Jeita, Byblos and Harissa

Today was a good day though we had a really big tour group!  I met a lot of nice fellow travelers!

Our first stop was at the Jeota Grottos.  You will need to lookthese up on Wikipedia because they would not let us take pictures.  There was an upper cave that we had to reach by cable car and an underground cave that we did by boat. These caves were pretty spectacular!  They were HUGE inside.  I thought of a caveman apartment complex!  There were lots of stalactites and stalagmites.  The water was natural spring water and was so so clear!  Even blue!

After the caves we went to Byblos.  Now Byblos had a temple that was turned into a church that was turned into a Crusader castle.  I think that was its last job.  There are many crusader castles in the Middle East and I will get to see about four of them before I leave :)  See the pictures on facebook!

We had a nice lunch of fish and traditional Lebanese food at a local eatery and then went to Harissa.

Harrisa is at the top of a very tall mountain (by Lebanese standards).  The Virgin Mary is revered by both Christians and Muslims.  While Muslims do not recognize Christ as the Messiah  they do revere him as a very importent prophet.Many Lebanese make pilgrimages to Harissa.  What struck me was Christians and Muslims were there together today.  Everyone enjoying the moment and the view.  So this is a beautiful statue of Mary high on the mountain. 

Tomorrow Beittidine, Sidon and Tyre. Llooking forward to this as Sidon and Tyre are places mentioned in the new Testament.  AND another Crusader castle!

Love to all!

Christine