Get Your Hand Off Me!

Initially, I planned to go to Tyre(Sour) before visiting the port city of Sidon(Saida) but there wasn’t any direct bus to get me there.  Since I was dropped in Sidon and I wasn’t in a rush, I decided to have a walk in the old town. Sidon is famous in modern times as the birthplace of Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri who was assassinated in February 2005 in a massive car bombing near Beirut’s St. George Yacht Club, a 5-minute walk from the hotel I’m staying now.

Lebanon's Blue Mosque

Beirut's post-modern city

It was at that time when a guy on a veranda of an old office building waved and greeted me when I was wandering adjacent to the ruins Castle of St. Louis. I was then invited for a cup(actually was three) of Qahwa with his colleagues. Suited in his well-ironed shirt, he told me he is a photojournalist. He asked me if I was interested to join him for Hammam(Turkish Bath) in Beirut. Having the general perception that every foreigner likes to drink, he further invited me for a drink on top of a mountain, promising great and stunning view before going for Hammam in Beirut, with me. Since I have been sick and almost bored to death on routine itinerary, I climbed in the front seat of his brand-new Mercedes-Benz, wondering how a photojournalist can afford such a luxury car.

He introduced some places in Sidon(even an idiot can learn by eyes) while driving along and started to touch my thigh as if he was just trying to be friendly. Ok, he was friendly enough. I whispered to myself and wondering what he was going to do next. ‘Do you like sex?’ ‘How many times you have sex?’ Damn it. This reminded me of the two Jordanian guys I met in the Dead Sea. Surprisingly, I found myself answering yes before I could halt those words out of my mouth. To show that I’m straight, I quickly switched the topic by telling him my girl friend was going to join me next week in Syria. And I asked him to send my regards to his wife and family as well. Then, he suddenly stopped in a mini market en route and asked me to choose any alcoholic drink I want. Ok, since someone was offering his hospitality, how can I reject? My ancestor used to teach me to accept strangers’ offerings. So, I took a can of Vodka spirit and he handed me a chocolate bar. Ok, free energy bar. Great.

I was like a small child being taken care by a big daddy. Disgusting!

He touched my thigh again and began to press it like an Indian Muslim(Mamak) presses a roti canai.

‘Get your hand off my thigh, you pervert!’ ‘I’m not interested on man!’

I didn’t shout out loud. Neither do I get paranoid. Even though I feel embarrassed, I didn’t react drastically. In fact, I was still waiting his next possible move. I’d really like to know to what extend was he going to do. 

The Benz wound up along the mountain road to a region where the mysterious Druze resides, before making its way to his house. I then realized that I was too naïve enough to have thought that he would just brought me to a park or some public places on the mountain and have a drink. He brought me to his house (not hand-by-hand lar!) and asked me to sit beside him while caressing the leather couch. I sat opposite him.

‘Do you like to watch sex movie?’

‘Is there any available channel in Lebanon?’

‘May be, we will try.’

‘Oh no, no thanks.’

He then went inside his room, probably to unclothe and change. I took the chance to visit his house, admiring the portraits of his son and daughter but I couldn’t find his wife’s, before sneaking out and up to the roof terrace, thinking to smoke but shit, I didn’t have a lighter. Actually I just wanted to check if I have been locked inside the house.

‘Where are you?’ ‘Where are you?’ His voice was echoing and that made me hate anything and everything. I almost threw out. And, I still answered ‘I’m here.’ Damn it. What’s wrong with me? Was I insane?

May be he was discouraged by ‘a bit lack of interest’ I reacted, he gave me a red apple(not the apple given by the witch in Little Red Riding Hood lar!) and prepared to leave. Thanks for not inviting me to his room. Thanks God! I didn’t want to see anything.

‘Are you happy?’ It was not soon when I was dropped off in the middle of highway, still not forgetting to ask me if I was happy only to show that he was still a gentleman. Damn it. I walked along the highway and stopped at a roadside stall selling banana. The shopkeeper was kind enough to offer me a banana, yes, is only a single twig of banana. It took me around 10 minutes before a nice Lebanese guy in his old saloon car gave me a ride to the turn off point where I was dropped off again. Another guy who can’t speak English picked me up again in his van loaded with shampoo where I alighted at the town of Sidon.

First of all, I’m tan and always appeared to be an unshaven sloven with long and uncombed hair. He was 38 years old, white-skinned, hoary-headed with a silver-colored spectacle; married with two grown up children.

I don’t understand. I really don’t.

Sea Castle

Khan Al-Franj

Interior of Debbane Palace

Sidon's rocky corniche with the Murex Hill(garbage dump site) afar

Note: I respect homosexual in general but this guy has definitely messed up everything. He was fucking bored, simply thinking to mess up with a foreigner.