Rachel Hajar's Blog: My Life in Doha - Posts Tagged "broumana"
Broumana
April 18, 2012
I’m in Broumana, 750 meters above sea level, in Lebanon. I am sitting in the terrasse of our flat and I can see mountains, green trees, and the rooftop of houses and buildings – red and white. There is snow at the top of one mountain. The terrasse is my favorite place to be, very quiet and private, with a good view. I eat breakfast, read, and sip tea in the terrasse. I am accompanying one of my daughters to Beirut because she has some “business” to do here. A friend is with her on her outings and I go with them sometimes but most of the time, I prefer to stay in the flat and read in the terrasse. Broumana is twenty minutes drive from Beirut.
My husband bought the Broumana flat a few years ago, on the recommendation of friends. One of my daughters furnished it tastefully, and in 2009, on the Eid holiday, my family and I came for a visit and to “try” the flat. Many things had to be done but all in all, the flat was fine. After that visit, none of us came back, except now.
I don’t know much about Broumana but a search on the internet revealed that the name Broumana is probably an Aramaic name, which in Arabic means Beit Roumana (House of Roumana, the god of air, storm, and thunder. The Phoenicians built a temple to the god Roumana on a hill and so, Broumana became a region for worshippers. Arab pirates also inhabited the area and built a fortress in 333 BC, which was transformed into a church by the Christians in 1560 AD, for the Greek Orthodox Church, now the church of St. Isaiah.
The temperature is cool in Broumana, especially at night. It is said that the Romans spent summer vacations here and that Augustus Caesar and Julius Caesar gave presents to Broumana’s princesses.
I am told that the town is very crowded in summer. They say it is the summer capital of Lebanon. Broumana is a Christian community and I frequently see a grotto or the image of the Virgin Mary on gates, on the road to and from our flat. There is a small town center, which seems very nice but I haven’t had a chance to explore it yet. I’m told it is walking distance from our place, so I’ll walk over there one morning. I’ve been there by car when the town was preparing for Christmas. It looks a bit different without the Christmas lights.
My daughter’s friend said there is a small supermarket down the road but did not advice me to walk over because I won’t be able to walk back up loaded with groceries. She gave me the phone number of the grocery store, saying the store will deliver at doorstep. So, this morning I called, and a voice greeted me “Bon Jour.” To be on the safe side, I used the English language, to avoid miscommunications in French. Still, there were a few mistakes in my order but it wasn’t a big problem. Such service is indeed very convenient for certain items but certainly not for fruits. I ordered some bananas to eat with my cereal and I got green bananas that didn’t look so healthy. To my surprise delivery was quite fast – 15 minutes, so the store is very near our place! The receipt was in Lebanese dollar and USD. One USD is equivalent to 1500 Lebanese dollar. That was convenient but change was in Lebanese dollars, so I had to mentally convert the change I got to USD. Next time I’ll be ready with a calculator!
There is a natoor (guard) to the building who controls entry of cars and people with an automatic door. Temporary residents give tips to him because he performs and carries out miscellaneous jobs. He speaks only Arabic.
We hired a driver and he takes my daughter and her friend here and there to the shops because they are searching for “things.” Me, well, I’ll explore the surrounding area where our flat is, on foot. In Lebanon, it is recommended that you agree with the driver beforehand that gasoline will be his responsibility; otherwise you will be asked for gasoline money every 5 minutes, as happened with us last time. At that time, my husband asked the driver, “What do you do with the gasoline, drink it?”
There were a few things that needed fixing when we arrived, such as the internet connection. The big cable on the roof needed changing and for that an electrician was needed. The electrician came and changed the cable and when done I had to pay him. He said I also owe him for work he did on the house before my arrival. I told him “I’ll pay you only for the work that you carried out today. As to the other work you did before my arrival I’ll have to inquire first what that was.” It turned out that he did indeed carry out some electrical work on the house before, which has not been paid so I settled that too. While I was settling the bill with him, our maid came and said there was no water for the washing machine and that she was told by the natoor and the electrician that I had to pay US$1500 for the water! After some confusion, and much annoyance on my part, they said there was a big misunderstanding: the US$1500 was our part to pay for the big filter installed and that has been paid. The capacity of the water tank with the filter was only so much, so give time for the tank to fill up in between washing. In Lebanon, you can’t be too careful with these things! As the saying goes, “A fool and his money are soon parted.”
I just had lunch – pate and bread, which I bought from Spinneys supermarket the other day and which I ate in the terrasse, a pleasant and relaxing place. Broumana is quite charming. Below is a poem on Broumana:
“Beneath me in the valley waves the palm,
Beneath, beyond the valley, breaks the sea,
Beneath me sleep in mist and light and calm,
Cities of Lebanon, dream-shadow-dim,
Where Kings of Tyre and Kings of Tyre did rule
In ancient days in endless dynasty.
And all around the snowy mountains swim
Like mighty swans afloat in heaven’s pool.”
James Elroy Flecker, 1884 – 1915 (English poet)
My Life in Doha: Between Dream and Reality
I’m in Broumana, 750 meters above sea level, in Lebanon. I am sitting in the terrasse of our flat and I can see mountains, green trees, and the rooftop of houses and buildings – red and white. There is snow at the top of one mountain. The terrasse is my favorite place to be, very quiet and private, with a good view. I eat breakfast, read, and sip tea in the terrasse. I am accompanying one of my daughters to Beirut because she has some “business” to do here. A friend is with her on her outings and I go with them sometimes but most of the time, I prefer to stay in the flat and read in the terrasse. Broumana is twenty minutes drive from Beirut.
My husband bought the Broumana flat a few years ago, on the recommendation of friends. One of my daughters furnished it tastefully, and in 2009, on the Eid holiday, my family and I came for a visit and to “try” the flat. Many things had to be done but all in all, the flat was fine. After that visit, none of us came back, except now.
I don’t know much about Broumana but a search on the internet revealed that the name Broumana is probably an Aramaic name, which in Arabic means Beit Roumana (House of Roumana, the god of air, storm, and thunder. The Phoenicians built a temple to the god Roumana on a hill and so, Broumana became a region for worshippers. Arab pirates also inhabited the area and built a fortress in 333 BC, which was transformed into a church by the Christians in 1560 AD, for the Greek Orthodox Church, now the church of St. Isaiah.
The temperature is cool in Broumana, especially at night. It is said that the Romans spent summer vacations here and that Augustus Caesar and Julius Caesar gave presents to Broumana’s princesses.
I am told that the town is very crowded in summer. They say it is the summer capital of Lebanon. Broumana is a Christian community and I frequently see a grotto or the image of the Virgin Mary on gates, on the road to and from our flat. There is a small town center, which seems very nice but I haven’t had a chance to explore it yet. I’m told it is walking distance from our place, so I’ll walk over there one morning. I’ve been there by car when the town was preparing for Christmas. It looks a bit different without the Christmas lights.
My daughter’s friend said there is a small supermarket down the road but did not advice me to walk over because I won’t be able to walk back up loaded with groceries. She gave me the phone number of the grocery store, saying the store will deliver at doorstep. So, this morning I called, and a voice greeted me “Bon Jour.” To be on the safe side, I used the English language, to avoid miscommunications in French. Still, there were a few mistakes in my order but it wasn’t a big problem. Such service is indeed very convenient for certain items but certainly not for fruits. I ordered some bananas to eat with my cereal and I got green bananas that didn’t look so healthy. To my surprise delivery was quite fast – 15 minutes, so the store is very near our place! The receipt was in Lebanese dollar and USD. One USD is equivalent to 1500 Lebanese dollar. That was convenient but change was in Lebanese dollars, so I had to mentally convert the change I got to USD. Next time I’ll be ready with a calculator!
There is a natoor (guard) to the building who controls entry of cars and people with an automatic door. Temporary residents give tips to him because he performs and carries out miscellaneous jobs. He speaks only Arabic.
We hired a driver and he takes my daughter and her friend here and there to the shops because they are searching for “things.” Me, well, I’ll explore the surrounding area where our flat is, on foot. In Lebanon, it is recommended that you agree with the driver beforehand that gasoline will be his responsibility; otherwise you will be asked for gasoline money every 5 minutes, as happened with us last time. At that time, my husband asked the driver, “What do you do with the gasoline, drink it?”
There were a few things that needed fixing when we arrived, such as the internet connection. The big cable on the roof needed changing and for that an electrician was needed. The electrician came and changed the cable and when done I had to pay him. He said I also owe him for work he did on the house before my arrival. I told him “I’ll pay you only for the work that you carried out today. As to the other work you did before my arrival I’ll have to inquire first what that was.” It turned out that he did indeed carry out some electrical work on the house before, which has not been paid so I settled that too. While I was settling the bill with him, our maid came and said there was no water for the washing machine and that she was told by the natoor and the electrician that I had to pay US$1500 for the water! After some confusion, and much annoyance on my part, they said there was a big misunderstanding: the US$1500 was our part to pay for the big filter installed and that has been paid. The capacity of the water tank with the filter was only so much, so give time for the tank to fill up in between washing. In Lebanon, you can’t be too careful with these things! As the saying goes, “A fool and his money are soon parted.”
I just had lunch – pate and bread, which I bought from Spinneys supermarket the other day and which I ate in the terrasse, a pleasant and relaxing place. Broumana is quite charming. Below is a poem on Broumana:
“Beneath me in the valley waves the palm,
Beneath, beyond the valley, breaks the sea,
Beneath me sleep in mist and light and calm,
Cities of Lebanon, dream-shadow-dim,
Where Kings of Tyre and Kings of Tyre did rule
In ancient days in endless dynasty.
And all around the snowy mountains swim
Like mighty swans afloat in heaven’s pool.”
James Elroy Flecker, 1884 – 1915 (English poet)
My Life in Doha: Between Dream and Reality
