since I last wrote something. Nothing much has happened, the office is as usual. I have had made more trips to Beirut but not beyond. I spend some time on the coast just off Naqoura as beautiful flowers have now come out after all that rain and the recent beautiful days with sunshine. Parts of the coast look like a green carpet with yellow dots, very beautiful. It has been quite warm in the last few days. The swallows have returned from Africa, that means that spring is here. It is amazing, one day and they are all back, literally overnight. I have ordered a converter for my Olympus E-P2 for the Leica lenses and I will see how they work together. I do really miss the way and handling of the M series Leica, a little bit I can do with the Olympus but it is just not the same. Beirut still offers a lot of Graffiti and I shall explore the walls of that city more. Some of the future plans include a trip to the Holy valley (Wadi Qadisha) which I really would like to explore extensively.

This is a view of the coast with Tyre in the background. From a distance the city always looks like this metropolis rising from the sea, like as if you view Manhattan from the Jersey Shore at Sandy Hook. Once you come closer you know it ain't true. The water is really nice and blue, but further up the coast the first rubbish dump appears and the water get polluted when part of it collapse into the sea. The coast could really be quite beautiful if properly taken care of, but that is one thing that is missing here, appreciation of the beautiful things, preserving something and making it available to the rest of the community without making a business out of it.

This is the edge of the old city of Tyre, with the Roman and Phonecian ruins, or better part of it, in the foreground. Some effort has been made here to restore some of the old houses which actually have turned out very nice. Part of the old city is actually very quaint and charming.