Remembering the Fog of the War

Element: Mare Orientale (Eastern Sea)

Mood: Pensive

Song: Washing of the Water * Peter Gabriel

"River, oh river, river running deep
Bring me something that will let me get to sleep
In the washing of the water will you take it all away
Bring me something to take this pain away"

It's been exactly a year ago. Lebanon was a chaos, lost in a desolate war between Hezbollah and Israel.

Looking back, I have no idea why this war took place. What were its results. If it did matter if there was a winner or a looser.

What matters is that there were more than 1300 Lebanese casualties in 34 days.
And massacres
And bombs,
And rockets,
And bridges broken,
And flamboyant nonsensical speeches,
And damage,
And so on…

On another level, the war was an ecological disaster. The already not-so crystalline waters of the Mediterranean were inflicted a heavy duty: the Israeli navy did its share of polluting it.

Sure thing no one hit the waters right after that. The ecosystems were in danger, Greenpeace had global warnings about that, and the beach was in serious trouble.

A year after, we went to the beach.
We were welcomed by an exuberating14$ entry fee … and asphalt on the whole sand alley juxtaposing the beach. Each one going to the sea was prevented, and had to use alcohol in order to clean up afterwards.

The didn't prevent the place to be packed. Children everywhere. Foreigners. Families. Work mates…
And even myself and my friend Sarra.
On such moments, maybe it would have been better to go on the moon to prevent longtime sickness or things from such sorts.

The Moon's Mare Orientale (Eastern Sea) is not only considered one of the most striking large scale lunar features but also one of the biggest impact basins in the solar system.

This 900-km sea is believed to have been formed some 3.85 billion years following a collision with an intergalatic object, which could well be an asteroid.

A multi-ring platform has taken shape over the course of the centuries, the inner ring being Montes Rook while the outer and most prominent one (in the photo) is the Montes Cordillera (Cordillera Mountains) of 930 kilometers.

This crater in Mare Orientale has been there for millions of years now.
Even if the Lebanese have hit the beaches in a time when the water has not cleared yet from its wounds, there is no doubt that the scars of the war will stay lie in their lives for the millions of years to come.

(In the photo, Mare Orientale is the brightest spot in the middle far left)