WLE Day 9 (08-16-2011): Baskinta – Dhour El Shweyr (The Literary Trail- Part Two)

WLE Day 9 (08-16-2011): Baskinta – Dhour El Shweyr  (The Literary Trail- Part Two)

Length: Aprox 17 km, 8 hrs Approx.

Difficulty Level: Moderate

By reaching Baskinta, according to my calculations, we would have hiked approximately 195 kilometers give or take. This number though is probably close but not entirely accurate. In fact, if something has amazed me on this trip, it is the inaccuracy of measurement of distances across Lebanon. Very few people who we have asked for directions so far in our expedition have been accurate. To make things worse, there are hardly any road or trail signs; and those that appear merely spell the name and direction of a destination, not how far it is. It is a downside, but not a fatal one. A professional guide should be able to overcome this easily. Chamoun has so far proved this day in day out.

Today the plan was to hike from Baskinta to Mtein; but we eventually changed it from Baskinta to Dhour el Shweyr, which is where I will be spending the night- at my friend Karim Makdisi’s place. Karim is one of my best friends and the family as intellectual as it gets; so I figured wouldn’t it be great to walk straight from Mikhail Nhayme’s (one of Lebanese best known authors and poets) residence in Baskinta to the Makdisis in Dhour. If that doesn’t provide for intellectual stimulation, I don’t know what would be.

The day started off with a great “balady” (meaning country) breakfast, which the monastery nuns had prepared for us. The nuns have been nice and treated us with great hospitality. Joining us early for breakfast this morning were Rany and Nathalie, both of whom had driven up from Beirut for the hike. Rany had hiked with me once before on my previous trip to Lebanon and did great; and Nathalie, his sister, who is a triathlon athlete living in San Francisco wanted to try it. It was great to have them join. Samer immediately hit it off with Rany, while Nathalie quickly proved her athletic stamina.

We started the hike at about 7:45 am a handful of kilometers north of Baskinta and in the house and Mausoleum of Mikhail Nhayme. And what a surprising treat we were in for: The very nephew of Nhayme, an octegarian by my estimate, was there and proceeded to recount to us some of his stories with his famous literary uncle. The stories were very personal and touching, and I was gripped for almost an hour listening to this man and master storyteller. At one point when he was talking about his uncle’s relationship with Khalil Gebran, he was in tears. “I used to love Gebran, and I know he used to love my uncle,” he said … It was all an experience to savor; and I am glad Samer recorded it.

We proceeded to hike down through the mountains. The trail was relatively easy, the houses we passed very charming and with traditional Lebanese village architecture of stone and orange red brick roof. At one point we approached a farm, when a lady came rushing out offering us fruits. I asked her to talk a photograph. She was camera shy, but I stole a photo anyway. Onwards we went and came across two Phoenician temples, one of which had what looked like a once upon a time city around it. Unfortunately, neither was protected nor offered any signage. If anything, they seemed abandoned, uncared for. Simply ruins in the middle of nowhere. I felt it was a great shame … ‘Who would tell their story?’ I wondered.

It took us about three hours to round the mountain facing Baskinta. And then we started ascending towards the next one, which would eventually dip into Mrouj, Bolonia, and finally Dhour Shweir. I noticed Chamoun very disappointed. Upon asking, he replied that the road ahead, which was a foot trail was being paved. Chamoun’s face looked like that of a kid whose toy was just taken away from him. All of a sudden there were trucks, bulldozers and earth levelers everywhere … So much for the mountain trail in this part. So we carried onwards. There wasn’t much water available in these parts. Actually the whole trail did not pass one water fountain or well. But it wasn’t too hot nor too sunny. We crossed the next mountain and could see the villages of Mtein (to the South), Mrouj and perched on the hill Dhour el Shweyr west from our position). We decided to head down to Mrouj and circumvent Mtein.

It took us another hour to reach Mrouj downhill on a paved road. Mrouj is a large village, which is relatively developed with lots of stores on both sides of the road. We reached the center of the town around 2:00 pm some 5.5 hours after we had begun the hike at Nhayme’s house in Baskinta. Once in the center of the town, we all sat to rest. Chamoun’s wife Paullette arrived to take Chamoun for the evening to see his mother in the hospital- who was fortunately recuperating. Rany, Nathalie, and Samer decided to drive up to Dhour taking my hiking bag along with them. I opted to walk the rest of the way to be able to see and picture some of the scenery.

I arrived in Dhour el Shweyr at 3:45 having passed some beautiful houses, mansions, and hotels along the way. Many buildings in the area were still abandoned though- this was an area heavily affected by the civil war and its scars still show. I was so happy to see Karim and the Makdisi family. They take up their summer residence in a beautifully renovated traditional house that overlooks a valley. They provided me with a studio built in a “Akd”, which is a term used described what in the old day was used for storage of food and sometimes animals. They kept the original stone-arched architecture but turned it into a modern studio that has a view of the facing mountain.

The evening was spent with several guests and as usual an intellectual setting like no other. We were joined by the daughter of Antoun Saade, who was once a famous politician, philosopher, and son of Dhour el Shweyr … Oh and thank goodness for the taste of grilled meat (lahme mishwiyeh…) Yummy.

Tomorrow off to Barouk!

WY