5 days in Lebanon - Village food, Cedars of God and why you should come!

Hello everyone and welcome to this video that's going to show you what our 5 days in Lebanon looked like. I hope you're inspired to come to Lebanon after watching this, it is a fantastic country. Those of you who know me well will know that this trip has a lot of meaning for me. My dad is Lebanese and I wanted to come and explore this country and meet our family for many many years so to touch down on Lebanese ground was a feeling that I can't describe. I was so high on energy, I was so alert, I was taking everything in and it was a magical moment truly. After we got out of the airport it was straight up to Baha Lyon in the north of Lebanon. My dad's cousin kindly picked us up. Lebanon is the second smallest country in the Middle East. Lebanon is home to many Christians as well as Muslims who live together in the country. It's one of the most liberal and western countries in the region. The legacy of France's colonial rule in Lebanon still exists today. More people speak French than English. Younger generations are already speaking three languages from a very young age. It's home to the world's oldest city which is called Byblos and this is from where the alphabet was created. There is a lot of good wine that comes out of Lebanon and its cuisine is arguably the best in the world. We stopped off for a quick lunch and had shawarma, chicken shawarma, and inside the wrap was some salad, chips and a lot of tom, the beautiful garlic sauce. So this was less than one US dollar and it was delicious. So at this point we were in Kuzba and we were in the city of Byblos. My beautiful cousin Ellie and his mum actually recommended this restaurant and when we were in the car driving up to the village my dad's cousin said let's go and get some ice cream from here. Basically they're famous for Ashta. So Ashta is a Middle Eastern ice cream that's made out of clotted cream and it's interesting because it's got a really chewy consistency. It doesn't melt so easily and then they coat the ice cream in crumbled pistachios. It was delicious. You can see these hearty boxes full of potatoes that are being stored by our family for the winter season. We're taking a walk right now. It's a beautiful day. There were so many apple trees and fig trees, olive trees, you name it, it was there. We've just taken a walk up here right now and you have an amazing view of the north of Lebanon. Tripoli is somewhere that way. We're just walking now and you can see that this is a beautiful fig tree. Some of them have opened up, they're that ripe. We got a fig from a tree. Delicious. It's not too bad inside but it's very, very sweet. At the end of summer when the tomatoes slow down from growing on the vines but there are still a lot of them to go around, they are cooked down on this big, big pot into a nice tomato sauce. Also to things like ketchup and spicy sauce. Then they're bottled and stored in here for the winter. Lebanese food is probably the best in the world and I can say that with a lot of confidence. I was lucky enough to, with Lily, have a cooking lesson and to learn how she makes her traditional Lebanese-style tabbouleh. So you can see that the parsley from the garden has been washed and now it's been bunched together very, very tightly from all corners and angles to allow for Lily to cut the parsley as fine as it can be. Lily advised that you should press down on your parsley as firmly as possible and then this is the result that you will get. Beautifully, finely cut parsley. Okay, we are having tabbouleh for lunch. You can see that Lily has cut the parsley and the spring onion very, very fine. And then on the bottom is the basil leaves. The tomatoes sit above that so I think that we can become a bit softer. Smells so good in here. We have the mint. I learned a new word. It's called nana in Arabic. Okay. Some chili powder was just added to the tabbouleh. See? Beautiful aroma. The salt and the mixed spice, the seven spices. The figs fresh from the garden. Right now we are in the amazing view. It's a bit foggy right now. We are in the village of Bala now and you can see there is fruit everywhere. We have a cherry tree here. This is a walnut tree. And then just behind all of the tomatoes have been going for the season. Sun is setting. You know we buy these in the supermarkets and they don't taste anywhere as good. Seriously this is straight from the tree. It's so fresh. And they are a lot bigger too. I don't know if you can see. It's breakfast time over here. We have eggs cooked in olive oil. Cucumber and I forgot the name but it's like fresh tomatoes from the garden. Olives that have been preserved. The zaatar here. This is something special. You will know what this is because it's famous all over the world. It's sesame seeds, sumac, thyme, oregano mixed in olive oil. Maybe some other spices in there. It can vary depending on the region. We are just walking in Bahalyon and we've seen some zaatar. You can eat it like this. On this morning walk we also went to a place called the Mantra in Bahalyon. You can see there are many many pine trees and I felt like an ant being swallowed by it all. It was breathtaking. This tree is called Atlid in Arabic. There are so many figs that grow on the trees here. At the end of the summer season they are stewed out, sugar is added and they are made into a jam. Today Lily made koussa for lunch. This is one of my favourite Lebanese dishes. It's a very hearty dish of stuffed zucchinis with rice, tomato and lamb in a tomato sauce broth. We've just finished the koussa for lunch and I can't tell you how good it was. Zucchini straight from the garden. Everything freshly made. It was to die for. Following lunch we headed out for the afternoon and our first stop was to the birthplace of Sencha Bel. In the village where Sencha Bel was born. We are now at the house of Sencha Bel. Unfortunately it's closed because of corona but from the outside it's magnificent. You can check the roof out. It's very sturdy. Now they are using what is called a jirin in Arabic as a vase for the flowers. Back in the day these were used to make kibbeh, like a mortar and pestle. We also went to the Khalil Gibran Museum. Khalil Gibran was born in the Boshari region and he was arguably one of the world's best poets, philosophers and artists. He's best known for his book called The Prophet that's now been translated into more than 110 languages. The book itself is actually very short and well worth a read. It's incredibly spiritual and gives you a good insight into how Khalil saw the world and how he recommended life should be lived. Some topics touched on include giving, time, death, pleasure and friendship. We are at the Cedars of God now. Cedar trees are very important to the Lebanese and you will find a cedar tree on the Lebanese flag. They represent endurance, eternal life, immortality, power and longevity. You can see a lot of these trees have a sign on them with the diameter and the height. It's pretty amazing how much detail goes into all of this. Are you impressed? I'm so impressed. Are these horse guards? Yeah, the guy in the front gave us like five horse guards. So this is a cedar tree that's dead and you can see how deep and detailed the roots are. And this is the material that the Phoenicians used to make their boats out of. You can see these two cedars have grown and they've actually merged together. How amazing is that? You close your eyes, you can smell the wood, smell the fresh air. It's a really peaceful and special place. This was a great place to get some little souvenirs from so we got some mini cedar trees made out of the cedar wood and the man could write down something on them if we wished for that. Lebanon was once referred to as the Switzerland of the Middle East and after seeing these amazing mountains as we entered the Qadisha Valley, I can understand why. Right now we are in the heart of the Qadisha Valley. It's amazing, you can hear the sound of the water from the Qadisha River running down there. Straight ahead you have a ton of apple trees. They need a very high altitude to grow and that's why everywhere we're driving you just see apple trees all around. It's truly spectacular. We then headed to a museum which hosts the first printing press in the whole of the Middle East. This part would be used to stamp the ink on top of the paper. So today we got this from the Cedars of God. It's a beautiful mug. You can't drink out of it, I mean you can put another cup inside but it's just gorgeous. And then from where Saint Shabo was born, we got this syrup. We had some yesterday, it's raspberry syrup. And you mix it with water and it is superb. It tastes like you're drinking the juice of fresh raspberries. So now we are having kishik, this is what we're having for dinner. I've never actually tried this but it's the bogle wheat that's been mixed with milk and then that's laid out in the sun to dry. Then you mix that, which is like a powder in the end, with water, with olive oil, salt and some spices and you let that simmer on a medium heat. And while that's waiting to start simmering, you want to cut garlic cloves in half and add them in. Second bowl of kishik with crunchy Lebanese bread in the middle. It's got a very different flavour to what I thought. So it's actually very acidic and it tastes like we're eating a lemony soup. It's very refreshing and I love having the big chunks of garlic as you go through it. We were kindly invited by Marcel and Charelle to come over for Assaj lunch. I've never actually had this bread in Australia. It's similar in taste to Lebanese bread but a lot thinner and larger. So normally it's folded multiple times when it's in the bag and packaged ready for sale. You can see Marcel, she's tossing the bread like an absolute professional and then she puts it directly onto the heat. Her mum has probably been doing this for many, many years. This is not easy. They made all of the dough fresh in the morning. Vanson is a trained pastry chef so for him to witness this too, it was very entertaining and we were seriously impressed. Next for the manouche, the ladies use the exact same kind of pastry except it was rolled out a bit thicker and then placed directly onto the metal griddle with za'atar and olive oil put directly on top. We then sat down for lunch and Uncle Joe wanted to sing a few words. Zaira Khalik, in this bitter situation O Zaira Khalik, in this bitter situation I'm fed up with you, your time is short Inshallah Khalik, in peace You will come back and greet me Both old and young You will greet me Both old and young To the Bader I greet you With his eyes, you are mine To the Bader I greet you With his eyes, you are mine Inshallah I hope you will be in France And bring me food at night There is no flower that asks for water A flower that asks for water After a beautiful lunch we then sat down to watch the TV and to our surprise a new government on this very day was formed. This is after a year of there being no government in Lebanon. The government resigned last year, six days after the terrible explosion at the Beirut port occurred. It remains unknown as to whether this government will change things positively for the Lebanese but the Lebanese have hope. First time ever in Cairo Oh beautiful, with your eyes I became I was enchanted and melted Your words are sweeter than honey Greet her, oh wind And tell her, my heart is thirsty Greet her, oh wind This is definitely not going to be the last time As such happiness and excitement flooded my body as I landed in Lebanon for the first time there was a wave of sadness that filled my presence to leave. To spend time in a country that has influenced my life so strongly was enormously meaningful. I got to visit and spend time in the very village that my grandparents grew up in before migrating to Australia. I got to meet family members that I had only heard stories about or seen photos of. This was priceless. The connection between Lebanon and people in the village I formed is stronger than I would have ever thought possible. The people make this country as good as it can be and you have all left a mark on our hearts forever. Despite the circumstances in Lebanon at the moment I observed that people are very grateful for what they have. They are not greedy and they don't need a lot but they always have big smiles on their faces. Lebanese people are some of the most hospitable, welcoming and genuine in the world. We could all learn a lot from them. I want to share with you a quote from Khalil Gibran's book The Prophet, on giving. Then said a rich man, speak to us of giving. And he answered, You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. So what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear that you may need them tomorrow. If you have a chance to visit Lebanon grab it with both hands and don't let anyone stop you. You won't regret it. I'm forever happy that my son and I embarked on this trip. Thank you to all who supported us and who made this trip possible. To our family in Lebanon, we love you all. We wish you happiness and better days ahead. See you soon.