After a long but very enjoyable drive, we arrive at Beiteddine, the palace of Mount Lebanon, a 200-year old national monument and the actual summer residence of Lebanon's President. This place is stunning. Perched atop a hill with gorgeous views in all directions, the palace was built by Emir Bashir Shihab II at the turn of the 19th century, with sprawling grounds and beautiful corridors and courtyards deftly woven into the landscape. The Emir employed Italian architects, and so the buildings are a unique blend of traditional Arab and Italian baroque architectural elements. We wandered quickly from room to room, down winding stairs, in and around traditional bath houses and fountains, while taking countless pictures like the enchanted tourists we were. The late afternoon shadows made for some very beautiful compositions, but alas, I'm a bit useless as a photographer, and my iPhone 3 is getting on in years and only works sporadically. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it, as to why all my pictures barely capture the feel of this place. I'm hoping my friend Anja will send me some of her images, because we compared notes and it was clear that her pictures were a lot better. But regardless of how we documented this spot, it's a magical and marvelous place. It's also the ancestral home of Farid Chehab, who I'll write more about later this week, and I feel like I have a much better idea now of why Farid is such a charismatic figure. When you have the strains of nobility in your blood, and the memory of great ancestors looming over your life, the call to do something worthwhile with your gifts becomes much clearer. When your ancestors have brought beauty this refined into existence, it pushes you to live up to their legacy. Beiteddine was gorgeous, and I'm eternally thankful to Bechara for bringing us here.
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