The Armenian Neighborhood of Bourj Hammoud

Last weekend our friend and colleague, Talar, did us the honor of walking us around Bourj Hammoud which is known as the Armenian district. It was interesting talking with her about this historic place. During the Civil War, the Lebanese Armenians blockaded themselves into their neighborhood making themselves safe (I think of Switzerland) and yet in their own "prison" as well because they were completely surrounded by fighting. This is a strong community that is proud of their heritage. Many of the residents are descendants of refugees escaping the Armenian Genocide that occurred 100 years ago this year.

The narrow roads were difficult to drive in and therefore, we saw very few cars and many people walking as they were doing their Saturday morning shopping. We were greeted with smiles everywhere we went. Here are some interesting pictures of some of the shops and sights we saw.

As we were entering the labyrinth of the neighborhood I saw these traditional steps that we see all around Beirut.

One of the few cars trying to get through the neighborhood.

Did I say narrow?

We went to a nice restaurant that has a museum and heritage center in it.

Janna enjoying the artwork on the wall. Notice the needlework on the table. Traditionally, all Armenian homes have these on their tables.

The artwork she was looking at.

They have purchased this loom to teach kids and young adults the tradition of weaving.

This work of art was created by generations of the same family. Handed down from generation to generation, each daughter added a ring until is was done.

More traditional art displayed

Upstairs they had a display of calendars. When a community was able to create their own calendar it meant that they were established. 

This lovely piece shows the Armenian cross. Notice the points on the corners. Each points out from where it is believed Noah's Ark landed in Armenia.

Artwork of a family.

We then went on to look at the shops. It is always interesting to me how things are sold outside of the States.

Some sweets with chili paste and different flavored olives being sold in front of them.

Nuts and dried fruit are very traditional snacks here. What you are seeing in the front are walnuts on a string then dipped in thick grape juice and dried. We tried some and it was delicious!

How they sell spices in many small shops all over this neighborhood as well as in other areas of Beirut.

Dried grapes

More chili paste and grape leaves for cooking.

Another shop selling many things.

Sweets.

Arguileh shop.

This man was making handbags. Many things are still traditionally made in the neighborhood.

A shoe making shop.. Notice the shoe sizes behind Sharon.

Thinking these shoes were not made in the shop. I like the leopard skin ones. I'm sure you need some seriously strong ankles to walk in those!

These signs were display everywhere. This community will never forget!

 What a treat to see a small part of this incredible neighborhood that is rich in culture and tradition. Once again, thank you so much to Talar for giving us this experience we will never forget!

Cyprus - The Last One

Yes, we had an incredible time on Cyprus. We WILL visit there again. Such an easy trip for us. A 40 minute flight, relaxing locations and we didn't even get to half of the island! Here are the last pictures from our spring break.

The Paphos Archeological Park has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980. We spent about 3 hours walking around and didn't even get to see all of it! Here are just a few pictures of this incredible place.

While we have seen many mosaics in Lebanon the mosaics here were different.  Here are some of my favorites.

Many of the mosaics were outside but some were housed inside of a few buildings on the site.  In the middle of this building there was an enclosed yet open area for natural lighting. What a smart mama kitty to bring her kittens in here through the drainage pipes for safety!

Of course, there was more to this site than mosaics.

An incredible view to the west. This picture does not do justice to how beautiful the flowers were!

Not only a beautiful lighthouse but Delaney had fun going into the small cave that used to house a tomb.

Tim and Delaney going into the catacombs in another area.

 We then went north to the Paphos Zoo. While it isn't as nice as Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo it was a lot of fun.

Of course, how can you say no to feeding cute birds!

These two were sitting out on a walkway. We saw a family coming towards us and waited for them to go by but the older son (around 11 years old?) totally freaked out and thought they were going to kill him. He wasn't kidding! His little sister walked right by with her ice cream, we went past but there was absolutely NO WAY he was going by. He ended up going around in the end. I could tell his mom was not happy with him!

This big guy looked so happy to eat his lunch.

We couldn't say no to Delaney when she saw people feeding the giraffe. Definitely one of her trip highlights. I have to admit, it was pretty cool!

Here are a few final pictures that I thought I would add.

Thought Provoking

My final meal before we left! So tasty!

We weren't sure exactly what a "dang" was until a local explained that it is an ancient water reservoir. At first we thought it my be one of those signs where they get the English wrong.

Once again, an incredible trip!

Cyprus Continued - Going West.

Like many of the places we have been on the Mediterranean, Cyprus has many castles and forts because of the Crusades.  The nice thing about Cyprus is they also have many Greek ruins on the southern coast as well.  Here are more pictures from our spring break.

One our first stops going west from Larnaca was the Kolossi Castle. A Crusader Stronghold, it was a fun place to look and learn.

We seemed to be very lucky everywhere we went. We always arrived between tours and therefore it was never too crowded.

Inside the castle.

As always, interesting and beautiful views are everywhere.

It was a nice afternoon but we were ready to head to our villa just up the hill from Pissouri Bay, a nice quiet tourist beach with the main town up on the hill. What a pleasant surprise for us. A great place to stay surrounded by vineyards with few neighbors.

The girls were in the water as fast as possible.

There were beautiful plants everywhere. This was actually part of a large tree.

These smelled lovely

Of course, the true owners of the villa were the cats that lived there. The girls named this one Poseidon.

 

 

And this one, Athena.

We continued traveling west and 10 minutes later were at Aphrodite's Rock. The Cypriots say that this beach is where she came out of the water. What a beautiful place. I think we would have stayed longer if the weather was warmer.

The rocks were fun to climb.

And this is the rock where Aphrodite came out of the water.

The other side of the rock

Another stunning view.

 And as we continued west we stopped in Paphos. The waterfront seemed very British. Fish and Chips for lunch was a must!

Once again, another lovely Corniche to walk on.

And yes, the Medieval Paphos Castle to wander through.

And another great view.

To the north of us is the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Paphos Archeological Park.

 The Archeological Park was our next stop.  We spent quite a bit of time going through the Greek ruins. The mosaics were stunning and interesting because they were different than what we have seen in Lebanon. This is where I will end this post and continue the next one soon!