middle east and back

I am done with planes for a little while.  Well 2 weeks and then I'm done for like years.  A and I just got back from a little trip to Beirut, Lebanon.  It was great.  And well, I've never been to the Middle East before so it was a fun little adventure.  Beirut is a little piece of the West, at least on the outside.  Starbucks, Caribou, cute boots, plastic surgery, etc. were everywhere.  But seems to be Arab through and through.

The first day or so we toured around the city and took in everything that was Beirut!

Enjoying a little Turkish coffee- whew is that thick!

Incredible views of the Mediterranean Sea

Diet Coke in Arabic and English

And a random guys smoking a hooka.  People love to smoke there. 

It's an interesting place with layers of political grit and cultural contrasts.

Here's a bombed out old Holiday Inn that used to be the sniper point during several wars. 

It's just a few blocks from the nice and new yacht marina near the Gucci and Chanel stores. 

And the contrast of churches next to mosques that generally coexist without conflict.  

Downtown church

Downtown mosque

We also visited Byblos, supposedly the spot of one of the oldest civilizations.  The Phonecians wrote the alphabet around here and there's tons of history laid here from Greek, Roman, Ottoman, etc. 

Here's me and the boys walking around Byblos at around 26 weeks.  

A and I enjoying the gorgeous coastline.

A castle that was built by the Crusaders.  Wow.

Rubble left from the Romans when they were here. 

Some of these pots were several hundred years BC. Crazy!

Ampitheater from the Greeks.