LEBANON TOUR 2018 25 APRIL 2018

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Notes For Group Travelling to Lebanon;

Hi Everybody,

We have put together a few notes that we feel you should all be aware of before we

land on the ground in Lebanon. I’m sure you are all aware that this is a non-profit

making venture put together by ex-service personal.

Having served in UNIFIL on many trips, we have revisited many times over the past

ten years. We have pooled our experience to draw up the itinerary which was

presented to you when you signed up for the trip. Your cooperation as a member of

the group is very important to the success of our trip. The fact that you are all ex-

soldiers is a good help in bonding as a group.

During our stay in Lebanon which for the duration will be Tyre, our main concerns

are your safety, security and most importantly that you enjoy the occasion. We have

enlisted the help of an interpreter and guide Mr. Abass Awala to ensure we are fully

up to speed with the local security situation on the ground and liaise on our behalf

where necessary. In Tyre there are plenty café’s, restaurants and supermarkets to

choose from, there’s even a bar called the Blue Line whose staff are very welcoming

they even provide an Irish Stew and Desert when the tour group visit.

A copy of the itinerary will be circulated to UNIFIL Ops, Irish Military Personnel

serving in both Naquora and Irish/fin batt, The Department of Foreign Affairs are

also aware of our itinerary. Abass has informed the local police and LAF, and where

necessary the Hezbollah in each area.

While the area south of the Litani River is considered to be calm at the moment, it is

still heavily policed by various factions including the religious groups that are also

well armed and alert to movement in their area. Listen to what Mr. Abass Awala tells

you about where you can and can’t go and when not to take photographs, In some

areas it is forbidden to take photos, you will be advised in advance by Abass. In

recent weeks cameras and phones were confiscated by the Hezbollah.

It is not recommended that groups or individuals travel within the AO without first

seeking the advice of the tour leaders and Abass to ensure your personal safety.

Advance notice of any plans outside of the itinerary should be made known as early

as possible.

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It is also not a good idea to wonder off on your own, be conscious of your own

security and safety.

For those of you who have not been back to Lebanon for a number of years, you will

experience big changes,

Be sure to bring your favourite Irish teabags, sun protection, sun glasses, and any

prescribed medication,

It only remains for us to wish everybody an enjoyable trip.

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DAY 1 WEDNESDAY 25 APRIL

Depart Dublin Airport for Lebanon.

Lebanon occupies a strategic location on the Eastern Mediterranean. Linking East and West and sea to hinterland, it has been a crossroads across the centuries. Prior to the outbreak of the war in 1975, modern Beirut had widely become known as the region’s commercial and cultural capital. The lively and cosmopolitan city served as the gateway to and from the Middle East and offered a home to the Arab world’s leading banks and financial institutions. The city’s universities, theatres, and nightclubs attracted visitors from across the globe. Today, the city’s inherent assets remain its strategic location, a liberal economic environment and free press, a well-grounded banking system, strong educational and medical services, professional human resources, a cosmopolitan character, and an important archaeological and cultural heritage.

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DAY 2 THURSDAY 26 APRIL

Rest Day visit Market and Tailor

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DAY 3 FRIDAY 27 APRIL

Jeita Grotto and Beirut

The spectacular Jeita Grotto, caves of stalactites and

stalagmites are located just 20 km (13 miles) north of

Beirut in the valley of Nahr al Kalb (Dog River). The

limestone caves, beneath the wooded hills of Mount

Lebanon, consist of two levels; an upper gallery and a

lower cave. The upper gallery is an awesome natural

collection of crystallized limestone of various colours

and shapes and fascinating rock formations. Hundreds

of years of action of limestone in water have resulted in

these cathedral-like vaults, amazing walls and unusual

curtain-like formations. This gallery can be explored on

foot.

The lower gallery has an underground waterway, a

6230 m long river, which can be visited by boat. The

temperature remains stable in the grottos for the whole

year; 16 ?C in the lower cave and 22 ?C in the upper

cave.

Beirut and its City

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DAY 4 SATURDAY 28 APRIL

Cana to visit the cave were our lord turned water into wine and also visit the

monument to those killed in the shelling of Fiji Batt HQ

The sacred Cana Grotto in South Lebanon which is mentioned in the holy Bible. Here Prophet Jesus and his Disciples

took shelter.

Prophet Jesus (Peace be upon him) performed one of his first miracles by turning water into wine at a wedding

ceremony in Cana the Galilee.

The Wedding at Cana is one of the miracles of Jesus in the Gospels and the first miracle in the Gospel of John.

John (P.B.U.H) 2:1-11 reports that while Jesus was attending a wedding in Cana with his disciples the hosts ran out

of wine. Jesus' mother Mary (P.B.U.H) told Jesus, "They have no more wine," and Jesus replied, "Dear woman, why

do you involve me? My time has not yet come." Jesus' mother then said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you"

(John 2:3-5). Jesus ordered the servants to fill the empty containers with water and to draw out some and take it to

the chief waiter. After tasting the water that had become wine, and not knowing what Jesus had done, he remarked

to the bridegroom that he had departed from the custom of serving the best wine first by serving it last (John 2:6-

10). John concludes his account by saying: "This was the first miracle of Jesus and it was performed to reveal his

glory, and his disciples put their faith in him (John 2:11)".

The Cana southwest of Tyre in Lebanon today was located in the region of Galilee at the time of Jesus. The church

historian Eusebius of Caesarea in 339 wrote that Qana of Galilee is the Cana south of Sidon. But the fact that Jesus

went down to Capernaum (John 2:12) suggests the wedding at Cana took place in Cana of Lebanon, for Cana of

Palestine is south of Capernaum, and Jesus would have had to go up to Capernaum were it Qana of Palestine! There

is a grotto in Cana, Lebanon with large stone water jars as well as a sculpture symbolic of Jesus and the Twelve

Apostles.

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DAY 5 SUNDAY 29 APRIL

Visit Harrisa and The statue of the Virgin Mary of Lebanon and ride the cable cars.

HARISSA, Lebanon (CNS) -- High on a summit overlooking the Mediterranean, Our Lady of Lebanon stands majestically with her arms outstretched, welcoming her children. Muslims and Christians alike come to the shrine, 16 miles north of Beirut. To Muslims, Mary is known in Arabic as "Seidatna Maryam," Our Lady Mary. Even though Muslims do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, in the Quran, a chapter is devoted to Maryam. In Lebanon, the feast of the Annunciation, March 25, is celebrated by Christians and Muslims as a national holiday. Some Muslims come to Harissa for tourism to enjoy the spectacular views from the shrine's 1,886-foot summit, and some Muslims even visit its churches to pray, said Maronite Father Younen Obeid, rector of Harissa.

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DAY 6 MONDAY 30 APRIL

Rest Day

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DAY 7 TUESDAY 1 MAY

Travel to the AO and visit Irish/Fin Batt and Lay wreaths at Tibnin Monument and

at Tibnin Bridge. Then visit Chicken Charlie’s for a double double (Uniforms) If you

want a double double.

This memorial commemorates the 47 soldiers of the Irish

Defence Forces who were killed in Lebanon while serving in

UNIFIL. Ireland was the UNIFIL-country with the most

victims.

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DAY 8 WEDNESDAY 2 MAY

Stay in Tyre and visit the Roman ruins

Tyre (Also Sour and Svur)

Tyre was a Phoenician island city founded around the third millennium BC and known as Queen of the Seas. In history it grew wealthy from its far-reaching Phoenician colonies and its industries of purple-dyed textiles in the first millennium BC. But it also attracted great conquerors such as the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar and Alexander the Great. In the 10th century BC, King of Tyre, Ahiram, joined two islets by landfill and extended the city further by reclaiming a considerable area from the sea and built two ports and a temple to Melkart, the city's god. Recent excavations have uncovered Crusader, Arab, Byzantine and Graeco-Roman remains.

The Triumphal Arch that is

composed of a Necropolis

situated on both sides of a

long avenue is the most

impressive of its remains.

The Great Hippodrome for

chariot racing a remarkable

stone built structure.

Also in Tyre is the Tomb of

King Ahiram (970-936 BC),

contemporary of King David,

who sent for cedar wood and

craftsmen to build King

Solomon's temple in

Jerusalem

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DAY 9 THURSDAY 3 MAY

Return to the AO to visit the orphanage and to drive around some of the villages that you may remember. (Uniforms) In June 2011 until Nov 2013, the Irish Defence Forces deployed a Mechanised Infantry Battalion of approx. 440 personnel to UNIFIL, as in the past this unit was involved in peacekeeping operations. The Infantry Battalion, deployed in UNIFIL‘s Sector West continued to be involved in this area Peace Keeping Mission. Their duties included manning two Posts along the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel. The units also carried out patrolling, ground holding and humanitarian operations. As a mechanised Infantry Battalion the unit was equipped with MOWAG Piranha III APCs, Light Tactical Armoured Vehicles (GR32), heavy machine guns, anti-tank guns and Javelin missiles, heavy and medium mortars, reconnaissance surveillance equipment.

As of Nov 2013, the unit is now operating as an Infantry Group under the command of a FINIRISH Battalion. The UNIFIL mission Monitor, Support and Assist involves extensive mobile patrolling throughout the Irish area of operations, including ground-holding, monitoring the Blue Line and humanitarian operations. Operations are conducted on a “High visibility, low profile” basis with access to armour if needed; soft skin vehicles are predominantly used for interaction with the local population.

The Irish Defence Forces currently have 336 personnel serving in the mission area. Together with a contingent from Finland and a platoon plus of Estonian soldiers (38), they form IrishFinnBatt based at UNP 2-45 in UNIFIL Sector West. In addition there are personnel serving in UNIFIL HQ near Naqoura and personnel serving in Sector West HQ, Shama.

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DAY 10 FRIDAY 4 MAY

Travel to Tulin and visit Family Awala for breakfast and visit Beaufort Castle.

Fulk, King of Jerusalem, captured the site on which Beaufort now sits in 1139. Someone – it remains unclear who – had obviously realised its strategic use, as a tower had already been built on the hill when he arrived.

According to Professor Hugh Kennedy, building on Beaufort – “beautiful fort” in French – began very soon after Fulk’s arrival.

“Beaufort is a fine piece of castle,” says the professor of Arabic at SOAS University of London, also an expert on Crusader history. “But [in the region] we must not think of a network of castles but as Beaufort as a centre of a Frankish lordship in a feudal society, using the castle as a way of raising money.”

Inner bailey walls and entrance arches from the Crusader period survive, and have been restored using the original stone, which lay in heaps around the site after the Israeli occupation. A bowl resembling a giant mortar, apparently dating from Crusader times, sits to one side; now the walls have been rebuilt and the weeds cleared, it is easy to imagine it in use.

BEAUFORT CASTLE: ISRAELI STRONGHOLD,

LEBANESE RESISTANCE, KUWAITI MONEY

Beaufort has lived cycles as a literal meeting point of

armies, nations and emotions, and for now visitors can

enjoy it in peace

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DAY 11 SATURDAY 5 MAY

Visit Naqoura and have lunch and then onto Sharma.

At the southern-most tip of Lebanon’s coastline is Naqoura;

a small city perhaps best known as the headquarters of the

United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL), but also

characterized by its rich green valleys, agricultural fields

and orchards of banana trees. Few know about its stunning

rocky coastal scenery and clear waters, but as the last point

to swim in Lebanon, every summer families from the city

gather to picnic on its cliffs and rocks that drop into the sea,

smoke narguileh and bathe in its shallow turquoise blue

shores. Bring a picnic and BBQ and buy some fish from one

of the local fishermen, then find a secluded spot on the

pebble beach or rocks and settle in for a tranquil afternoon.

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DAY 12 SUNDAY 6 MAY

Rest day and Mingy shop

Back in the day, just outside Camp Shamrock there is a collection of ramshackle concrete lean-tos with corrugated iron roofs. Irish soldiers, weapons slung over their backs, are gathered around one called ‘Saddam Burger’. It advertises ‘Very Beautiful Burger’. There is also apparently a ‘Dunne’s Stores’ in the vicinity of Total.

Another collection of sheds bearing a huge sign which reads, somewhat dubiously, ‘Ilac Centre’. The ‘Mingy Shops’ as they are known, supply the Irish troops with a bewildering array of goods and services. From laundry and ironing, to toothpaste, chocolate, ‘Scud-Burgers’ – don’t ask – to jewellery, exotic lingerie and a comprehensive and slightly frightening library of pornographic movies. They also sell ‘pharmaceutical products’ that are popular with the troops. These include ‘Al Zobra – Penis Enlargement Pills to ‘Fat-Busters Pills.

The ‘Mingy Men’ who run the shops are larger-than-life characters. Since Ireland’s first deployment to the Lebanon in the 1970s, the Mingy Men have become intimately acquainted with the odd shopping habits of the Irish male. Over the decades, the Mingy Men have observed the quirky purchasing patterns of bored, cash-rich Irish soldiers who – sometimes fuelled by guilt, loneliness or drink, or all three – buy hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of crap in their shops each year. By and large, the Mingy Men will have the measure of most Irishmen within seconds of meeting them.

The magnificently titled ‘Ali Strawballs’ is the proprietor of the Mingy shop outside B Company Headquarters in Haddathah. Rosie runs the shop outside C Company HQ in Brashit. I am told – by dozens of ‘concerned’ soldiers over the coming months – that ‘unfortunately’ Rosie does not sell porno movies.

In Al Yatun, we have Hafif. He has been nicknamed ‘Hafif the Thief’ by the Dubs in position 6-40. Hafif doesn’t like this. On more than one occasion during my tour of duty he asks me to get the troops to call him, ‘Hafif the Honest Man’. This proves impossible and provokes much loud and ribald speculation as to Hafif ’s moral and ethical orientation.

‘Hafif ’d ride ye all the way to Tyre and back for a fiver.’

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DAY 13 MONDAY 7 MAY

Depart for home

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CONTACT DETAILS AND PRICING

Anyone interested in travelling can contact either Patsy Dineen 086 3019221

or Billy O’Brien 085 2164609 in Cork or Derek Judge 085 8009262

in Dublin.

If you are a member of IUNVA or ONET or any other Association you are asked

to bring your Summer dress i.e. white shirt, cravat/Tie, Black or grey pants, and

black shoes, Ribbons and Headdress,

We hope to make a donation to Tibnine Girls Orphanage of $25 per person, and

also make a collection for our driver and guide of $25 per person. Two of the

party will be asked to do this. There will be no asking for money after we leave

Ireland.

If you want to pay money weekly or monthly to Billy you can, that is up to

yourself.

Flights;

Accommodation.

Transport;

Wreaths.

Flowers.

Anyone wishing to travel please confirm by the end of September 2017.

A deposit of €500 is looked for.

There will be no refunds after booking.

€1,270.00

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VETERAN BOOKING FORM

Veteran Booking Form For Lebanon Tour 2018

Passenger Details:

Surname:

First Name:

D.O.B:

Passport Details:

Passport Number:

Nationality:

Place of Birth:

Expiry Date:

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Travel Insurance Details:

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If you have private travel insurance:

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Emergency Assistance Company:

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Date: