Lebanon

Lebanon is a 28 minute flight from Cyprus.  Some friends and I flew there for a three day weekend, and had a great time.  I visited Ba'alback, an amazing set of ruins with the Temples of Bacchus and Zeus.  I walked all over Beirut, eating good food, visiting awesome free museums, and generally being fascinated by Lebanon.

Ummayid trading town of An'jar

palace of the leader of An'jar

at Ba'alback, in front of columns of imported marble

The Roman ruins at Ba'alback were incredibly intact and impressive

The Corniche, a lovely seaside promenade in Beirut

a beautiful Roman mosaic (notice the bullet hole in the
lower left from the civil war in the 70s)

the prettiest donerkabob ever

Brains.  The middle row is tiny brains.

Pidgeon Rock on the Corniche

everything that came with my kebabs- salt/pepper/
mustard/toothpick/gum (lots of garlic in Lebanon)

I almost bought a Hezbollah t-shirt to wear the next time I go through US Customs, but it's probably not the year to be a smartass with US Customs.  

Cypriot roadblock

The orange truck took the roundabout too quickly, and citrus spilled everywhere.  This is the most Cypriot thing ever- a bunch of oranges in a roundabout while no one honks.

Hala Sultan Tekke Mosque

"On the shore of the Salt Lake, two kilometers from the city of Larnaca, lies the Hala Sultan Tekke, a significant monument with its minaret and dome soaring amid eucalyptuses, cypresses and, mostly, palm trees, a truly unique spot. Cypriot Muslims consider it as the third most revered monument in the world, after Ka’aba in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina.  In accordance with the Muslim tradition, especially in the Arab world, one of the prerequisites for a Muslim to be considered ready to enter Paradise is to visit the following four holy places: the Ka’aba in Mecca, the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, the Hala Sultan Tekke in Larnaca, and the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. "

How many cats do you count??