Categories
Food

Lebanese Wines in Germany

While finding Lebanese or Arabic products in Germany is relatively easy since there are a lot of small Arabic supermarkets selling them, those stores do not usually offer wine or any other alcoholic beverages.

I’ve lived in Germany for around 2 years now and found a number of places to get my favorite Lebanese wines from, the list below is probably not complete and I’m sure you could find more places selling Lebanese wines.

The list is ordered alphabetically.

Der Wein Weber: You can get a large selection of Chateau Musar at DerWeinWeber.de I personally had a good experience with them and can recommend them. You can find some relatively old vintages priced cheaper than Lebanon (Chateau Musar 1999 for example).

GARIBALDI: You can buy some Musar wines at Garibaldi shops if there’s one near you. You can also get Musar wines from Garibaldi’s online shop.

Libanon Weine: LibanonWeine.de has a good selection of different Lebanese wines, I ordered already from the website and they have extremely fast service. They also have Lebanese olive oil and Almaza Lebanese beer which was nice.

Wein Store 24: My latest find is WeinStore24, they have the largest selection of Lebanese wines in Germany I could find and the delivery was also relatively fast.

Categories
Nature

Goodbye trees

Yesterday night a truck unloaded a tractor into a tiny bit of green space that remained in front of my bedroom window. This morning the tractor pulled up all the trees to make way for what I assume to be a new building… I don’t get why don’t they take those trees and plant them somewhere else! Why do they need to destroy them! Instead of planting new trees in Lebanon to fight deforestation let them make laws that force construction companies to relocate the existing trees instead of savagely removing them!

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Categories
Sports

Skydiving in Lebanon – kind of

One of the activities you cannot do in Lebanon is skydive. During the last two years a company managed to bring in a skydiving team and performed tandem jumps for a couple of days but the experience was expensive and I’m not sure of how good it was.

In order to skydive you have to travel abroad and that’s what I did on two occasions, once to Turkey and once to Dubai.

In my opinion everyone should skydive at least once! It’s an awesome experience and believe me when I say that it is not scary!

To skydive the weather has to be good and this is what makes traveling to skydive a little risky. Two of my friends had their jumps canceled at the last minute because of bad weather. So in order to maximize your chances of jumping try to do it as soon as you get to the country. This way if the weather turns out to be bad you’ll have the possibility of postponing the jump for another day.

I performed my first tandem jump in Ephesus, Turkey 2 years ago. I went skydiving with a friend, we payed around 1000$ per person. The price included the Beirut – Istanbul – Izmir 2 ways tickets, the hotel (3 days) and the jump. When I contacted the dropzone in Ephesus they asked me to contact Skyline Group in Lebanon, they took care of all the reservations for us so contact them if you’re interested.

Video sound muted by youtube

My second jump was in Dubai. That jump was SO much better in my opinion. The free-fall time was longer and overall it was a better experience. Skydiving in Dubai costs more but it is worth it. Contact Skydive Dubai if you want to skydive in Dubai.

Describing the experience is a little difficult to do and I won’t even try to do it, but I hope the videos above help you choose where you want to go to for skydiving. What’s certain is that those are not your only options, if you are traveling search for a dropzone in the country you are visiting and jump, You won’t regret it!

 

Categories
Lebanon

شربل يوقع اول عقد زواج مدني في لبنان

Finally!!!! Mabrouk to all the Lebanese!

Categories
Food Lebanon

The Cheesecake Factory Lebanon opening in August

cheesecake-factory-lebanonLast week I managed to meet one of the Cheesecake Factory’s future manager and asked him when will they finally open the first branch at City Centre. Apparently the restaurant will open in August. I asked if they knew when the other restaurants are going to open but they did not know. I’m currently waiting for two restaurants to open in City Centre, The Cheesecake Factory and Shake Shack, hopefully Shake Shack will open soon too! Check this post to see the full list of restaurants in City Centre.

Categories
Lebanon

Guy behind fake bomb detectors used in Lebanon jailed

Everyone has seen the bomb detectors used at the entrances of the Hotels, Malls, Clubs in Lebanon. It’s been known for a long time that those devices do nothing, cost a fortune (around 40,000$), yet no one has moved to stop them and a lot of the “security” around here is based on them! Today the guy behind this device has been convicted of three counts of fraud so let’s hope we stop seeing those “bomb detectors” in Lebanon!

Categories
Lebanon

Weirdest news today

So I was browsing Twitter now and this popped up “خير الدين : وحيد القرن لم يهاجم صحناوي”! WTF!? we’re used to weird news in Lebanon but that’s a first!

اوضح وزير الدولة في حكومة تصريف الاعمال مروان خير الدين ما حصل مع وزير الاتصالات في حكومة تصريف الاعمال نقولا صحناوي بعد نشر خبر يفيد بانه اقدم على انقاذه من وحيد قرن في احدى غابات افريقيا .

ولم ينكر خير الدين انه كان في رحلة عائلية مع الوزير صحناوي وآخرين في افريقيا، مشيراً الى انه من محبي الصيد، وما حصل بحسب خير الدين ان الفريق الذي كان معه الوزير صحناوي قد صادف وحيدا للقرن لكنه لم ينقذه لانه اصلا لم يهاجمه.
واستغرب خير الدين في حديث تلفزيوني توقيت نشر الخبر ولو على سبيل المزاح يأتي في سياق تهميش انجازات صحناوي، خصوصاً وان الرحلة حصلت في فترة عيد الميلاد .

Categories
Food Lebanon

List of stores and restaurants in City Centre Mall Lebanon

I tried to look online for info about the stores in the new City Centre Mall in Lebanon but couldn’t find any list containing the stores that opened or that are about to open in it. So I decided to compile that list myself. If you see any mistake please let me know. (* = Opening soon)

Restaurants in City Centre Lebanon:

Dining – Cafes / Specialty foods

  • Brioche Dorée
  • La Maison du Café by Café Najjar
  • Castania Nut Boutique *
  • Dunkin Donuts
  • GNC *
  • Häagen Dazs
  • Lina’s
  • Moka & More *
  • Patchi
  • Pinkberry
  • Second Cup
  • Starbucks
  • Teavana *

Dining – Fast Food

  • Attila Mongolian Grill
  • Burger King
  • Chopsticks *
  • Cinnabon
  • Fat Burger
  • Food Style
  • Kabab-Ji
  • KFC
  • McDonald’s
  • Pappa Roti *
  • Pizzaro *
  • Saltwater
  • Steak & Cheese Factory
  • The Pizzeria *
  • Zaatar w Zeit
  • Zahar Al Roumen

Dining – Restaurants

  • Ana Ahwak by Abdel Wahab *
  • Crepaway *
  • GiGi *
  • Moka Lounge *
  • Nasma *
  • P.F. Changs *
  • Roadster Diner *
  • Scoozi *
  • Shake Shack *
  • Sushi Ko *
  • The Cheesecake Factory *

Stores in City Centre Lebanon:

Banks/Financial Services

  • Halawi Exchange

Books/Cards/Gifts

  • Hallmark *

Cosmetics/Perfumes

  • Abdul Samad Al Qurashi *
  • Bath & Body Works *
  • Body Shop
  • Clarins *
  • Faces
  • MAC
  • Make up 4 Ever
  • Parashop *
  • Victoria’s Secret Beauty Accessories

Department Store / Hypermarket

  • Carrefour
  • Centrepoint
  • Marks & Spencer *

Electronics / Home Appliances / Mobile Phones

  • Bose
  • I style
  • Samsung *
  • Stars Mobile

Entertainment / Music

  • Magic Planet
  • VOX Cinemas

Fashion – Children’s / Maternity

  • Baby Shop
  • Jacadi
  • Mama’s & Papa’s
  • Mothercare
  • Original Marines
  • Tape A L’oeil
  • Zahar Kids

Fashion – Ladies

  • Bebe *
  • Betty Barclay
  • Bomba and Lola *
  • Carlos Miele Jeans *
  • Clauda *
  • Coast *
  • Esprit
  • Dorothy Perkins *
  • Fornarina
  • Gerry Weber
  • Hoss Intiopia *
  • Jennyfer *
  • Jessica
  • Juicy Couture
  • K Lynn
  • Karem Millen *
  • List
  • Liu Jo
  • Max & CO
  • Miss Selfridge’s *
  • Persona *
  • Romance Intimi
  • Valege
  • Wallis
  • Warehouse
  • Zeki

Fashion – Men’s

  • Paul & Shark
  • Rectangle Jaune
  • State of Art

Fashion – Unisex

  • Aizone
  • American Eagle Outfitters *
  • Benetton
  • Brooks Brothers
  • Colin’s
  • Cotton On *
  • Desigual *
  • Diesel
  • DKNY
  • Express *
  • F & F *
  • Geddes and Gilmore *
  • Giordano
  • G-Star Raw
  • Guess
  • H&M
  • Jack Wills *
  • Jack & Jones
  • Lacoste
  • Lufian
  • Max Fashion
  • River Woods
  • Splash
  • Sport et Loisir
  • Springfield
  • Ted Baker
  • Tom Tailor
  • Tommy Hilfiger
  • Top Shop / Top Man
  • True Religion
  • US Polo ASSN *

Fashion Accessories / Handbags / Footwear

  • Agatha
  • Bata
  • Clarks *
  • Claire’s
  • Crocs
  • Five Fingers
  • Florsheim
  • Gioseppo *
  • GS Shoes
  • Guess Accessories
  • Kiplings *
  • Maria Pino *
  • Milano *
  • Pablosky
  • Payless shoes
  • Pieces
  • Primadonna
  • Shoe City
  • Skechers
  • Socks
  • Tanos *

Home Furnishings

  • Lifestyle
  • Pottery Barn Kids *
  • Villeroy and Boch
  • West Elm *

Jewellery / Watches

  • Atamian *
  • Citizen
  • Dalya *
  • Damas *
  • Frey Willie
  • Rossa Nero *
  • Moukarzel
  • Rovina
  • Romance Time
  • Swarovski
  • Zoughaib Jewelery *

Optical / Sunglasses

  • Beyond Optics *
  • Grand Optics *
  • Hallak Optics *
  • Magrabi *

Services / Speciality Stores / Kiosks

  • Bare Salon & Spa *
  • Beauty Express *
  • Kurban Travel / Avis

Sporting Goods

  • Adidas
  • Columbia
  • Foot Locker *
  • Nike & Converse

Toys / Children’s Interests

  • Early Learning Centre *
  • Joué Club
  • L’Atelier Art Lounge *
Categories
Lebanon Movies

Immortals Censored in Lebanon

immortals movie censored in lebanonYesterday night I went to the movies to watch Immortals with a couple of friends. The movie is good and I guess you’ll like it if you’re into this kind of movies. Here’s the description of the movie from IMDB.

Theseus is a mortal man chosen by Zeus to lead the fight against the ruthless King Hyperion, who is on a rampage across Greece to obtain a weapon that can destroy humanity.

In the middle of the movie, my friend noticed that there was a cut in a scene. The music suddenly stopped and a new scene started. A sentence said by a character in the next scene confirmed our suspicion that something was missing and in the end of the movie it became clear that the movie was censored so I decided to download the movie and check if it was true. It is, 2 minutes of the movie is missing in Lebanese cinemas!

Note that there will be spoilers in the rest of the article so keep reading only if you watched the movie or do not wish to watch it.

Unfortunately the censored scene is a key part of the movie. When the virgin oracle helps Theseus recover after he had buried his mother and fought for the bow, and while she is leaning at him the scene is cut in the Lebanese version. In the normal version, they kiss, she then stands up, removes her dress, and join him into bed. At this point her “behind” shows on camera. She then tells Theseus that her visions are a curse and she wants to see the world through her own eyes, her own flesh. We can then see there shadows making love and the scene fades out.

What’s weird about the censorship in this movie is that what is censored normally appears in other movies shown in Lebanese Theaters, so I am not sure why exactly this one was censored. My friends and I suggested 3 theories:

  1. That’s just Lebanon, consistency in censorship is not required.
  2. The Oracle should remain a “Virgin” so maybe they somehow linked it to Christianity.
  3. They just censored it so the movie could be rated PG (Lebanese standards). If that’s true it means the Lebanese censorship bureau (or whatever it’s called) doesn’t have any problem with violence and people killing each others, the important thing is that they should never kiss!

People in surrounding countries used to enjoy watching movies here because they are not censored! Now are movies are started to be censored! I hope whoever censors stuff around here realizes soon that we should be having less censorship (Ideally no censorship, just ratings) as the world evolves not more!

Categories
3G Internet Lebanon

Tested 3G video calls

Last Friday I got to test video calling with a friend in downtown Beirut. The 2 phones performing the calls were a Nokia C7 and a Nokia E72 both with alfa lines. I was happy to find that the call was successful and we were able to see each others and talk normally. The quality is similar to a crappy webcam picture but there was no lags or interruption so it wasn’t bad. I’ll try to perform a call to an MTC line soon but I’m not sure it would work. Did anyone else try video calls? Did you have a similar or a different experience?