A River Called Tripoli

For any of you who thought the town of Tripoli was a coastal town in the North of Lebanon, I have some news: on my sightseeing trip there yesterday, I discovered that it's actually a river! :)

I still had fun though because Tripoli has a lot of souks and looks a bit like Damascus or Aleppo - very different from East Beirut. Somehow, I was relieved to discover this and to know that there actually are Muslim communities in Lebanon; something that is easily forgotten when you live and work in a Christian neighbourhood, like I do. Getting lost in the network of souks is a lot of fun, and like in Damascus there are different sections: a clothes section, a fruit and veggie section, a meat section, a jewelry section, and of course, a tacky-crap-section! After I spent some time in the clothes section unsuccessfully looking for a pair of rubber boots and warm socks because my shoes were seriously soaked after crossing the above river-street, I settled for a pair of stuffed-animal slippers in the shape of lions from the tacky-crap-section, because at least that way my feet would be warm once I got home. This proved to be a good calculation and I cannot describe my joy at wearing the brand new lion slippers after a day of slushing through muddy water in trainers! Luckily there is so much to distract the senses in the souks that I didn't notice it so much. There are tons of little Madrassas with black and white stonework, and Khans (storage rooms) from several centuries ago, and incense and tea and the sweets that Tripoli is famous for....I bought some from an old man in a little shop - they're the best. And of course there's the castle, which I will have to visit next time since it's basically a lot of ruins under the sky and I wasn't up for that in the rain. Anyway I'm definitely going back, it's a really nice day trip.