Stretched between the two harsh mountain chains that protected it from invasion, the plain of the Bekaa is Lebanon's grain reserve. It is practically the only place in the country flat enough to cultivate wheat and other cereals -- and cultivated it is, in its integrity, while snowy summits stare at each other across it.
Scroll right to browse the gallery.
Above: A winter view of a field of grapevines in the Bekaa. The Plain is home to famous wines appreciated by connoisseurs worldwide, such as Kefraya and Ksara.
Above: Fields in the South of the Bekaa, where the land is drier.
The cherries of Baalbek
The temple of Baalbek is not the city's only claim to fame. As far back as
the 11th century, its fruits were in demand beyond the borders: the Fatimid
caliph in Cairo mentioned to his vizir, one Yaqub Ibn Kallis, that he had
never tasted the cherries of Baalbek. At the time there existed an important
system of messenger pigeons that connected the cities of importance. It so
happened that the pigeons of Damascus were inCairo at the precise moment
of the caliph's wish. The vizir immediately sent a pigeon to Damascus: he
asked that Baalbek cherries be attached to the legs of all available pigeons
and sent back to Cairo. In less than a day, the caliph was able to taste the
Lebanese fruits he desired.
Above: A potato field. The workers on such fields are typically hired Beduin women, who fill it with the bright colors of their multi-layered clothing (right). I have gone picking potatoes with them before: a truck drives ahead and overturns the ground, which brings the potatoes out to the surface where they can be picked up.
Above: Beduin women on their way to work. The Beduins are not Lebanese, but nomadic tribe that travel between Lebanon and Syria and work as farmhands.
Above: This picture has a touching story. My mother was trying to take a picture of this woman, who was at work in the Beduin camp, when her subject saw the camera and ran inside a tent. My mother thought she had frightened her, and was ready to leave when the woman came running back out of the tent, holding a baby aloft.
"This is my son!" she hollered proudly.
Left: A slight mist makes the Plain take on a surreal appearance.
Above: I shot and assembled pictures to give a better idea of what the Plain looksl ike with its patchwork of fields.
