Day Three~ February 3rd~ Lebanon

“The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.” Khalil Gibran

Designed by the Italian sculptor Renato Marino Mazzacurati and placed in downtown Beirut in 1960, this statue stands witness to the horrors of the civil war in Lebanon with its many bullet holes that are left as a reminder of what has been. On this very square a revolt against the occupying Turks resulted in the hanging of some of Lebanon’s best intelectual figures in 1916.

War, pain and struggle have had a permanent home in Lebanon throughout history and when you hear that you would expect to meet sad and broken people. But somehow Lebanese people come out on the other side of the spectrum, the joyful side. Love of life rules the day and happiness bubbles in their hearts and explodes in their faces transforming them into smiling phoenixes that rise again and again from the ashes of disaster.

There is a magical way about Lebanese people that can simply make you addicted to them, to the country, to the land, and to their bright faces.