From Syria to Lebanon

Of all the Middle East travels, our bus ride from Aleppo to Beirut was certainly the most eventful. The day started with our bus getting a late start. Our departure was scheduled for 9:30 AM. We left at 10:15 AM. The bus driver attempted to make up by lost time by driving extremely fast. I can't say for sure what our actual speed was because the needle on the speedometer was missing. Just picture the movie "Speed". I think we actually caught some air on a few of the bumps.

We made a couple stops alongside the road. Here was what one of them looked like.

Funny thing - I didn't SEE any sign for a bus stop. Do you? Also, the passengers we picked up didn't appear to pay any money. Hmmmm. . .

A few kilometers before the Lebanese border, we stopped at a "gas station". I was confused because we had gotten gas about an hour after we left Aleppo. Then I saw that they were siphoning gasoline out of the tank. Oh, the mysteries of Syria.

At the border of Lebanon, we ran into a bit of a language barrier. Our bus drivers and the Syrian customs agents didn't speak English. They kept calling "Suzanne" because it is an Arabic name. I gave them the blank, I-don't-understand stare. It actually became a benefit because we escaped paying any exit tax. The customs agent then walked us across the border. This is what it looked like.

I have a feeling it isn't the main tourist border crossing. It was here that I got my first clear glimpse of the Mediterranean Sea.
The Lebanese officials let us sail through customs and didn't charge us for our visas. God truly gave us favor in this politically unstable country. Isn't it beautiful? The pictures I see of Lebanon are of bombed buildings, not serene terrain.

Outside of Beirut, there were some detours due to road construction. At one of them, our bus driver had an altercation with a Lebanese bus. They yelled at each other in Arabic. From that point on, the Lebanese bus stalked us. He cut in front of us constantly, braked for no reason and waited for us at forks in the road. We were praying without ceasing for God's peace to cut down on the machismo and bring us to safety. Thankfully, He honored those prayers and we made it to Beirut.