On the main square there is a lovely café in the classic Middle Eastern style – old gentlemen drinking tea, smoking water-pipes and playing backgammon.
We stayed at the very pleasant hotel El Koura, centrally located, clean and comfortable and very affordable (50USD for a double room with bathroom and breakfast). It is a family run little place in an old house, and Pierre the manager is very kind and helpful. Having granny sitting in the sofa all day in the lobby just adds to the charm.
We arrived to Tripoli yesterday. This morning we continued up the mountains to Ehden, Bcharre and the Cedars. We found Ehden vastly overrated. Bcharre was better but not very special. The gorges in the area are dramatic though. The Cedars has a little tiny forest with Cedar trees, and some nice views of the mountains. That’s about it.
Unfortunately, the road over the mountains to Baalbeck is still closed due to snow, so we have to take the long detour South via Beirut. Therefore we decided to stop for the night in Byblos since we liked it so much. It is a very quaint place.
Last time we slept at the newly opened Canary de Byblos hotel. It is nice and comfortable but the location is dull, on the other side of the motorway.
This time we found another place, Hotel Alhiram just by the water and close to the harbour. They have a lovely terrace (where I am sitting now enjoying their free wifi) with waves crashing in on the beach just below.
When walking in to the harbour for dinner we passed through a gate in the old city walls. On the other side we heard faint singing. Soon we found an ancient church filled to the brims by singing people – it is Ash Wednesday. We stood inside for a while enjoying the atmosphere. It was beautiful and special to here the Arabic psalms echo under the high stone vaults.
Then we had a very romantic alfresco dinner at Pepe’s fishing club. Locanda and Bab al Mina might have better food but Pepe’s was good enough and nothing beats their terrace. Femke found us a table under a tree with splendid views of the harbour with its Mamlouk defence tower. We finished the evening with desserts and a game of carcassone :-)
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6 comments:
Can you expand on your comments about Ehden.
how did you find ehden overrated ?
did you visit the ehden nature reserve ?
it's a nice trip but going to ehden in march isn't the best time to go.
you might have enjoyed it better going with a native of the area.
Ehden is a summer city.
In March, it is almost empty.
Still you can enjoy a unique scenery from Saydet el Hosn church up the hill with a panoramic view reaching all the coast, mountains and valleys of North Lebanon, especially the Qornet Sawda mountain range , the highest peak in the middle east and the valley of the Living Treasure , Qozhaya.
Maybe at this time of the year you could have enjoyed some trekking in Horsh Ehden Nature Reserve which was declared as world natural reserve on March 12th 1992.
I recommend a revisit to Ehden in summer to enjoy the good company of its people and the vast varieties of restaurants serving Lebanese and international cuisine. Bon voyage!
In the guidebooks it is described as very charming and picturesque with a quaint old city square.
We found nothing like that. There is nothing wrong with the village, just there is nothing much special either. This is of course my subjective impression, it might be paradise on earth for somebody else, which is fine by me.
Appreciate your comments. You are a gentleman for replying.
Marko, thanks for your visit , your blog and reply.
Coming from a village in the mountains near Ehden and Bshari, and having guided visitors from many European countries, I'm afraid you may have missed a lot of what North Lebanon has to offer, specially, Ehden and Bshari.
I'm not sure if you are aware, but the few hundreds cedar trees are a few thousands years old.
You seem to have taken photos, nice photos, of Qannoubine/Qadisha Valley, from above. I hope you saved some time to visit the valley, to check up the monasteries and hermits down there. The view is indescribable in words. So much history hanging in the Cliffs. There is also Qadisha Grotto which you didn't mention.
I was wondering if you had the time to sample some freshly baked manaqish with thyme or cheese?
As others were asking, did you spare some time to go hiking in the natural Reserve of Horsh Ehden - if you love nature. If you are more after cultural tourism, there is the Gebran Museum in Bshary, there is the Qozhaya Museum and monastery, in Qannoubine there are a lot of historical sites about the cradle of the maronites and there history.
if you are a gastronomic touriste, on top of the freshly baked manaquish, Ehden is well know for there many forms of Quebbeh, it's known as Quebbeh Zghertewiyyi, refering to Zgharta, Ehden twin winter town. Did you venture drinking some home made Arak, Ehden has the best restaurants in Lebanon - the food quality is beyond the senses?
if you are after night life and partying, this may not be the best time of the year to visit Ehden's night clubs, although for the locals, they know the places that are open even at this time of the year.
It's a shame you had a rather pale account of your visit to the Northern Mountains, I hope you give it another try.
If you do, try to get in touch with locals, you'll be overwhelmed by the hospitality.
contact anyone from www.zgharta.com, or me if you need a locals to give you some tips.
In any case I hope you enjoy the rest of your trip.
Charbel
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