Rena Rama Arabiskan

(In English below)

Under hösten har jag och min man följt ett jättebra tv-program som heter Rena Rama Arabiskan. Det handlar om det arabiska språket och hur den arabiska kulturen utvecklas i olika länder. Den mycket talangfulla Nadia Jebril är programledare och gör det på ett både personligt och charmigt sätt. Om du är intresserad så kolla på denna site: http://www.ur.se/renaramaarabiskan/. Man kan se alla åtta program online och det sista avsnittet är inspelat här i Beirut, och jag känner ingen många platser speciellt här runt Hamra.

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A great Swedish tv-program that we have enjoyed this autumn is called Rena Rama Arabiskan. It's about the Arabic language and how arabic culture has developed in different countries, presented by the talented Nadia Jebril. I would recommend anyone interested in Arabic to check out her page here: http://www.ur.se/renaramaarabiskan/ where you also can see the eight programs online. The final episode is recorded here in Beirut, and I recognize some of the locations.

Happy New Year 2012!

We've just landed in Beirut and are looking at the New Year's celebration in Dubai with the Burj Khalifa fireworks. We'va had an intense last 24 hours but for now we're on our way to a late dinner and then celebrate the New Year.

So have a happy, prosperus and successful New 2012! May this year be your year.

Dead Sea photos

Today, I think the pictures will speak for themselves. It is my husband who is the photographer as usual.


The always reliable AbulAbed takes us to the Dead Sea.



The first touristic feature greets us by the freeway.





This is the public beach by the Dead Sea, free for anyone to enter. Keeping the nature clean is obviously not a priority among the visitors. Please. Put. Your. Trash. In. The. Bin.



Dear aunt Farida loves animals.





The shower facilities (note the alternative spelling) are not free of charge, but sometimes you just want to treat you to some extra luxury in your life.



One third of the water is salt. We tasted it - it really stung on the tongue.



Then we went to the not-so-free beach.



The salty beach or the pool area - the choice is yours.



Nice oasis.



The Dead Sea mud is said to be very beneficial, but will it make you slimmer?



When I was having a cappucino after lunch, this wonderful little fellow jumped up in my lap. I was so happy. (Hope this text will stick to the cat picture and not the one with the muddy Russian, otherwise I will have a lot to answer for.)



After lunch, a guy at the hotel gave us a lift to the parking lot. Aunt Farida shouted to AbulAbed: "It's OK, we'll take this one back to Amman!"

 Tonight, we'll have dinner at Fakhr El-Dine, which is something I've been looking forward to. It is three years since my husband and I got engaged today, so it will be a little celebration.

Personal Safety

(In English below)

Jag får ofta frågor om det är säkert att åka till Libanon och Jordanien. Här i Jordanien känner jag mig lika trygg som i Sverige. Tyvärr drabbades Jordanien av ett terrordåd 2005 då en grupp irakiska självmordsbombare detonerade sina laddningar på tre av stadens finaste hotell. Ett 60-tal personer dog och många fler skadades. Detta ledde fram till att när man ska gå in på hotellet, en finare restaurang eller en nattklubb så röntgas handväskor och man får gå igenom en larmbåge, precis som på en flygplats.

Det finns bättre och sämre tillfällen att åka till Libanon, beroende på den politiska situationen. Det är ofta mycket som bubblar under ytan. Just nu har UD utökat de områden som man avråder från att åka till, men som turist i Beirut med omnejd märker jag inte av något. Den största säkerhetsfaran i Beirut är, som jag ser det, den helt galna trafiken. Ibland får jag en nära döden-upplevense av att korsa gatan.

Idag bär det av till Döda Havet.

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I am often asked if it's safe to go to Lebanon and Jordan. Here in Jordan, I feel just as safe as in Sweden. Unfortunately, Jordan was hit by a terrorist act in 2005 when a group of Iraqi suicide bombers detonated their explosive devices in three of the city's finest hotels. About 60 persons died and many more were injured. This led to increased security so when going into a hotel or a better restaurant or a nightclub, the handbags are x-rayed and you must go through an security arch, just like at any airport.

There are better and worse times to come to Lebanon, depending on the political situation. It is often much bubbling under the surface. Right now, the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expanded the areas they advise against going to, but as a tourist in and around Beirut you don't notice it. The biggest safety hazard in Beirut, as I see it, is the crazy traffic. Sometimes I get a near-death experience when I cross the street.

Today we're off to the Dead Sea.

Food, Food and Then Some More Food

(In English below)

Det är tre grader ute när vi landar i Amman på morgonen, men moster Farida värmer upp oss när hon möter oss på flygplatsen. Hon har med sig sin nya chaufför som heter AbulAbed, precis som den förra. AbulAbed kör oss till Faridas lägenhet i Shmeisani där hon bjuder på en gigantisk frukost med bland annat tre olika sorters Manaish (libanesisk pizza-liknande frukostbröd): med zaatar, ost och spenat. Vi har visserligen redan ätit frukost två gånger, en gång på Beiruts flygplats och en gång på planet, men vi äter glatt ändå. Sedan överöser hon oss med presenter.

Efter en stund är det dags för lunch, och AbulAbed kör oss till restaurangen Levant som serverar armenisk mat från Aleppo. Det är likt libanesisk mat men de har sin egen stil, och använder mer kryddor. Farida beställer mat som skulle kunna föda en katolsk familj i flera veckor, och ett tiotal rätter bärs fram. Jättegott. Efter dessa tre frukostar och den gigantiska lunchen tar tröttheten ut sin rätt, och vi körs till hotellet för en stund vila innan middagen.

Så strax bär det av till en libanesisk restaurang, där vi ska träffa Bashars kusin och hans fru som råkar vara i Amman just nu. Jag har varit på restaurangen förut, och befarar att denna dag kommer att gå till historian som ett långt mat-matatonlopp.

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It is just three degrees outside when we land in Amman in the morning, but aunt Farida meets us warmly at the airport. With her is her new driver named AbulAbed, the same name as the last one. AbulAbed takes us to the Farida’s apartment in Shmeisani where she offers a huge breakfast including three different kinds of Manaish (Lebanese pizza-like breakfast bread): zaatar, cheese and spinach. We have already eaten breakfast twice, once at Beirut's airport and once on the plane, but we eat happily anyway. Then she showers us with gifts.

After a while, it's time for lunch, and AbulAbed drives us to the restaurant Levant. They serve Armenian food from Aleppo. It is like Lebanese food but they have their own style, and use more spices. Farida orders enough food to feed a Catholic family for weeks, and a number of dishes is being served to us. Delicious. After these three breakfasts and the gargantuan lunch, I feel tired from the early flight, so we go to the hotel for a moment of rest before dinner.  

Tonight we’ll go to a Lebanese restaurant, where we'll meet Bashars's cousin and his wife who happen to be in Amman at the moment. I’ve been to this restaurant once before and I know this day will be a real eating marathon.

We admired aunt Farida's ring collection and arranged them to read "DIDI!" with a heart above.

Amman Calling

(In English below)

Downtown Beirut är en nyuppbyggd stadsdel. Under kriget gick den så kallade gröna linjen här, som delade Beirut mellan den kristna östra sidan och den västra muslimska, så det var ett utbombat ödeland. Men nu händer det saker. Varje gång jag kommer har något nytt byggts. Sist var det den nya gallerian, Souk Tawile, som byggts upp och fyllts med butiker såsom Zara, Espirit, Aldo, men även lyxmärken såsom Louis Vuitton och Cartier finns där. Den här gången har hamnen rustats upp och man har byggt ett promenadstråk med restauranger längs vattnet. Det ska vi titta på när vi kommer tillbaka om några dagar.

Nu bär det av till Amman i Jordanien. Vi ska hälsa på min mans moster Farida. En av fördelarna med att gifta sig är att man får en dubbelt så stor familj, och bland mina nya släktingar är Farida en av mina favoriter. Vi har en speciell kontakt. Kanske för att vi har så mycket gemensamt. Vi älskar båda handväskor och skor, tycker om att läsa och är svaga för kungligheter.

My dear parents-in-law at the Duo Restaurant in downtown Beirut.

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Downtown Beirut is a rebuilt neighborhood. During the war the so-called green line crossed here, dividing Beirut from the Christian east from the western Muslim, so this area was a wasteland. But now, things are happening. Every time I will have something new has been built. Last time it was the new mall, Souk Tawile, who had opened with shops such as Zara, Espirit, Aldo, but also luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Cartier are there. This time the port has been made into a promenade with restaurants along the waterfront. We will visit it when we come back in a few days.

Now we're off to Amman in Jordan. We are going to visit my husband's aunt, Farida. One of the advantages of getting married is that your family doubles, and among my new relatives Farida is one of my favorites. We have a special connection. Maybe it is because we have so much in common. We both love handbags and shoes, like to read and have a weak spot for royalty.



The clock tower in Place d'Etoile is, in my mind, a symbol of the reconstruction of  Beirut.
Of a prosperus city in peace, I hope.



All Good News

It's a sunny day in Beirut, and it's my mother-in-law's birthday. We'll go downtown to celebrate her over lunch later today. It's a wonderful day, packed with good news.

Good news 1: Our bag has arrived to Lebanon! It took my husband a late night trip to the airport and some negotiations with a corrupt airport official but finally he got the bag back. My husband came back around midnight and we had a little celebration for the bag.

Good news 2: In Lebanon, the power company shuts the electric off three hours each day, alternating the intervals every day. The hotels and shops have their own generators, but for the life at home, you learn to live around the power cuts. You know when to cook, have access to the internet, do laundry, and other things, and you avoid going into an elevator when you know the power might be cut any minute.
So I asked, "when is the power being cut today?" and it turns out that the building now has a generator that my parents-in-law have bought themself into. It is luxury redefined!

I've spent the morning with my mother-in-law to run errands in Hamra. We've met the retired judge, the old man from the money exchange, and a guy in a gold shop that has a cousin in Vasteras. It's very nice to meet people and I realise I learn more and more Arabic for every day.