HX Report
Irishman in the Middle East
Weekly Photo Challenge – Ambience
Posted on January 13, 2017
Most of MB’s recent posts relate to his end December Lebanese wedding experience. And for this week’s photo theme of ‘ambience’, he, of course, needs look no further that the wedding party venue of said wedding. The venue was previously called Nahr El Kalb in Arabic (meaning ‘The Dog River’), but is now called the less mystical ‘The Legend Venue’. It sits in a spectacular small river valley setting, and has a very spectacular entrance lobby which leads visitors into the spectacular dining hall area when any Irish guy attending blurts out WOW! Ambience!!! Read More
Weekly Photo Challenge – Resilient
Posted on January 1, 2017
The Monastery of Our Lady of Balamand – If something is standing for almost 1,000 years then it’s pretty safe to describe it as resilient. See MB’s previous post of today for more on Balamand Monastery.
A Lebanese Wedding
Posted on January 1, 2017
If you want to go to a real wedding dear HX followers, MB suggests that you make friends with some younger Lebanese people and get yourself invited to one of their awesomely spectacular weddings! Read More
Photo Story – 1 of 7
Posted on August 14, 2015
Suddenly, one early afternoon in February 2012, MB found himself face to face with a Hezbollah street demonstration in Beirut, in support of President Bashar Al-Assad in neighbouring Syria. Read More
War
Posted on February 5, 2015
When the war started my family moved to a village in the mountains outside Beirut. My grandfather came with us as he had no other choice. His wife, my grandmother, was dead many years past. He then lived with us in the village house until his death. I remember as a child enjoying waking up each morning and looking forward to hearing my grandfather’s stories from his younger days. Read More
Not Easy
Posted on January 30, 2015
In Europe people take freedom of travel for granted. Want to go to France? Of Holland? Or Germany? No problem. Go online or pop into any travel agency in your local town or city and buy a flight ticket. Jump on the plane and off you go. Arrive, flash your EU Passport briefly to the Immigration official, and head on out to the open streets. Easy peasy.
With similar language, religion and culture for the most parts, one might think that the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region is tailor made for freedom of travel and open access to work. But for historical, political, security and other reasons it’s not. Very not. Read More
ME Culture (5)
Posted on December 7, 2013
The walls of the 12th century Crusader castle at Byblos, Lebanon. Byblos is considered the oldest continuously inhabited city/town in the world (at approx 8,000 years) and was founded by the Phoenicians. The castle walls are decorated with the columns of a former Greek (or Roman?) Temple which was demolished to make way for the castle. The stone columns of the temple were cut using a rope, water and sand. As shown in the second pic.
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