When you hear "Lebanon", what do you think of? Maybe instability, war-torn, center of conflict, etc... Yeah, that's what we thought too, but then we started researching and talking to friends that recently traveled to Beirut and we decided that it wasn't that kind of place at all. As we boarded the plane, we still were unsure of what we would find in Lebanon....fortunately, we were pleasantly surprised!
Our first day in Beirut, we visited the 961 brewery, the only microbrewery in the Middle East, and were given a private tasting and tour of the facilities. These guys have come so far in the 8 years they've been brewing. They recently started importing to the states, although they haven't made their way to Colorado yet. We spent the rest of the day walking around downtown Beirut and the waterfront where we enjoyed Lebanese cuisine and people watching. We felt like we were in Jersey, but the arab version. ;)
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| Tasting beer right from the brewing tap |
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| Amazing beer...especially the Lebanese Ale (zataar flavored) |
The next day, we drove north to the Jeita Grotto, a limestone cave which houses the largest stalactite in the word. There are two caves, an upper and lower cave. We walked through the upper cave and then rode a boat through the lower cave. The caves are 9km long, but only 1km is accessible. We weren't allowed to take pictures in the caves, but here are some pictures I found of google.
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Upper cave
(photo courtesy of beautifulworld.com) |
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Lower Grotto
(photo courtesy of beautifulworld.com) |
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| Near the entrance of the Jeita Grotto |
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| The "Guardian of Time". A statue made out of the caves' limestone |
