WLE Day 5 (08/12/2011): Ehden to Hasroun (or is it Bazoun?)
Length: Aprox 17 km, 6 hrs
Difficulty Level: Moderately Easy
The morning of our 5th day started off lightly after a long night’s sleep and perhaps foreshadowed an equally easy day. The hike from Ehden to Hasroun actually turned out from Arz (The Cedars) to Hasroun as we were driven by our host Alfonse from Ehden on a steep side rode up to the location where would start our hike close to Arz. The altitude was around 1900 meters above sea level. But before we had left, the reserve lodging’s Alfonse and his industrious wife Rhonda made sure we had been properly fed and our lunch properly packed with sandwiches, cucumber, fruits, and water. I must say it has never ceased to amaze me how generous the Lebanese people are and how concerned they are with one’s needs when it comes to both water and food- which they call Zawadeh.
When we got to the Cedars, the park was closed. But there was an old man with a straw hat standing by the gate, who started a conversation with me. Turns out he is originally from the Bashoura area in Beirut, but fell in love with this Cedar area some 46 years ago and has been living here since. He started telling me about the good old days of Lebanon and of Presidents such as Camille Chamoun and Prime Ministers such as Riyad Solh. “How things had changed over the years,” he reminisced. I asked him some questions about the actual cedar trees; and he began pointing through the see through fence the characteristics of each one. “This one is found on the Lebanese flag, that one on the Lebanese passport, the one over there on the postal stamp and the old Lira coin, the one with only one half was the one that had its left half sheared of in a heavy snow storm in 1983 … he then said, “You know young man, these guys that open this place up may be late, if you guys are in a hurry, I suggest you just jump over the fence …”
The park itself is majestic and yet indelibly leaves one with a bitter taste of the tragic history this region had to endure all the way back from the ancient Egyptians to the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans … You name it, they tore down and stole timber from Lebanon’s Cedar forests. What stands now is merely a speck of what existed before, and the mountains surrounding it are all bare and used primarily as winter ski slopes and the occasional hike. There are efforts to replant, but looking at the range of mountains, it is obvious that much more is needed.
The trip down from Arz offered beautiful views and a comfortable descending pace. The Qadisha valley itself separates the arc of mountains surrounding the Cedars. On the northern end is Bsharre whose claim to fame is derived from being the birthplace of Gebran Khalil Gebran, the author of The Prophet. Facing Bcharre on the other side are the twin towns of Hasroun and Bazoun. That would be our destination for the evening. Now the relationship between these two villages is funny. Even though they are separated by a mere roundabout and the towns practically connected, they talk about one another as if they are across oceans. At one point, I congratulated the mayor of Hasroun for the patriarch’s visit. “He visited Hasroun 2 weeks ago, today he visited Basoun,” he corrected me. Our hotel seemed to be right on the border. Samer and I were joking that maybe his bed was in Hasroun and mine was in Bazoun J. To please both sides Samer decided to get a haircut from Hasroun, while I bought some Lebanese sweets (Halawet el Jibn) from Bazoun.
Relationships between towns can be of a different nature. For example Bsharre and Ehden have long had enmity; whereas that between Ehen and Zgharta is of twinship. In fact, the same families who live in Zgharta during the year live in Ehden in the summer . Since Zgharta is closer to the Lebanese coast it offers a warmer climate in the winter months. But why are they kin then, unlike any other Lebanese town? Turns out the story dates back to the Ottoman Empire when a Pasha was going through the area and got stuck in a snow storm around Ehden. A local man helped give him shelter. In return, the Pasha decided to grant him a large plot of land close to the coast so that “residents of Ehden do not have to suffer in the winter as I did.” That plot of land was near the coast of Lebanon. Interestingly, the name Zgharta is a shortened version of “Sagharta” (meaning you made it small). As the story goes, it took its name after the recipient of the land complained to the Pasha that the piece of land was too small!
We arrived to the hotel from the hike at around 3 pm, which meant we had plenty of time to spare. Luckily, the Internet around these parts all of a sudden became much better. In fact, the Hotel where we are staying, The Karram Hotel, has WIFI in open air. What a treat after being incommunicado for a few days…
That evening, I was told the Maronite Patriarch would be giving a sermon in the local church, so I took my camera and headed up to the church, which happens to be a block away from our hotel. It was a wonderful setting with most townspeople in a festive mood. I started taking photos inside and around the church, until I came across a bunch of teenage boys ringing the church bells. They were happy to see me taking photos. All of a sudden, one of them asked me if I would like to ring the bells. At first I was hesitant, but then I thought I might as well. The first few tries were disastrous. Soon I got the hang of it and I started chiming the bells like nuts ... No wonder the Patriarch came out of the church with a brimming smile on his face :-).
WY
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