’s a Cresida. His son a Celica and his daughter a Datsun 103A and later a Citroën Visa. The Honda Accord had known better times, and the Merc w123 are modern age came...
Glad you liked the journey and post 😊👍🏻
And you are right, they are dramatically more liberal in that respect. On the other hand the average speeds are also drastically lower than in Europe 😊
Glad you enjoyed it - probably not the most frequent holiday destination 😁
But certainly an exciting one 😊
Half a lifetime ago a friend owned a '70 Plymouth GTX 440 . . .
. . . 4-speed, orange, pop-up hood scoop feeding the 4-barrel Carter carb. We had a few adventures in it, notably a freeway race against a '69 Dodge Charger R/T 426 Hemi. (Spoiler alert: the Dodge blew us away.) Said friend shipped the car to Jordan, wher...
What a story 😱
Different times I guess. My father used wo work for an insurance company in the 1970s and amongst other things he had several trips to Syria to recover cars stolen in Europe. The Syrian police at the time was apparently very cooperative and every car iden...