pepsi zeros most wonderfully chaotic Sombrero shopping
“Toot-Toot Beirut? What does that mean,Dar?” I asked.
“Toot-Toot - like the horns on cars.” Christiane explained.
“So cars will be driving through the town tooting their horns?” I replied. “How will anyone notice a difference?” I thought - listening to the cacophony of noise in the maelstrom of Beirut traffic.
“The official Beirut motto is ‘Ahla fawda’ which means ‘The Most Wonderful Chaos’.” Darius interjected.
“That’s appropriate,” I thought, remembering the chaotic ice-‘cube’ tray in Darius’ new apartment.
The festival sign, which featured a Pepsi™ logo, illuminated a major change since our last trip to Lebanon. Coke Zero has vanished when Pepsi garnered the Lebanon concession. It is, I explained to Darius, “a disconcerting harbinger of commercial and political strife”. It left me with a weird, precarious - indeed eerie, feeling of uncertainty. It’s the way I feel after changing time zones only to discover that Jeopardy! is broadcast at 7:30PM instead of 7:00PM.
Because it is the end of the semester, Darius had essays to grade. He is also facing a deadline for a research paper resubmission. But he still wanted to show us around so he decided to rent a car. Unfortunately, he chose one that was low to the ground. More unfortunately, an infrequent driver in Lebanon, he assumed that the roadway would be flat, paved and crater-free. There was a giant bounce, bump and scrape when we hit a pot-hole while searching for the highway.
“Don’t you remember anything from driving on The 405 In Los Angeles?” I shouted when my head bounced off the ceiling.
“I’m trying to focus, here, Dad.” Darius replied as a motorcycle slipped by on his left pushing him toward an SUV on this right.
I had to agree that the traffic was ‘wonderfully chaotic’. We, well, Darius, eventually found the highway. We left Beirut behind and headed to the Silk Museum in the mountains. Beirut was on the Silk Road. The Museum, nestled in a very beautiful garden, used to be a silk factory. The museum had the old spinning machines and a collection of live silk worms. We learned that:
“.. the silk worm is the only domesticated insect,” the guide explained. “It can’t live without human assistance. The only ‘wild’ silk remaining comes from Madagascar.”
Afterwards, we drove to Byblos, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. Amazingly, the road was clear and traffic was light. We noticed a minor problem when we discovered, scratchingly, that the bumper on the rental car was lower than the curb in front of the parking place. (Luckily, car rental places in Lebanon expect occasional dents and scratches.)
We walked through the Souks - where Darius and I did comparison shopping for handcrafted, inlaid backgammon games. Then we had a wonderful dinner at Feniqia.(It’s their country, and if they don’t know how to spell Phoenicia, who am I to complain.)
Back in Beirut, Nazy wanted to prepare all breakfasts (and some dinners) for Darius (and me).
“We’ll have boiled eggs,” Nazy explained. “Just like I prepare for Tiger.”
Unfortunately, Darius’ new abode, while very nice, didn’t have some basics - things like salt, pepper, pots, pans, butter, oil, can opener, milk, tea..
“.. wine glasses, Darius!” Nazy exclaimed. “Where are your wine glasses?”
Explanation: This is Darius’ third apartment in Beirut. Each time Nazy visited, she has bought kitchen basics. Each time Darius has moved, he left all of the purchases in his old apartment. Darius is the paradigm for absent-minded professordom. (He claims he inherited this capability from me, but I don’t recall misplacing or losing anything. Well, almost anything. Eh, perhaps..)
Nazy, ever-optimistic, once again purchased a bevy of basics. I suggested that she paste giant, non-removable neon-yellow tags on each item. I also recommended that she create a list..
“… and share the list with Christiane,” i concluded.
On Sunday, Christiane’s family took us to dinner in the mountains of Lebanon. It was a spectacular feast in a very beautiful part of the country. The restaurant was at an elevation of about 4000 feet. We could see snow on the nearby mountaintops. Although we have been to Lebanon several times, we had not seen this beautiful part of the country.
Dan and Darius in Byblos
After the feast, we went to see Roman ruins with Christiane’s sister and her family. The breadth and scope of the Roman Empire never ceases to amaze me. It spanned three continents - from Hadrian’s Wall in Scotland through Europe and North Africa in the the Middle East and beyond..
“.. but it didn’t encompass the Persian Empire,” Nazy noted. Proudly.
Back in Beirut, Nazy was able to carve out some time for shopping. We walked up and down the famous Hamra Street area. This time..
“… we will look for things that we can’t find in the USA.” Nazy explained.
“We also want to avoid anything stupid.” I agreed. “E.g. buying a giant Sombrero during a trip to Mexico. You get home and then what?” I thought - forgetting that our Sombrero is in storage.
“I know! Last trip I bought a beautiful, traditional, Lebanese dress…”
“… which you've never worn.” I replied, unaware that the right occasion hadn’t presented itself.
We focused on local items - including a giant, hand carved backgammon set with mother of pearl inlay work. It is spectacular..
“… but I think it’s about the same size as the Sombrero,” I thought.
I am thinking of retiring the set and putting it into storage because of newly discovered defects. (Defect: I have lost every game I’ve played with Darius.)
For last week's letter, click here
Byblos Harbor