In my two years living here, I'd never been to the Green Mountain. But during the big holiday, when I visited one student's family and told his mother that I hadn't been because I don't drive a 4-wheel-drive, she told me that her son would take me. And sure enough, two or three weeks later he informed me that he was taking his family to the mountain. His wife, mother, and three sisters went with.
They picked me up around 7:30 AM, and we drove up the mountain. At the checkpoint on the mountain, the one where they verify that you have a 4 x 4 and not more than six or seven people inside (that may flex if they are children), the police man checked us. My student's uncle is a police officer, and they told me that when he is on duty, he lets them take more people up the mountain.
We had a picnic breakfast (see The Picnic Kings). Then we started to explore the mountain. I think my student drove us to every village on the mountain, even though he claimed that he didn't know the area very well.
I was a little shy because the conversation was in Arabic basically the whole day. That's one beauty of having lower-level students: when you visit them, you don't speak much English. His wife does speak English, as she's in college, and all college education is in English. But she's shy to speak it, so we stayed in Arabic.
These are community water coolers. Just one cup. Everyone shares. They're nice if you're thirsty and don't want to carry a water bottle. My student's sis was grouchy at points along the trip, but happy at other points, and this is one of the happy points. She was surprised that the mountain wasn't all green. She expected the entire thing to be lush, like the southern city, and her mother had to explain that the Green Mountain is a name because parts of it are green.
The views were panoramic and spectacular.
Oh, how I love the old doors. The top left carved wood one is especially magnificent.
More amazing views.
They grow a lot of fruits and vegetables up here. It's the only part of the country that gets cold enough to grow some things, I think. They say that it snows up here in winter, but I think what they call snow would be more what I call a dusting of frost or ice.
Don't fall!
I didn't realize that cherry tomatoes grew here! But here they are!
Honestly, the villages nestled on the hillsides like this made me think of the last country I lived in. It looked a lot like this, especially the older houses. I realize now that this country looks quite different because it has so many new houses. Also, villages aren't generally built on the mountains, except for this mountain and maybe some in the southern city's area.
My student's wife offered to take my picture. Yes, I was there.
My student's mom assured me that it was fine to take pictures of the little girls, or to take pictures of her from behind (avoiding her face). They are precious, albeit a bit rascally.
Buildings of a ruined village. No one lives there now.
Another view of the ruined village. In the last country I lived, people would often still live in houses like this.
I liked the line-up of 4 x 4s. I missed the photo opp, but even the school buses up here are SUVs! The mountain is so steep and rugged, that's all that's deemed safe. The descents are considered more dangerous than the ascent.
The goats wanted our lunch as much as we did. The little girl would scream and flee as they came close. Her brother finally commanded her to stay put, as the goats weren't likely to break into our circle to get the food, and her fleeing actually made a space for them.
A newer village.
And the view as we descended mid-afternoon.
They picked me up around 7:30 AM, and we drove up the mountain. At the checkpoint on the mountain, the one where they verify that you have a 4 x 4 and not more than six or seven people inside (that may flex if they are children), the police man checked us. My student's uncle is a police officer, and they told me that when he is on duty, he lets them take more people up the mountain.
We had a picnic breakfast (see The Picnic Kings). Then we started to explore the mountain. I think my student drove us to every village on the mountain, even though he claimed that he didn't know the area very well.
I was a little shy because the conversation was in Arabic basically the whole day. That's one beauty of having lower-level students: when you visit them, you don't speak much English. His wife does speak English, as she's in college, and all college education is in English. But she's shy to speak it, so we stayed in Arabic.
These are community water coolers. Just one cup. Everyone shares. They're nice if you're thirsty and don't want to carry a water bottle. My student's sis was grouchy at points along the trip, but happy at other points, and this is one of the happy points. She was surprised that the mountain wasn't all green. She expected the entire thing to be lush, like the southern city, and her mother had to explain that the Green Mountain is a name because parts of it are green.
The views were panoramic and spectacular.
Oh, how I love the old doors. The top left carved wood one is especially magnificent.
Here's the middle sister messing with a goat. And my student walking ahead with some of the family. He's the only boy and has seven sisters (another brother died young in an accident), so he definitely tells them what to do but is also very kind with them. He's in typical apparel for an outing. The men will exchange the traditional robe for a polo and khakis (or long shorts in warmer weather).
Speaking of weather, it was 30 degrees Celsius at the base of the mountain and dropped as long as 13 on top.
More amazing views.
They grow a lot of fruits and vegetables up here. It's the only part of the country that gets cold enough to grow some things, I think. They say that it snows up here in winter, but I think what they call snow would be more what I call a dusting of frost or ice.
Don't fall!
I didn't realize that cherry tomatoes grew here! But here they are!
Honestly, the villages nestled on the hillsides like this made me think of the last country I lived in. It looked a lot like this, especially the older houses. I realize now that this country looks quite different because it has so many new houses. Also, villages aren't generally built on the mountains, except for this mountain and maybe some in the southern city's area.
My student's wife offered to take my picture. Yes, I was there.
More amazing scenery. The Creator done good.
And of course mosques sprinkled around.
My student's mom assured me that it was fine to take pictures of the little girls, or to take pictures of her from behind (avoiding her face). They are precious, albeit a bit rascally.
Buildings of a ruined village. No one lives there now.
These guys were carrying a plant that I think my student's mother told me is good for the hair. It smelled like lavender, but I'm not certain that's what it was. I don't envy them carrying their heavy loads uphill. It was hard enough just climbing the steps ourselves.
Another view of the ruined village. In the last country I lived, people would often still live in houses like this.
I liked the line-up of 4 x 4s. I missed the photo opp, but even the school buses up here are SUVs! The mountain is so steep and rugged, that's all that's deemed safe. The descents are considered more dangerous than the ascent.
The goats wanted our lunch as much as we did. The little girl would scream and flee as they came close. Her brother finally commanded her to stay put, as the goats weren't likely to break into our circle to get the food, and her fleeing actually made a space for them.
A newer village.
And the view as we descended mid-afternoon.
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