Lebanon

 We are so excited to learn about Lebanon next!  There are many things I hope to learn as we journey virtually to each of these places, but gaining a better understanding of the history and people of the Middle East / Levant region is a specific goal I have.  Lebanon is a fantastic introduction to the area.  Located north of Israel and west of Syria, the Lebanese Republic is the most religiously diverse country in the Middle East and has a history that goes back over 7,000 years.

Videos we watched:

• Geography  Now! Lebanon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvgLLqpRT6s&ab_channel=GeographyNow
• Flag/Fan Friday Lebanon - Geography Now!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t-UiVWYKQA&ab_channel=GeographyNow
• 7 Fact about Lebanon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmcU5R1rqdQ&ab_channel=Sebastianioan
• Top 10 Attractions in Lebanon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJUIApw20rw&ab_channel=MojoTravels
• 10 Things NOT to do in Lebanon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEpU1Hvxpck&ab_channel=DestinationTips
• Lebanon is NOT What You Think: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp_SeQdEFF8&ab_channel=DrewBinsky - a travel vlog showing a visit to Lebanon with their friends in Lebanon talking about the country

There are actually some great virtual tours of locations in Lebanon available online too:

• 10 Virtual Tours of Lebanon: https://artsandculture.google.com/theme/discover-lebanon-s-history-with-these-10-virtual-tours/MQJSutInfc-kLQ?hl=en - take a Google Streets-style tour of places like the Temple of Jupiter, Jeita Grotto, and the Cedars of God
• UNESCO Heritage Site Tours: https://en.unesco.org/news/explore-art-and-archaeological-sites-lebanon-through-virtual-tours - links to virtual tours of The Lebanese National Museum, Byblos, and other art and archeological locations, including links to an app showing a collection of the artifacts displayed at the National Museum

Of course, to top off our country study, we can't miss out on trying the food!  We found a Lebanese restaurant not far from us called Zaatar Lebanese Grill.  I had been keeping a list of the foods mentioned in the videos above to try and make sure we tried those, and luckily this restaurant served almost all of them - yum!

Apologies for the poor pictures - we were so busy eating that we forgot to take anything other than a family pic!  Things we ate:

• kibbeh - a wheat shell with ground meat inside - near the top of the pic slightly on the right
• tabbouleh - a finely chopped salad of parsley, cucumber, tomato, olive oil & lemon juice - bowl near the middle of the pic, slightly right
• fattoush - a green salad with radishes and tomatoes - seen on the plates
• manoush - a flatbread pizza with various toppings: akawi cheese, lahme (spiced ground beef), zaatar (a spice and olive oil blend), and spinach - in box on bottom right
• warak arish - grape leaves stuffed with meat and rice - in the clear containers at the very top of the photo
• several kinds of meat kabobs & rice - the big aluminum contained in the middle
• hummus - black bowl on the bottom
• baba ghannouj - roasted eggplant dip with pomegranate seeds on top as a garnish - to the right of the hummus
• falafel and pita bread
• Lebanese milk cake - like tres leches cake but garnished with pistachio and rose - not pictured

The kibbeh was a big hit with everyone, and falafel and hummus are always a favorite in our house.  The kids had to stretch themselves a bit with some of the other dishes, especially the warak arish and the spinach manoush, but each dish goes best in conjunction with the others instead of as a standalone.  And my husband and I will happily be eating delicious leftovers all weekend!