Apology

To all the readers: for starters I have been on an extended break because of a number of reasons.
1. I am in my home state to see my family, I haven't seen them in a number of months.
2. My girlfriend of almost 3 years left me, leaving me in psychological turmoil.

To PoshLemon: I disagree with you on many things you say, I am sorry I got so aggressive, it had nothing to do with you and more to do with what was going on with me. I hope that this doesn't result in a lasting dislike between us. Sorry.

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The Beating Heart of the "Christian Mountains": Bcharre

Bcharre is one of the highest towns in the Middle East, resting on the edge of the Qadisha Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The town is a mix of low rise buildings, red roofed villas, and a number of large churches, whose bells can be heard throughout the valley. Historically the town and its environs were home to St. Charbel, a Maronite hermit saint. In more recent history it was the town from which Lebanese Forces leader, Dr. Samir Geagea hailed from, making it a hotbed of support for the Lebanese Forces.

The St. Bernard Hotel sits right next to Dr. Samir Geagea's, mountain retreat in Jabal Libnan. His villa was complete with armed guards, a concrete protective blast wall and its own checkpoint. The hotel was completely empty, save for the group of thirty students I traveled with. The hotel's walls were covered with early Maronite arms; muskets, knives, swords, and other weapons. The decoration and smell of the hotel was something out of the early 1980s, dust was still on the fireplace. My room had two single beds in it, a balcony looking out at the mountains, and a toilet/shower. The toilet paper had probably been in that very bathroom for the last 3 years.

The day we arrived at the St. Bernard, a group of ten (myself included) was taken to a chairlift in the mountains to do some hiking. At first I was quite nervous about the hike and the chairlift. The device had been repaired a few years ago, nonetheless it was being run by the Lebanese Army and pieces of the old chairlift were scattered about. Even the building where the chairlift was located was in disrepair. Nonetheless, I made the journey up the lift to a height of about 7000FT. After getting off the lift, the group headed out through the mountains. We passed a number of small snow patches. There were large hand sized grasshoppers called aboots milling about. The terrain was a mixture of shale and sand colors, and quite rocky. After stopping in a glacier made depression we found a large patch of snow, some of the members of my party decided it was apt time for a snowball fight. On top of the highest peak in the area was a wooden cross. If you looked east the Bekka Valley and its countless fields could be seen with the naked eye. Looking toward the Mediterranean the dark outline of the Qadisha Valley and the villages that dotted it were full view.

The bus met us half way down the mountain, it was hazy, further down the mountain I could see Arz el Rab, or "the Cedars of God." The cedars are truly somthing, many of them are over 1000 years old. These same trees were the ones used by Solomon for his Jerusalem temple, the Phoneticians and Romans for shipbuilding, the Crusaders for buildings and fortifications, the Ottomans for railroads, and in the modern day, for small trinkets. The wood is extraordinarily fragrant. The trees themselves are massive. The trunk of one tree, I saw, was thicker than two yellow school buses and as high as a high rise building. The trees also have a religious significance to many Christians in the area. The cedars were mentioned 75 times in the Bible, and their wood was used to create two Jewish temples, Solomon's and later, Herod's, where God himself was supposed to dwell.

Back at the hotel my skin was burned to a crisp from the high altitude hiking and tour through the cedars. I decided to spark up a conversation with the people who ran the hotel. I explained to them my interest in the Lebanese Forces and their subgroups, immediately I was accepted as "one of them." When the other Americans had to pay a bill, I didn't, everything was on the house, their courtesy was unmatched. We exchanged phone numbers and sat for hours discussing the Christian situation in Lebanon. After a time I even shared coffee with one of the Kalashnikov toting guards of Samir Geagea.

The two men who I talked most to were Philipee and the hotel's chef, Charbel. Philipee explained to me that even though he had to work two jobs, seven days a week, and that Lebanon's economy was destroyed, he would try his best to stay in the country, "this is my country, all of us [Lebanese Christians] are going, I just can't." Charbel's English was limited to curse words and phrases from the early 90s used to hit on women. Nevertheless, they took an instant liking to me and presented me with cigarettes ("I don't smoke" doesn't hold much weight in this country, I must have been offered them 50 times in the span of 8 hours), a poster of Samir Geagea, and a number of vodka and redbull cocktails they enjoyed mixing up.

"The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar in Lebanon" (Psalm 92:12)

The Christian Heartland: Identity, History, & Politics

Traditionally the north of Lebanon, on Jabal Libnan, has been the home of the Lebanese Christian community. On the map the area forms triangle, with al Habba forming the tip of the triangle, East Beirut forming the bottom left side of it and Zahle forming the right side. Interestingly enough the triangle has much significance to Lebanon's Christians, both in religion and politics, so it was quite fitting that the region in which they lived formed such a shape. To the religious Christians, the shape represents the "father, the son and the holy spirit." Politically the Delta shape was adopted by the mainly Christian Lebanese Forces (whose commander, Samir Geagea, and much of their support lies in Bcharre) during the war, in addition the right wing, mainly Christian party, Kataeb, has as its symbol a triangular shaped cedar tree. On LebaneseForces.com their reasoning for adopting the symbol is this:

"1] The delta (triangle) of resistance refers to the 3 areas; Ain el Roumeneh, Furn el Chebek and Ta7weeta. Because the war started in these 3 areas and all the Christian militias had soldiers located there, the three areas formed a triangle of resistance. Since all these Christian militias became Lebanese Forces, the delta (triangle) became there logo.2] The delta represents the cedars, while the circle represents the circle of resistance3] The delta means 'in the name of the father, son and holy spirit'

2] The delta represents the cedars, while the circle represents the circle of resistance

3] The delta means 'in the name of the father, son and holy spirit'"

Even in the 21st century the area is incredibly isolated. The roads through the mountains are long and winding. Red roofed villages cling to green and brown colored hillsides, churches dominate the skylines of these villages. Because the area is so isolated those escaping persecution have quite literally "head for the hills." Many Christian aesthetics and hermits hid in the regions numerous caves, including the famous St. Charbel. The isolation also gave ground to a movement in Christianity called Maronism.

Founded along the Orontes River in Syra, the incredibly independent minded Maronites are a group of Christians that follows their own patriarch (who is considered a Cardinal in the Catholic Church), yet receive communion from the pope. Technically they are Catholic, but technically they are not. Usually, to call a Maronite, "Catholic" would garner an answer, "no I'm Maronite!" This independent streak led many Maronites to seek refuge in Mount Lebanon following the Muslim Arab conquest of Syria. The Maronites self and outside imposed isolation caused them to turn to their religious leaders for guidance both in the realm of politics. The Patriarch and his fellow clergy members usually handled affairs of "state" and of religion. Even in modern times Cardinal/Patriarch Sfeir (head of the Maronites) is called Abu Hakim (father of the doctor). Al Hakim (or the doctor/learned man in Arabic), is the name given to Dr. Samir Geagea (leader of the Lebanese Forces) by his followers. Sfier received this name because he was one of the few voices in Lebanon to rally to Samir Geagea's side when he was imprisoned for 11 years by Syria in Lebanon.

The Maronites have been both oppressed and the oppressor. They have felt, for at least one thousand years that they are surrounded on all sides by hostile Muslim hordes who want nothing more than their elimination. They have many reasons to fear the Muslims. Because of their affiliation with the Vatican the Mameluk Muslims felt the need to cleanse the area of them following the Crusades.

The Mameluk occupation of the area was ended by the Ottomans. The Ottomans in turn gave relative autonomy to Jabal Libnan and its Christian majority, but nonetheless saw them as a thorn in their side. Because the Maronites could seek outside protection from Catholic states such as France, the Ottomans had to keep a more lassies fair stance with them. When Europe was occupied with with her own internal wars, the Ottomans would in turn strike the Maronites. For example, in 1860 the Ottomans encouraged the Druze to massacre many Christians, killing up to 10,000 of them. Recently it was mainly Muslim forces (mostly the PLO, Syria, Druze groups, Leftists and Islamists) who were fighting the Christians during the Lebanese War.

In terms of "oppression," the Maronites are the sole religious group allowed to hold the Presidency of Lebanon. Essentially, Lebanon was founded for them when the French carved much of it out of Syria. The Muslims absorbed into the new Lebanon ( Shi'ites, Sunnis, and Druze) led at the time by a Christian majority, felt disenfranchised. In addition, many Maronites held lucrative businesses while many Muslims didn't, especially the Shi'ites.

In the eyes of many Maronites (and other Christians) counter massacres against their enemies are justified. One such massacre that has garnered much press was the Sabra and Chatilla refugee camp massacre of 1982. Following the SSNP's assassination of President-Elect Bachir Gemayel (who was also head of the mainly Christian Lebanese Forces), Israeli troops surrounded the two Palestinian refugee camps. Christian forces under Elie Hobieka were let into the camps by the Israelis to clear out any remaining PLO militants. Instead of soley mopping the camp up of its Palestinian militants, the Phalangists forces exacted their revenge on the populace of the camp, killing anywhere from 600-1200 people. While the massacre, its motives, and who really took part in it are subject to much heated debate, some Christians found the action tolerable, if not justified. In the words of a Christian friend, "all you hear them [the Western press] talk about is Sabra and Chatilla, they never mention Damour or Chekka [two massacres committed by Palestinians], if you ask me they had it coming." In the Middle East the climate has been either "eye for an eye" or "head for an eye." Essentially, no crime goes unpunished, and punishment for the crime is usually handled by committing another crime.

Today some Christians push for federalism in Lebanon. They feel a stronger central government can reign in renegade elements, and help preserve Lebanon as a whole. However many Christians feel the only way to stop being Arabized is through forming more autonomous zones for certain sectarian groups within Lebanon. In a Washinton Post article, head of the NLP (National Liberal Party) Dori Chamoun (son of former Lebanese President Camille Chamoun) said, "I don't see Lebanon surviving as it is today, It is inevitable that the Christians will have a smaller share of the country. I only see one solution, cantonization. Everybody wants it. Nobody says it out loud."

The question of Arabization has caused many problems within Lebanon's Christian community. Many Orthodox Christians consider themselves Arabs, while many other Christians, mostly Maronites consider themselves to be Phonecian. One of my Christian professors noted, "I consider myself Phonecian first, Arab second, and Lebanese third." When she was asked why most Christians see themselves as Phonecian she answered, "most say it because they don't want to be associated with Arabs, whom they see as terrorists, I know history and that's why I regard myself as a Phonecian." Many Maronites, who originally used the Syriac language before the Arab conquest, even consider the Lebanese dialect of Arabic to be distinct from other forms of Arabic. the Guardians of the Cedars, a right wing, mostly Christian nationalistic organization even developed an alphabet for Lebanese.

From the isolated villages atop Jabal Libnan it was easy to see the isolated and insular nature of the Maronites. Nevertheless their Phoenician heritage has given them the pre-disposition to be excellent traders and merchants. Materialism has a huge hold in Lebanon, not just in the Christian community. Mercedes, BMWs, Cadillac Escalades, and Maseratis cruise the streets of the former war-torn state.

Christians in Lebanon are caught between being Phoencians or being Arabs, control or subjugation, currently they are being marginalized. As a minority group in the Middle East the hills have provided security, isolation, and a sense of community. However they have also proven to be the main reason Maronites, and many Christians are neither Western nor Eastern, only somthing in between. In the words of the late Bachir Gemayel, in reference to his fellow Maronites (and Christians in general), "we are the angels of the East, but also its demons."
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* More to come on my trip up to Jabal Libnan (Bcharre, etc)

* A special thanks to reader Selim K. who corrected an earlier error. I originally said Samir Geagea was jailed in Syria, he was actually jailed in Lebanon.

Blog Goals

Arz el Jabal? Purpose and Mission:

Arz el Jabal (أرز الجبل)= Mountain Cedars in Lebanese Arabic


What's the deal with the name?
The Levant is known for many of its mountainous areas and I've always been a lover of cedar trees. Because many of the cedar trees (in Lebanon and Syria) are upwards of 2000 years old, are considered a much honored symbol in Lebanon, and symbolize strength and longevity it seemed more than fitting.

Goals
For those of you who don't know, the Levant, a region comprising much of the Eastern Mediterranean, includes the modern states of Lebanon, Syria, Israel, and Jordan. This district of the Middle East, needless to say, is rich with history and includes the oldest seaport, continuously inhabited cities and includes a wide variety of religions and spoken tongues.

Arz el Jabal will primarily concentrate on the politics, history, polity, tribalism, terrorism, and the regions religion(s). I will try to post interviews I have with important people (politicians, historians, news makers) who focus on/are important in the region.

List of Other Goals:

• Post interesting newslinks
• Keep a travel log on trips to the region
• Get some interesting interviews
• Put some good book reviews up here
• Explain the region so the layman can understand

That's what I have for now

Thanks, I hope you all enjoy the wild ride that is Arz el Jabal.