Day 26~ February 26th~ Lebanon

~mimo~

young fishermen

More than half of my life In Lebanon was spent by the beach. We used to not even wait till school was over before moving to our summer little home by the seaside. With life on the shores of the Mediterranean came certain traditions, like swimming one hour-long to reach a cargo ship and jump from its deck, take a knife and a lemon on a ‘haske’ (a flat wooden row-boat), and dive to some nearby rocks to loosen sea urchins from the rocks, open them, clean them with seawater and then finally garnish them with some lemon juice before scooping out the orange caviar and humming our enjoyment. I can say for certain that life by the beach was always the highlight of the whole year for us children. This past summer I wanted to relive another special excitement from my childhood, which was waking up at dawn and joining the fishermen for 5 or 6 hours to witness the process of their daily catch. There is no meditation as soothing as those early morning hours spent rocked by slight movement of the boat, warmed by the early rays of morning sun and serenaded by fishermen’s songs as they dive in and out of the water in search for their sea dwellers.

the cage

32 thoughts on “Day 26~ February 26th~ Lebanon”

  6. I love your photos and stories! My professor is from Lebanon and I shared the blog with him because your photographs really capture the beauty of the region and I thought he would like the stories you include on the posts. I can’t wait to see more photos from the other places you have been in the world!

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    1. reminded me of my youth at the beach- some of it spent with you on the shores of the mediteranean. in my older age, i’ve had to replace the mediteranean sea by the pacific ocean, but the mediteranean’s warmth, seafood, fishermen hold a very special spot in my heart. thanks for reminding me.

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      1. yes. Even when I see a picture I get a sudden good chill. I’ve always felt like my soul is attached to the sea in some way. I just wish I lived closer to it, although in Michigan we’re blessed with the great lakes but it’s not the same

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  12. hehehehe… you just reminded me of my childhood in Morocco! Amen to the sea urchins :D! Truly delicious, especially after you caught them yourself. Amen to the long swims and hard to climb into fishermen boats! aaaaah thank you for this post

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