The city statue.We caught a minivan (shared taxi) to Chtaura where we had planned to stay and explore more Roman ruins but found that there was no accommodation , other than a four star hotel out of town, so decided to go to the next city of Zahle instead.
What a contrast to anywhere else in Lebanon we have been. The city is built along the banks of a river with houses up the sides of the rocky mountains. The streets were sealed and the paths paved and everything was so clean and organised.
We learnt later that the city had 30 churches and no mosque. We saw very few veiled women and lots of young people driving up and down in their expensive cars talking on their cellphones at the same time. There were advertisements for cola and burbon lining the highways and lots of pubs and nightclubs. Most of these were closed as they open next month when the weather is warmer.
The main street was lined with clothing shops with names like 'Snob', "Flirt', and 'Coquette'. There were so many signs in English and even 'real' supermarkets.
There were the usual Catholic statues of Mary and small shrines on street corners or in parks. The city was the birth place for about 50 poets, writers and thinkers in the past.
We stayed in a hotel that was built in the 1800s and across the street were other buildings of the same age with the same French style of architecture. They had shutters and balconies overlooking the street. Many of the old buildings are being renovated and will give the town a French colonial feel when they are all completed.
We walked to the top of the town and found the open air restaurants that Zahle is famous for. They are jammed into a small space on either side of the river in a small valley and each one is trying to get noticed more than the other. They have playgounds to attract families and canopy-covered areas. None was open but the carpenters and painters were busy painting the canopy frames in bright colours and renovating the kitchens.
The area is also famous for its syrah wines that come from grapes used by the Romans. They also have a strong liquor called arak. We bought a bottle of wine and found a modern bakery selling ciabatta bread and French cheese to get into the European mood of the place.
