Lebanon
Amongst the northern mountains...
One of the most ancient countries in the world!
Here's the incomparable beauty of Lebanon
Going to Bcharri
Native village of Khalil Gibran
We'll be in Bcharri in 5 minutes.
We decided to stop because there's a gorgeous view on this valley.
Want a cherry Mayboubou?
Ouh, directly from the tree!
Look at this.
It's cherry season, they're everywhere.
As soon as you drive into the mountains, you'll see cherry trees.
Little cherry.
Hike in Qadisha Valley
This morning we've decided to do this hike beginning in Bcharri...
It is a part of the LMT,  "Lebanon Mountain Trail".
Look at this!
By the way, the snow just finished melting but usually, the top of the mountains is covered in snow.
Anyway, it's so beautiful here.
The ants...
Are transporting things 3 times their size!
I wonder what they're up to!
It smells good here, smells good!
Here's a fig tree!
It is only starting...
Fig season is in August. (We were in June)
They're so pretty!
And I love figs, especially Lebanese figs. They're delicious.
Figs on the ground!
We just passed a pear orchard!
Look they're still tiny.
Nice pears.
Beautiful pears.
Or "Njass" in Arabic!
So healing to be in real nature.
Here is a monastery (Mar Licha) inside the mountains...
We're climbing alllll the way up there.
There's like a grotto over there.
With a waterfall next to it...
Pretty epic this Qadisha Valley, no?
We've arrived to the monastery.
After climbing up a lot of stairs...
What a view!
This monastery is 1500 years old.
Time to eat!
So uhm, we finished our hike and we came back to Bcharri.
We've decided to have lunch in a little place where they make manakish.
We got one that's filled with fresh ingredients...
Mint, olives, tomato, cucumber...
It's so good. Bon appetit!
- And it's enormous!
- Yes it's huge! Bon appetit.
Cedars of God National Park
Good morning, so we're here in the Lebanese cedars national park.
I haven't been here since I was a little girl.
And now I'm back with Gab!
So I'm very happy to rediscover it and that Gab gets to see it for the first time.
It's magnificent.
For those of you who may not know, the Lebanese cedars are some of the oldest trees on earth.
Phoenicians, pretty much the "ancient Lebanese" people from 7000-8000 years ago...
They saw cedars as the trees of God. Why?
Because the wood of this tree doesn't rot, it smells good...
Smells so good.
But actually climate change really affects it...
Making the Lebanese cedar disappear more and more...
So we've got to be careful friends...
If you come right before April, it's covered with snow...
All white... It's really magical.
We'll come back in the winter time.
Well I understand why this tree is on the Lebanese flag!
So nice under the shade.
I have no words.
No words.
It's quite special seeing trees this old and big.
Yeah.
Some of them are very young, it's obvious they want to sustain it, planting young cedar trees...
Just to keep the park well "populated".
That's it.
Oh yes, smells good right here.
Smells honey-like.
Yes, it smells good.
Holy smokes!
Lots of big cedars everywhere... it's so cool.
I can't believe the entrance was free.
It's so beautiful.
To date, this is my favourite moment in Lebanon.
What are you doing?
Gab and I feel very calm...
This man was singing for his old mother.
It works!
And uhm... this is the WC...
Not too bad eh? Between the Lebanese Cedars!
Well, it's already over!
I would say you need about 2 hours to walk around the Cedars of God park.
It's not very big, maybe 1.5 square km.
It's cool, and also free!
I thought Maya would say something!
I especially enjoyed the fact that there's a small church hidden in there.
Can you say "hi" or something...
Yes, very nice.
We're in the alley of souvenirs...
A lot of objects made of wood, of cedar...
Artisanal Lebanese products...
Very pretty!
Don't hide his vision, sweetie.
No it's okay!
I didn't realize, I'm so sorry!
Look at that! And the other side...
Oh my gosh, he made that in like 45 seconds.
Bsharri is one of our favourite spots in Lebanon.
It is an ancient Phoenician village situated at 1400 meters of altitude.
Hidden far way in the mountains of Mount Lebanon...
This region is known for its natural splendor, its rich cultural presence...
... its ski stations in the winter, and the stunning Qadisha valley.
At 2000 meters of altitude, you can also find the famous Cedars of God.
This type of cedar, the Cedrus Lebani, was one of the most coveted construction materials in Ancient times.
The people here see it as a sacred wood.
It is therefore not surprising that the Cedar of Lebanon is mentioned 103 times in the Bible.
Bsharri is also named the "city of churches", because there are 37 churches here.
The name Bsharri finds its roots in the Phoenician language.
From the term "Bet Ichtar", which means "House of Ichtar".
Ichtar is an Assyrian goddess venerated by Phoenicians before Christianity was adopted.
The people of Bsharri have a reputation for being very welcoming and patriotic...
... as well as their strong Lebanese accent due to the fact that the Aramaic language ...
... was spoken here until the 19th century.
We particularly adored the landscape, the valley, the mountains, rivers...
... and the peaceful energy of this place.
If there is one place you must add to your list for your future visit to Lebanon, it is indeed Bsharri.
Oh, Lebanese driving technique!
Honk...
If there's no answer, then there's no one.
So... for those who don't know who Khalil Gibran is...
He is an author, poet, philosopher.... from Lebanon.
A thinker, an artist, a painter.
And let's say Lebanese people are very proud to have him.
For example The Prophet, one of my favourite books ever.
It really shaped my way of thinking.
He is originally from Bsharri.
It is his native village.
And right now we're at the Khalil Gibran Museum.
I'm excited to see his paintings in person.
Khalil Gibran's grotto...
It says this is the source of the Prophet.
You can drink it, it comes straight from the mountains.
So just as I thought, we weren't allowed to film or take photos inside the museum.
But it was fantastic.
Incredible to see his real paintings and drawings.
My favourite part was seeing his tomb.
This place is an old monastery and Gibran wanted to have a resting place in Bsharri..
You can see in his paintings, there was some esoterism.
A lot of spirituality.
Freedom, Naturism - being nude in nature.
Human connections.
He wasn't afraid of human connection.
This is something that I find admirable of Khalil Gibran.
Also the view from here is gorgeous.
Look, ah!
Yes, if you are looking for peace, it's right here!
Gotta say, the mountains of Lebanon are more my vibe.
Right? More than the seaside?
Yeah here it's quieter.
The weather is nicer, it's like 23 degrees celsius.
No humidity either...
A little Manakish Zaatar:)
Black Peak
Highest mountain of the Levant at 3088 m of altitude
Honestly I think this is the most epic thing I've ever done!
We're walking into the clouds!
Yeah!
We're almost at 3000 m of altitude at the moment.
Very high!
This is the highest point of the Middle East, in this region.
In the Levant!
No one knows what the Levant is.
Oh come on, the Levant! If you don't know what it is, google it!
Yeah, google the Levant!
The clouds are passing by so fast!
It feels like we could reach out and touch them!
Honesly, yes!
Can you see how big those cloud shadows are on the mountains?
You can see them moving.
The Bekaa Valley!
So we're taking a break.
It's been about 1h30 and we're very hungry.
The last part was very tough.
Very steep.
We brought some manakish zaatar with us.
Really delicious, oh!
Can't let it fly away!
We think we're almost at the top!
There are butterflies and little flowers of many colours.
There's snow.
Big snowy mountain!
We're in the clouds, friends!
We're in the clouds!
The cross is over there.
Still have this to go...
We've reached the cross.
Qurnat as Sawda.
I think it means...
The Black Peak.
Finally here!
Oh my gosh, that was really something!
A fascinating fact about Qurnat as Sawda is that its snow is eternal.
Some patches of snow here never melt and are...
... estimated to be hundreds or even thousands of years old.
We're coming back down... and I don't know what's happening here.
Is this normal?
Look he's running after the goat.
There's also a little boy running.
So funny.
He's running after the goat.
We're at the information center of Horsh Ehden Nature Reserve.
There are so many hikes you can do here!
The guy suggested we do 1-3-2 for a nice loop.
It should take us about 2 hours.
And I like how it's organized.
Lots of information on the duration, difficulty, etc...
And this was the information centre.
We were charged 5000 Lebanese Pounds each, so we paid 10000 total.
Yep, 10 000 pesos.
Cherries are so pretty!
They're like little jewels.
Seriously...
There are so many!!
Yum!
Seriously look at this...
Look at how beautiful this is!
Information on the butterflies, different insects...
Ladybugs... evolution of bugs...
It's fun, I like this concept of wooden panels that roll around.
Me too.
For those of you who love hiking, I have good news!
In Lebanon, there's a sort of pilgrimage like Compostelle in Spain.
It's called the Lebanon Mountain Trail.
It's about 27 steps.
You walk in the mountains...
About 8 hours each day...
It looks so beautiful, there are monasteries on the way in small villages...
It also looks quite epic because you're always in high altitude.
Going up and down, up and down.
It's fun because since we've been in Lebanon, we always see this symbol, white and purple lines.
An international symbol for "Great hikes" around the world.
So if one day you want to come to Lebanon and enjoy nature, it's possible here.
You've got 1 month of walking in the mountains, the cedars, and mosquitoes!
A pilgrimage!
Yes it's kind of like a pilgrimage because you find some monasteries and churches on the way.
Here's the water source.
Gab is filling up our bottles.
It almost tastes sweet.
Gab always tastes the tree sap.
Yep.
It really does taste good, eh?
It's so sweet!
It's like honey.
We could make tea with this, it would be so good.
Yes.
Alright someone is doing construction behind us...
But I just wanted to say that we finished our hike.
Come hiking in Lebanon!!
Feels so nice to be in nature in Lebanon!
Have you had this bakery for a long time?
25 years.
Is that you in this photo? With your son?
No, that's my friend's son.
- And what is the name of this bakery?
- Ehdi.
Oh, Ehdi Bakery!
*Pretends to understand*
It looks very tasty.
There you go.
Thank you! Can you take it sweetie?
- There you go.
- Thank you!
Here's the final product.
She's been making manakish for 25 years here.
And I think it's going to be really good because it smells good.
Oh, it's amazing by the way.
It was baked in a fire oven.
So good.
Qannoubine Valley
our little car!
We drove here to the valley of Qannoubine.
We've decided to walk to the Qannoubine Monastery.
Out in nature, right on the Lebanon Mountain Trail!
This is the symbol, white and purple.
There's like 30 days of hiking on this trail.
About 400 km.
Little stone house in the middle of the valley!
I really wonder if someone lives there.
Probably because there's an orchard.
We'll be at the monastery in 10 minutes.
On the way we walked through a really random tiny village.
In the middle of the valley, don't even know the name.
Honestly I don't even think it has a name.
But it's the only inhabited village of the valley.
If this isn't peace, then I don't know what is.
Seriously!
We're just climbing up these stairs...
To reach the Monastery of Qannoubine.
Our Lady of Qannoubine
The monastery
Is here...
It's open to visitors from 8 am to 6 pm.
Sorry, we just climbed up a lot of stairs.
Thanks for watching!
