Crossing to Lebanon

Crossing to Lebanon

Today, I leave Hama in Syria to cross into Lebanon for my two nights at Tripoli.  I had originally planned to just over night but have arrived early, having saved a day in Aleppo few days ago.

This is a route I had done twice before in reverse in the days when transport was more easily found.  Post-war, transport seemed a bit scarce and Abdullah found me a shared taxi company but unfortunately, I could only share with one other person, meaning a somewhat higher price.

The driver turned up at 0950 and I turned out to be the only passenger.  The price was fixed, so there weren’t any worries.  The driver was headed to Beirut to do a pick-up from the airport tomorrow.  I guess that explains the reasonable price for me being a lone passenger.

The drive was largely on the highway, headed towards the south-east.  After over an hour, I expected us to take an exit in order to use the border crossing at Abboudiye.

The off ramp was blocked off, so the driver continued all the way to the coast before turning left to follow the coastline down to the border at Arida.  To my surprise, it didn’t take any longer because the highway to the coast was probably better than the road to Abboudiye.

Arriving at the border at 1130, I popped into the building to get myself stamped out of Syria.  It was fairly crowded but I was able to use a queue dedicated to diplomats and foreigners which had no one waiting (and similarly there was another for women).

Then came a short wait, perhaps because I didn’t have a visa, and that seemed too unusual to the man at the counter as he wandered off to check with someone.

Out from the building, it was a very short drive to a short bridge across a tiny river (ironically called Nahr Al Kabir river, which means Big River).  The driver said that the old bridge was bombed by Israel some time ago.

On the Lebanese side, I paid USD12 for a stamp for some kind of processing fee outside the building, even though I’m visa-free.  I took the stamp inside to have my passport stamped but had to go to another counter to have a photocopy of my passport done first, free-of-charge.

Overall, the crossing was easy, with total time taken on the two sides being only 30 mins.  I was in Lebanon at 1200.

Driving to Tripoli

On the coastal road on the Lebanese side, the queue to the checkpoint was long.  There were many that seemed like Syrian returnees with much of their worldly possessions like mattresses on their roof top but no kitchen sinks.

The priority for my driver was to stop to stock up on cigarettes and fill up the car.  We took a brief stop for these before continuing to Tripoli.

Fortunately, he was able to drop me off close to the old town (rather than on the highway) around 1245, where I could walk to City Hostel Dormitory.

It was about 1300, so I thought, but then I realised that there was an hour time difference and it was only 1200.  I left my bag in a corner, headed out for a shawarma and a wander before returning at 1300 when the boss was back and able to check me in for a rest.

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Old Tripoli

Finally, I felt that it was OK for me to wear shorts again, so I changed before going for a walk around the souqs of old Tripoli.

I have fond memories of the Khan Saboun in 2002 which children took us to the upper level to watch soap being sun-dried then onto the rooftop where we wandered amongst the domes (and glass skylights) of the hammam.

I spent a bit of time looking for the Khan Saboun and that gave me a very good taste of the overall souq area.  I don’t recall it being so messy and grubby.  It was nearly closing time for many shops.

Finally, I found Khan Saboun.  It is a bit more upmarket now with a nice boutique staffed by an English-speaking young lady and a few young men.  I learnt that their manufacturing facility is now located outside of town.

I left disappointed that I didn’t have any chance to wander on the rooftop (even though I told them about my first visit).  But I was happy for them to see the that their business has grown.

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Raymond de Saint-Gilles Citadel

I continued to the Citadel of Raymond de Saint-Gilles built in the 12th Century by the Crusaders.  With sunset here rather early, I was only about 15 mins before its 1600 closing time.

I took a speedy visit to every corner possible within that short time, including the various viewpoints out towards the old city and the other/newer part of the city.

I made it out by closing time and continued my wander closer to my hotel.

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