ginger beirut

A river runs through it

Georgia Paterson Dargham — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:44:30 +0000

Driving around on the way to Baskinta we crossed this wonderful valley with its gentle terracing, the shining stream at the bottom, the footbridge over, and the stone hut underneath. I’m sure if a troll lived here, he’d be the most good-natured troll around.

Fishing boats

Georgia Paterson Dargham — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 03:50:31 +0000

I love the guy in the white vest and shorts. I bet he has a moustache. It was a lot warmer a couple of weeks ago when I took this shot. Looking at it now makes me shiver.

A mezze just for me?

Georgia Paterson Dargham — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:07:32 +0000

I love having visitors here. It’s a wonderful thing to share Lebanon with them, especially when they are first-time visitors with so many surprises in store. Apart from helping them discover a fantastic new country, I also enjoy the whiff of a former home they bring with them. It has been over ten years since [...]

Hard as nails

Georgia Paterson Dargham — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:53:22 +0000

We thought we were quite brave going up in the cable car to Harissa with a baby. This tin bucket looks scarier. These guys are just fearless. And here’s what they are working on. The modern church behind the monument-chapel is said to have been designed as a cross between a cedar and a Phoenician [...]

Beirut in miniature

Georgia Paterson Dargham — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 20:05:57 +0000

As I write, half of Beirut is in the supermarket stocking up for the weekend. The experience will be hurried and crowded and reminiscent of this time last year and every big holiday before that, when the same shoppers swore, “Never again.” But there are a couple of variations on the theme, because there are [...]

By the sea

Georgia Paterson Dargham — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:37:47 +0000

The cold bright weather has been fantastic for walks – like this wonderful coastal promenade near Solidere that my in-laws introduced us to. Just head north of the Beirut Souks across a bit of wasteland and some heaps of gravel, past the little guard hut with the guard feeding a cat, until you get to [...]

Slatey stripy sky

Georgia Paterson Dargham — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 14:25:48 +0000

Looking over the port. A great day to wrap yourself in a blanket and watch the horizon.

Weighing in on weight

Georgia Paterson Dargham — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 10:16:06 +0000

A fellow mummy blogger recently raised the prickly question of whether being told you’ve put on weight is a good or a bad thing in Lebanon. In my decidedly bump-shaped past 12 months I’ve certainly had my fair share of comments about weight gain, weight loss and a surprising number of stages in between. Yet [...]

Nationwide Firewall?

Georgia Paterson Dargham — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:34:55 +0000

I just witnessed some funny behaviour on my Ogero Internet connection. Any website I hit would return a message saying that access was denied due to “policy” and invites me to contact Ogero for assistance. I called Ogero and they immediately acknowledged the problem and said they were working on fixing it. Fair enough. But [...]

Goodbye summer

Georgia Paterson Dargham — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 06:51:34 +0000

Autumn moved in on the Levant with great aplomb last week. No hesitation, no second thoughts. Just gusty winds and earth-shaking thunderstorms. So I thought I’d take a moment to celebrate the tail end of the summer sun just a couple of weeks ago. Strictly speaking this was already autumn, but as it was warmer [...]