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It was a bread bakery
and it became a Manakish bakery.

2
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Hello Anthony, how are you?
Good? I hope so, happy holidays.

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You are at Chafic Bou Assaly Bakery
in Qob Elias.

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This is a thyme Manoucheh.
We are making it now.

5
00:00:38,013 --> 00:00:39,389
This is a mixed Manoucheh.

6
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Mhammara Manoucheh.
This bakery has been here since 1958.

7
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Since the times of my late father.

8
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First, it was a bread bakery.
Then it became a Manakish and pastry bakery in 1965.

9
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Good morning.
Good morning Anthony, welcome to Qob Elias.

10
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We're happy that you're here.

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We're happy that you're here and we
are recording the oldest things present in Qob Elias

12
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and we allow people to know Qob Elias,
and the beauty of the village and the area.

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So we're on.
Ahmad, tell me about you.

14
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Thank God, good.
I've been here for almost a year and a month.

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From Canada. I liked to come and see Lebanon, and get my kids to Lebanon.

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Because Lebanon is the most beautiful
country in the world. I follow you a lot.

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Because you excited us to come to Lebanon,
and i've been here for a year and a month.

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I am working in Lebanon.
We have about 6 stops today.

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We will see the oldest bakery in Qob Elias
and in the area.

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We will see another bakery for one of
the most charismatic people in Qob Elias.

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We will see the largest vegetable market
in the area, in the Middle East.

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We will see Domaine de Chouchene because it is very amazing, Anthony, you're going to love it.

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We will start with the thyme Manoucheh.
Soft soft soft.

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Large and filling.

25
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I loved it a lot.
Maximum soft.

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Filling, generous,
the thyme is good.

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It is not chewy.
Very fluffy.

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The dough is properly soaked
with oil.

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Great start.

30
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Then they have this.

31
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What is this! About a kilogram.

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3 kinds of cheese.

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A mix.

34
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Wow.

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That is something.

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Super something.

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All these.

38
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Enjoy enjoy.

39
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This is a big thing.

40
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Abou Alaa Bakery.
You're close to my heart, I respect you.

41
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All kinds of Manakish.

42
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Welcome.
You're close to my heart.

43
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Yes, I've been in this business for 50 years.
Specifically in this place, I've been for 17 years.

44
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This is the thyme. The bakery is related to thyme,
they initially say, a thyme bakery.

45
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Then, the other kinds come. But originally,
they say that this bakery is a thyme bakery.

46
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You're welcome a hundred times.

47
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One for me and one for you.

48
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The Manoucheh is wrapped like
a sandwich, like a school sandwich.

49
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You have to try it.

50
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Super soft.

51
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Super smooth.
Super simple.

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Light and clean, delicious,
uncomplicated.

53
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Comforting.

54
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Unbelievable.

55
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I memorized the location.

56
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For sure I'm coming back.
Let me go inside to tell him thank you and bravo.

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We are at Qob Elias Central Vegetable Market.
Now, I work as a guard in this market.

58
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I am responsable for the market and now
I will take you to

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Sheikh Wajih Al Amoury,
he will tell you more about the topic.

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This vegetable market was established
in 1997.

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A group of traders, in agreement
with the municipality, made this market

62
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with effort and energy and it is from
the best Lebanese markets

63
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and from the most organized Lebanese markets.

64
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The market is made up of 121 garages
or doors,

65
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and about 60 corporations are there.

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This market, almost all production
of Al Bekaa,

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comes to this market.

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The market during summer,
all Lebanese markets come take from this market.

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Even for traveling and exporting,
this market gives the products.

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Traders sell everything in this market.

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It is organized.

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There is a committee or union for this
market.

73
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There is another market in Ferzol. It is parallel to
Al Bekaa market, but our market is bigger.

74
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It can fit more amount of products.

75
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Just come and fill your sight with colors.

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From a place to a place to a place.

77
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All kinds of vegetables.
Very good condition and very clean.

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Some are in plastic boxes,
or carton boxes, or bags.

79
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You can find all what you need
in very good prices.

80
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As you can see, the organization,
cleanliness, calmness, there is no shouting.

81
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I was not expecting that.

82
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Very nice.

83
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It is the biggest in the Middle East,
and I have not came to here before.

84
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Oops.

85
00:10:16,214 --> 00:10:18,707
Very very professional.
Very professional.

86
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Impressive. And I am still walking and
I do not feel like stopping.

87
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From a place to a place to a place,
there is not a tiny bit of trash on the floor.

88
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Our prices here are very good,
package prices. Our products are very clean,

89
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products with clean water,
most of it is clean water, artesian.

90
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Qob Elias products.

91
00:12:14,301 --> 00:12:17,266
Look, there is a very old
Sun Temple.

92
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Of course, we will go there later on
and talk about it.

93
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If you want to capture it from here,
the picture would look very nice.

94
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How many of you did know that there is
a Sun Temple in Qob Elias?

95
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We pass through this road

96
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always, we all pass through this road.
We all go all the way

97
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to a beautiful area called Ammiq.
Did we ever look to the right at this mountain?

98
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A temple, they say that it has been
here for more than 6,000 years.

99
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Wow, we will go and see it together
later on.

100
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So next, after the vegetables market, I will take you to my uncle, who is the eldest mayor in the village.

101
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Mahyidinne Toufic Hatoum.

102
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I have been a mayor since 1985.

103
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Yes.

104
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And in the village, there are almost

105
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70,000 person.

106
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Its history is very old.
Its history, there's Haidar remains, as they call it.

107
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This dates back to the Romans era.

108
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And maybe the Phoenicians.

109
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It was more beautiful than that
and nicer than that.

110
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When the sun rises in the morning, it hits,
we had the schools place,

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there was all yards,
decorated as they call it.

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There were no buildings or schools
or anything,

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there was the Sun Temple, as they call it.

114
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Tal El Akhdar boarders it from here.
the south, Tal El Akhdar, and Ammiq.

115
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Tal El Akhdar belongs to Qob Elias.

116
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But Ammiq belongs to west Bekaa.

117
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From the east, El Marj village.

118
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And from the south, I mean the north,
Chtoura.

119
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And from the west, the mountain
and then Ain Dara.

120
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Lots of history.
Lots to cover.

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Of course, Qob Elias is rich with history,
as you can see.

122
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And almost all civilizations passed
through Qob Elias.

123
00:14:24,253 --> 00:14:27,569
Of course, because it exists on both
sides of the river.

124
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So a side was Mrayjet
and a side was Qob Elias.

125
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Now, all of it is Qob Elias.

126
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We reached Ras El Ain area which
very famous here.

127
00:14:46,930 --> 00:14:51,748
Where water starts. We are seeing around us
iron pipes left and right.

128
00:14:52,023 --> 00:14:54,853
Unfortunately, they're damaged.
Now we were talking about this topic,

129
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that there was a water station,
a power station but it stopped from a long time ago.

130
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So the pipes rusted and started to break.

131
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Nice walk, I can tell you that the walk is very nice.
We can go forwards for more than 20 minutes and see

132
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where the river starts. But they are waiting for us in the village, and I started to feel hungry.

133
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Good morning. Good morning.
How are you? How are you? Welcome. Good.

134
00:15:40,591 --> 00:15:43,731
Hello. Hello. How are you?
God bless you.

135
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The table and the smell in your house,
it's crazy.

136
00:15:47,848 --> 00:15:53,905
Hiam Alaaeddine from Qob Elias.
I've been working for 10 years with Mouneh and

137
00:15:53,905 --> 00:15:56,688
Arabic food as well as foreign food.

138
00:15:57,551 --> 00:16:05,114
Stuffed vine leaves, Coxinha, Empanada,
Empanada Con Pino, chicken croquettes,

139
00:16:06,008 --> 00:16:11,238
Tabouli, different kinds of pumpkin Kebbeh with all
stuffing, potato Kebbeh,

140
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everything you need is found here.
This is Tabouli with village parsley

141
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also with olive oil.

142
00:16:20,770 --> 00:16:22,900
Lemon is also from the mountains.

143
00:16:29,060 --> 00:16:29,900
Tell us about catering.

144
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I work from home.
I've been for almost 8 years.

145
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I developed my work,
I work with NGOs, I participate.

146
00:16:42,224 --> 00:16:47,164
Now I am still developing.
I am learning and doing everything new.

147
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Stuffed vine leaves with oil.
As they say, the leaves are from village.

148
00:16:53,686 --> 00:16:57,686
I make everything, I get them during season
and cut them, sort and organize them,

149
00:16:57,686 --> 00:17:01,526
and I press them and keep them ready
for when there is an order.

150
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Wow.

151
00:17:12,116 --> 00:17:14,787
No, the food is very nice.

152
00:17:17,576 --> 00:17:18,356
Finally,

153
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as it should be. Passion of home,
taste of home, the perfect flavors.

154
00:17:29,282 --> 00:17:32,338
The Tabouli has perfect lemon,
it pinches a bit.

155
00:17:33,458 --> 00:17:35,953
The oil is exact.
Fresh ingredients.

156
00:17:39,376 --> 00:17:39,976
Perfect.

157
00:17:44,104 --> 00:17:44,624
Perfect.

158
00:17:46,490 --> 00:17:47,830
Your food is amazing.

159
00:17:48,612 --> 00:17:52,001
There are still these?
They became red, we forgot them.

160
00:17:52,001 --> 00:17:54,681
Let me exchange them.
Amazing amazing amazing,

161
00:17:54,927 --> 00:17:59,877
Enjoy enjoy, welcome.
I hope the better and nicer will happen.

162
00:18:00,317 --> 00:18:00,875
And the more delicious.

163
00:18:01,091 --> 00:18:02,911
Wow. Impressive.

164
00:18:03,284 --> 00:18:06,834
I thought that I am done, and I said
no, I want to have some bites without eating a lot.

165
00:18:07,207 --> 00:18:10,657
But the potato Kebbeh stuffed with meat.
You're having it with Labneh, yes?

166
00:18:11,091 --> 00:18:11,841
Impressive.

167
00:18:12,427 --> 00:18:18,447
The crisp on the outside, flakiness, craziness.
It's super juicy on the inside and extremely flavorful.

168
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Put everything aside, there is an obvious passion.

169
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Welcome. We're waiting for you
wherever you are, in Lebanon and the world.

170
00:19:29,374 --> 00:19:30,224
Come visit us.

171
00:19:50,381 --> 00:19:52,343
Welcome guys. God bless you.

172
00:19:57,019 --> 00:19:58,429
We've been here since 1982.

173
00:20:00,639 --> 00:20:01,879
We work with cheeses and Labneh.

174
00:20:03,731 --> 00:20:07,881
Labneh, cheese, Halloum, double cream,
Akkawi, Baladi.

175
00:20:08,962 --> 00:20:09,912
It is all natural milk.

176
00:20:10,759 --> 00:20:14,469
There is a proper boiler.
It becomes frothy in 30 mins.

177
00:20:16,025 --> 00:20:18,647
We take it for making yogurt or cheese.

178
00:20:19,456 --> 00:20:21,246
They are on the tables.

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Cheese on the tables.

180
00:20:24,125 --> 00:20:27,075
We press it by the press.
Here, this cheese is pressed.

181
00:20:29,044 --> 00:20:30,334
This is pressed by the press.

182
00:20:31,889 --> 00:20:34,872
We put a specific amount of salt and we
pack it in boxes and cans,

183
00:20:35,782 --> 00:20:38,122
in salty water. Everything is 100% naturally
made on the old way.

184
00:20:38,122 --> 00:20:43,713
There isn't any preservatives or powder or starch
or any artificial materials.

185
00:20:44,134 --> 00:20:47,094
As the milk comes, we work with it, and we
put it,

186
00:20:47,094 --> 00:20:50,248
we don't soak it, and cheese is put in
cans, as it is.

187
00:21:14,868 --> 00:21:19,616
Good morning. Good morning, welcome.
Welcome welcome. Chateau Heritage.

188
00:21:20,317 --> 00:21:24,787
About Qob Elias, I have to tell you,
I am the ex mayor.

189
00:21:25,178 --> 00:21:28,838
I used to say, it's the capital of the
world and the center of the universe.

190
00:21:29,465 --> 00:21:34,827
So now, Chateau Heritage is the capital of the
world and the center of the universe. Welcome.

191
00:21:35,231 --> 00:21:36,771
It's an honor to have you.

192
00:21:37,238 --> 00:21:41,238
Thank you. First, congratulations
for the new award.

193
00:21:41,238 --> 00:21:44,575
You're a pride to this nation.

194
00:21:45,207 --> 00:21:46,507
Thank you. Welcome. Thank you.

195
00:21:47,326 --> 00:21:51,876
The square is very nice, as if it is Hacienda.
As if it is a place for horses,

196
00:21:51,876 --> 00:21:55,876
as if we traveled to Portugal or Spain,
and we are in the center of Lebanon.

197
00:21:56,025 --> 00:21:57,605
You enter from a door to another.

198
00:21:58,033 --> 00:22:02,433
Originally, from the entrance, the
atmosphere and the vibes are amazing,

199
00:22:03,602 --> 00:22:04,322
Chateau Heritage

200
00:22:05,546 --> 00:22:09,638
Let's tour and see what do they have.
It's an old school built in 1927.

201
00:22:10,299 --> 00:22:14,235
This is actually the courtyard.
The classes were here. They come to the courtyard.

202
00:22:15,043 --> 00:22:19,396
So when we bought it, it was
utterly destroyed by the war.

203
00:22:19,899 --> 00:22:23,339
It passed in phases where it was a
chicken and cow farm at one time,

204
00:22:23,636 --> 00:22:28,616
a carton factory at another time,
but when we bought it, it was completely damaged.

205
00:22:28,616 --> 00:22:32,436
It had many bullets and bombs.

206
00:22:33,074 --> 00:22:39,634
So we refurbished and adapted it to
become a winery.

207
00:22:40,161 --> 00:22:45,071
We are the sons of Elias Touma.
One of the founders of Arak Touma.

208
00:22:45,887 --> 00:22:51,757
So we are fourth generation wine makers.
I went to the states and studied

209
00:22:51,757 --> 00:22:53,064
chemical engineer.

210
00:22:53,738 --> 00:22:57,211
The masters in indology,
PhD in food and beverage science.

211
00:22:57,211 --> 00:23:01,581
So my friends call me Dr. D,
Dr. Dargham. So it's Dr. D.

212
00:23:03,482 --> 00:23:04,472
What else do we tell you?

213
00:23:04,942 --> 00:23:08,264
When I started here it was a very
primitive operation.

214
00:23:09,258 --> 00:23:13,966
Now, the vats that you are seeing
are imported vats.

215
00:23:14,608 --> 00:23:17,572
It's for show and pictures.
You know, like a portrait.

216
00:23:17,572 --> 00:23:20,602
But in the rest of the winery
there are vats that I've done myself.

217
00:23:20,602 --> 00:23:23,009
I've welded myself, I've done myself.

218
00:23:24,703 --> 00:23:27,814
They are called, you know,
colt of the business, they do everything.

219
00:23:28,498 --> 00:23:33,588
So Chateau Heritage was founded in 1997.
That's when I came back from the states.

220
00:23:33,818 --> 00:23:35,448
I started working in 1997.

221
00:23:35,867 --> 00:23:39,597
2 years prior, we made wine.

222
00:23:40,192 --> 00:23:42,462
88 and 91, now we will show you what are they.

223
00:23:43,357 --> 00:23:48,397
And it is a family business.
My siblings and I,

224
00:23:48,397 --> 00:23:49,845
it is a family operation.

225
00:23:50,247 --> 00:23:53,717
May my father rest in peace,
he was a big part of the business,

226
00:23:53,717 --> 00:23:55,097
he died 4-5 years ago.

227
00:23:58,105 --> 00:24:02,285
The patron saint, all wineries of the world
have a patron saint.

228
00:24:03,510 --> 00:24:07,510
Because sometimes you do the science
to the maximum, a time comes,

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00:24:07,598 --> 00:24:11,598
things mess up. You have to refer to a
higher power, so

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00:24:11,598 --> 00:24:17,736
we light candles and such things. Patron saint of out winery is St. Elias, in honor of our father.

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00:25:00,033 --> 00:25:05,554
This is 1 of 2 sellers of wine.
Now we'll go up there to the second.

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00:25:06,811 --> 00:25:08,937
This is where wine comes to be aged.

233
00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:13,330
I'm not a humongous fan of oak.

234
00:25:14,183 --> 00:25:20,383
Because it covers, it masks the smells
and fruits of the wine.

235
00:25:20,689 --> 00:25:27,877
But nonetheless, some wines need oak, and we,
personally I am American educated,

236
00:25:28,712 --> 00:25:34,163
but to be honest, I tried French oak,
what I found to be the best for Lebanese

237
00:25:36,401 --> 00:25:38,447
tannins and weather and things

238
00:25:39,173 --> 00:25:42,139
is American oak.
Because when I started using that,

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00:25:43,524 --> 00:25:48,140
ever since, I'm winning best Lebanese wine
in the world consecutively every year.

240
00:25:48,140 --> 00:25:49,545
Both in Bordeaux and elsewhere.

241
00:25:50,101 --> 00:25:54,421
And to commemorate you winning the award,
now up there. Thank you so much.

242
00:25:55,606 --> 00:25:58,831
We took it from here, it has mold which is okay.

243
00:25:58,831 --> 00:26:05,707
This is the 2003 which has won about
6 golden awards all over the world

244
00:26:06,185 --> 00:26:08,100
including best Lebanese wine.

245
00:26:08,564 --> 00:26:13,840
You don't drink these being careless.
After the car trip,

246
00:26:14,378 --> 00:26:18,718
you have to leave it for about 10 days
because it's going to shake.

247
00:26:19,293 --> 00:26:24,316
And you open the other one
on a very nice occasion.

248
00:26:25,141 --> 00:26:29,141
But in both cases, you should
decant them.

249
00:26:29,490 --> 00:26:34,475
Please, because I am not teaching you,
but it's for the info.

250
00:26:35,021 --> 00:26:38,487
Second, for it to have oxygen and stretch.

251
00:26:38,954 --> 00:26:41,444
This has been stuck in the bottle for
30 years.

252
00:26:41,806 --> 00:26:43,026
So it needs stretching.

253
00:26:43,358 --> 00:26:44,948
Give it some oxygen to stretch.

254
00:26:45,310 --> 00:26:48,720
How great. How great,
the spider is working down,

255
00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:50,029
turning and having fun.

256
00:26:50,408 --> 00:26:59,170
The woods are resting, the wines being aged and are becoming sacred, if we can say that.

257
00:26:59,170 --> 00:27:00,580
I can stay for hours down there.

258
00:27:01,423 --> 00:27:04,203
But I asked I question, if it was a school
and there was such a thing,

259
00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:06,370
what did students do down there?

260
00:27:08,158 --> 00:27:09,638
This is a cellar for tourists.

261
00:27:12,751 --> 00:27:17,232
This is where we put family reserve high end wines.

262
00:27:24,452 --> 00:27:30,100
Chateau Heritage Nine. 9 grape varieties, the most popular 9 grape varieties in Lebanon.

263
00:27:30,570 --> 00:27:31,659
Unoaked wine.

264
00:27:33,477 --> 00:27:39,840
Château Heritage Plaisir du Vin. This si made out of 3,
Cabernet-Sauvignon, Syrah, and Cinsault.

265
00:27:40,423 --> 00:27:41,173
Slightly oaked.

266
00:27:42,852 --> 00:27:44,952
This is Syrah. It is a single varietal.

267
00:27:45,690 --> 00:27:51,810
This is the Cuvee Saint Elie which we
released to commemorate the passing of my father.

268
00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:54,250
And I would tell you the story about this.

269
00:27:54,841 --> 00:27:57,431
This is made of my father's favorite grapes.

270
00:27:57,625 --> 00:28:01,843
Cabernet-Sauvignon and Cinsault.
Well, the story goes that

271
00:28:02,242 --> 00:28:07,489
my father was a huge fan of Cinsault
because it is what's he's used to work with.

272
00:28:07,841 --> 00:28:14,202
When I came to work with the wines,
I told him that Cabernet-Sauvignon is the toughest

273
00:28:14,986 --> 00:28:16,358
mother f* out there.

274
00:28:17,003 --> 00:28:21,107
He said why. It's because anywhere you cultivate it in the world, it thrives.

275
00:28:21,107 --> 00:28:25,737
He said, you know what, this Cabernet-Sauvignon is
exactly like the Lebanese people.

276
00:28:25,737 --> 00:28:27,978
anywhere you put them in the world,
they rule.

277
00:28:28,562 --> 00:28:32,055
So, to commemorate his passing,
we did a blend of the 2.

278
00:28:32,147 --> 00:28:34,367
Cabernet-Sauvignon and Cinsault.

279
00:28:35,043 --> 00:28:43,175
This is the Chateau Heritage, which is a blend
of Syrah in American oak, second wine.

280
00:28:43,883 --> 00:28:51,373
And the family reserve, which is a
small vineyard. A 30 year old vineyard.

281
00:28:51,878 --> 00:28:55,486
In the past, the Cab and Syrah in it,
during the times of my father,

282
00:28:55,809 --> 00:28:59,809
it was fed to sheep.
Because the fruit of Cab and Syrah is small,

283
00:28:59,809 --> 00:29:00,537
it doesn't yield.

284
00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:03,720
The Cinsault is that big and it yields,
this makes money.

285
00:29:04,286 --> 00:29:06,516
The Cab and Syrah were fed to sheep.

286
00:29:07,385 --> 00:29:11,123
So, it does't yield a lot, it's around
5,000-6,000 bottles.

287
00:29:11,737 --> 00:29:16,199
But it is so old, the vineyards are so old,
the wine is so dense.

288
00:29:17,222 --> 00:29:20,063
Put it with the American oak,
brand new barrels,

289
00:29:20,425 --> 00:29:25,435
and you were winning the best Lebanese wine
in the world consistently.

290
00:29:26,757 --> 00:29:29,557
We're going to try, the Nine,

291
00:29:31,202 --> 00:29:38,142
which is made from 9 most popular grapes
used in Lebanon.

292
00:29:39,890 --> 00:29:40,890
It is

293
00:29:42,116 --> 00:29:44,854
wine critics call it, Lebanon in a bottle.

294
00:30:02,080 --> 00:30:05,584
We start with its beautiful smell.
It is very light and smooth.

295
00:30:05,927 --> 00:30:09,133
Most importantly, you don't smell
the wood which usually covers everything.

296
00:30:10,265 --> 00:30:11,105
Very smooth.

297
00:30:11,965 --> 00:30:15,516
There is a fresh feeling.

298
00:30:16,180 --> 00:30:21,450
Earthy, floral, all combined, I won't say the
smell of Lebanon, but it is very light.

299
00:30:21,726 --> 00:30:22,366
And then

300
00:30:25,887 --> 00:30:28,476
extremely smooth. Extremely balanced.

301
00:30:29,249 --> 00:30:33,249
Lightly acidic. Enjoyably acidic, it tickles
the sides of the tongue.

302
00:30:33,484 --> 00:30:36,537
It doesn't burn the throat,
it does not dry the palate.

303
00:30:37,346 --> 00:30:42,906
And you say bam! Each person who didn't drink this thing yet, is missing a lot.

304
00:30:45,620 --> 00:30:49,220
Now, it's because we took it from down there,
where I told you.

305
00:30:49,554 --> 00:30:51,304
It is the 2003.

306
00:30:52,347 --> 00:30:56,947
Here, we put 4/6 gold awards it has won.

307
00:30:59,802 --> 00:31:05,298
This is honestly, also, I am not modest,

308
00:31:05,967 --> 00:31:11,811
but this is one of the best wines in the world
you could ever taste.

309
00:31:12,499 --> 00:31:13,989
I am responsible of my words.

310
00:31:14,641 --> 00:31:19,803
So when you open in and taste it in an occasion,
after you open it for an hour,

311
00:31:20,922 --> 00:31:25,832
give me a call and tell me if I am right
or I'm full of bullshit.

312
00:31:28,531 --> 00:31:31,381
How beautiful. How beautiful.

313
00:31:32,289 --> 00:31:34,659
We finished tasting and we will continue the tour.

314
00:31:35,127 --> 00:31:36,207
Amazing experience.

315
00:31:36,702 --> 00:31:38,652
I promised them that this is not the last visit.

316
00:31:39,295 --> 00:31:41,525
Next time, there is meat with barbecue.

317
00:31:42,324 --> 00:31:43,234
And some more wine.

318
00:31:54,901 --> 00:31:59,471
I use the best crumble, of corse, there is the
Falghona,

319
00:32:00,009 --> 00:32:02,349
and I also use the Calbeau.

320
00:32:02,349 --> 00:32:05,807
And from when I started, I sell online.

321
00:32:06,226 --> 00:32:08,206
We deliver to houses.

322
00:32:08,772 --> 00:32:13,722
These are square praline with feuillantine.
Milk and dark.

323
00:32:14,254 --> 00:32:17,924
There is the praline sphere with a
hazelnut in the center.

324
00:32:18,895 --> 00:32:21,695
These are nuts covered with chocolate.

325
00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:25,510
This is raspberry caramel with feuillantine.

326
00:32:25,773 --> 00:32:28,781
Speculoos cream with cashew nuts.

327
00:32:29,416 --> 00:32:36,014
The best seller of Ebene is caramel with exotic fruits and white chocolate.

328
00:32:37,571 --> 00:32:41,821
These are almonds covered with dark chocolate.

329
00:32:41,930 --> 00:32:49,900
A caramel flower of salt. Caramel with sesame, praline with sesame and some caramel.

330
00:32:50,913 --> 00:32:53,163
I tasted on Instagram and I forgot that I am
filming for YouTube.

331
00:32:53,744 --> 00:32:58,463
I tasted 3 pieces of chocolate. I should make you live the experience again because it is crazy.

332
00:32:58,940 --> 00:33:02,043
When someone reaches here, and
crunches special chocolate,

333
00:33:02,396 --> 00:33:06,396
the problem with chocolate for most people is
tempering, how chewy and sticky it is,

334
00:33:06,890 --> 00:33:11,348
its quality, how sweet and how much sugar does it
has and the aftertaste it leaves in the throat.

335
00:33:11,988 --> 00:33:16,586
Put all these aside. When you reach and
you find out about a chocolate

336
00:33:17,219 --> 00:33:20,652
that firm, with such a nice stand,
and nice crunch.

337
00:33:22,373 --> 00:33:22,983
Wow.

338
00:33:24,821 --> 00:33:27,261
The taste is delicious
and it is addictive.

339
00:33:28,030 --> 00:33:29,380
With light sweetness.

340
00:33:32,926 --> 00:33:35,076
I am staying here.
Continue the tour on your own.

341
00:33:36,166 --> 00:33:36,656
Move.

342
00:33:38,023 --> 00:33:39,693
I'm coming, I want to finish them.

343
00:33:56,717 --> 00:33:59,157
Welcome to Chateau St Thomas.

344
00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:06,750
Chateau St Thomas is a winery
for Touma family.

345
00:34:07,468 --> 00:34:11,729
We've been in the business, the
alcohol business, since 1888.

346
00:34:12,071 --> 00:34:13,081
We started with Arak.

347
00:34:13,821 --> 00:34:21,678
And in the 1990s, we started with wine, so
we took these lands and started to plant them,

348
00:34:21,678 --> 00:34:29,910
we imported grape varieties from outside,
the Cabernet-Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Pinot Noir,

349
00:34:29,910 --> 00:34:31,727
Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc.

350
00:34:34,523 --> 00:34:40,643
And in the 1995, we almost started the
construction of the winery,

351
00:34:41,430 --> 00:34:47,200
so as you can notice here, this area
is a bit rocky.

352
00:34:48,808 --> 00:34:52,808
The winery has a story. It has a church,
guests are welcomed.

353
00:34:52,808 --> 00:34:56,290
Tell us a bit about the setup here.
Here, the area is rocky.

354
00:34:56,290 --> 00:35:01,312
We drilled in rocks to make a cave,
an underground cellar.

355
00:35:01,816 --> 00:35:09,660
To maintain the humidity and specific
temperature to keep the wooden barrels.

356
00:35:10,218 --> 00:35:15,198
And when we were drilling, we had like
a small cave, we liked to expand it

357
00:35:15,198 --> 00:35:20,448
and make a chapel dedicated to
St Thomas.

358
00:35:20,989 --> 00:35:23,785
Usually, we start the visit 9n the chapel.

359
00:35:26,668 --> 00:35:31,778
Here is the entrance of the main cave.
I will go down to guide the pathway.

360
00:35:33,830 --> 00:35:42,327
We kept the rocks as they are, naturally, to
keep the specific humidity

361
00:35:42,327 --> 00:35:45,992
which should be between 65-80 %.

362
00:35:46,733 --> 00:35:51,612
And the temperature which should be constant
to preserve the wine.

363
00:35:52,430 --> 00:35:57,676
So in winter, when it rains here,
the area is rich with water, so

364
00:35:57,676 --> 00:35:59,972
the rocks starts to moisture on their own.

365
00:36:01,984 --> 00:36:07,912
In summer, when the temperature is very
high and the humidity is low, we help them a bit

366
00:36:07,912 --> 00:36:15,568
by spraying some water in the cave
to get back the needed humidity for the wooden barrels.

367
00:36:41,100 --> 00:36:45,100
This is our Obeidy bottle.

368
00:36:46,049 --> 00:36:48,619
It is made from the Obeidy kind of grapes.

369
00:36:49,848 --> 00:36:54,394
The Obeidy is known from a long time
ago in Lebanon as an edible grape.

370
00:36:55,129 --> 00:36:59,940
And Arak is made from this grape.
We make Arak from a long time ago from Obeidy.

371
00:37:01,056 --> 00:37:09,103
So we liked, in Chateau St Thomas,
in addition to using international grape variety,

372
00:37:09,594 --> 00:37:13,639
highlight more on the local indigenous
variety which is here in Lebanon.

373
00:37:14,278 --> 00:37:20,000
So we worked on Obeidy and what
did we make, we studied its origin.

374
00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:21,480
We studied the

375
00:37:23,068 --> 00:37:28,858
the DNA. We checked the DNA and
the results were that it is unique and not similar to any

376
00:37:28,858 --> 00:37:35,831
known international grape variety in the world so
this ensured that it is 100% Lebanese.

377
00:37:36,581 --> 00:37:37,831
So by this way,

378
00:37:38,931 --> 00:37:44,910
we liked that who drink wine, even outside
of Lebanon,

379
00:37:45,419 --> 00:37:48,329
to know that in Lebanon, we have the Obeidy.

380
00:37:48,939 --> 00:37:53,439
For example, like how in Bordeaux are known for Merlot grapes,

381
00:37:54,158 --> 00:37:58,512
or the Burgundy region are known for Pinot Noir.

382
00:37:58,862 --> 00:38:04,510
So we liked Lebanon to be internationally known
for the Obeidy kind.

383
00:38:04,975 --> 00:38:09,586
This is a preview of Nour el Ain,
St Thomas, The Diamond.

384
00:38:09,586 --> 00:38:13,586
Rose, coming due very very soon.
When do we expect it to be in markets?

385
00:38:14,142 --> 00:38:20,514
Now, we're launching it in the winery.
Ok, so a reason to come here.

386
00:38:20,854 --> 00:38:28,254
It is called Nour el Ain because in English
it is the pink diamond.

387
00:38:30,807 --> 00:38:34,807
So we liked to give it a Lebanese Arabic name.

388
00:38:34,929 --> 00:38:40,399
We met in Souk el Akel and they were from the few people, or maybe the only winery that believed in us

389
00:38:40,640 --> 00:38:45,040
and accepted to participate in Souk el Akel. They had a stand. Even if it's a street food market at night,

390
00:38:45,217 --> 00:38:49,777
people used to take wine glasses or bottles and tour and have fun while eating.

391
00:38:50,151 --> 00:38:55,175
Today, they took Obeidy to a different level,
which is the only Lebanese wine, or Lebanese grape.

392
00:38:55,467 --> 00:38:59,467
They got Pinot Noir to Lebanon and found a very nice way to work with it.

393
00:38:59,596 --> 00:39:04,938
Most importantly, the winery which you are seeing here
is recently built, but it is made in a very professional way.

394
00:39:05,211 --> 00:39:10,201
You can all come and visit, tour, explore, learn,
buy, and in the end,

395
00:39:10,567 --> 00:39:17,467
take this glass which we are seeing, it is Lebanese Obeidy. The main, original, traditional, old bottle.

396
00:39:17,467 --> 00:39:22,152
Maybe it took the Lebanese wine to the whole world.
Of corse we have a red grape.

397
00:39:22,511 --> 00:39:29,041
Do you know that Baalbak or Temple of Bacchus is
originally wine, it started a very long time ago here

398
00:39:29,041 --> 00:39:29,791
Let's taste.

399
00:39:34,830 --> 00:39:35,320
Wow.

400
00:39:36,323 --> 00:39:41,783
It is not similar to anything else,
as if it has mastic, as if it has sugar

401
00:39:41,783 --> 00:39:47,075
or a perfume that enters the nose,
very smooth, very very smooth. Non acidic at all.

402
00:39:52,161 --> 00:39:52,651
Wow.

403
00:39:53,195 --> 00:39:57,284
With all pride, it is Lebanese, and it is not
like any other wine in the world.

404
00:39:58,242 --> 00:39:59,132
My tour continues.

405
00:40:00,091 --> 00:40:01,601
I let them all go out and I am going alone.

406
00:40:17,802 --> 00:40:21,194
Good morning. I am Elia,
a local guide in the area.

407
00:40:21,871 --> 00:40:27,098
Now we reached Haidara mountain. We will see Roman remains. We'll climb the stairs. Welcome.

408
00:41:18,830 --> 00:41:25,529
We reached Haidara here. They say that this was a cemetery for a prestigious person in the Roman era.

409
00:41:26,842 --> 00:41:28,452
But they didn't finish building it.

410
00:41:30,425 --> 00:41:32,825
It's height is 10 meters
and its width is 13 meters.

411
00:41:34,108 --> 00:41:37,188
According to local legend, this was a
sun temple.

412
00:41:38,295 --> 00:41:42,295
Because Qob Elias is known as
the city of sun.

413
00:41:42,568 --> 00:41:47,638
The sun rises from the east
and reflects on Haidara mountain.

414
00:41:48,330 --> 00:41:49,690
It reflects sunlight down into the village.

415
00:41:50,042 --> 00:41:54,402
Anthony, Qob Elias extends from here
to the other village which we can see, El Marej.

416
00:41:55,026 --> 00:41:59,346
And on the other side is Taanayel and Cascada Mall. Actually, Cascada Mall is a part of Qob Elias.


417
00:42:00,140 --> 00:42:03,408
Where we were in St Thomas, it is also
for Qob Elias.

418
00:42:03,936 --> 00:42:07,856
Even behind that, for almost 3 kilometers,
it is still Qob Elias.

419
00:42:09,526 --> 00:42:10,166
Huge.

420
00:42:12,019 --> 00:42:13,299
70,000 people.

421
00:42:24,040 --> 00:42:27,880
This is the third time we distribute diesel.
We have distributed about 400 diesel barrels.

422
00:42:28,085 --> 00:42:32,679
In here, so now we will show you
how do we give diesel to a family.


423
00:42:41,402 --> 00:42:46,214
This diesel which is distributed is an initiative from Qob Elias expatriates to Qob Elias residents.

424
00:42:46,376 --> 00:42:51,489
I am distributing since October
with Canadian help.

425
00:42:51,706 --> 00:42:55,434
Again, from Qob Elias families to Qob Elias families.
Due to the situation in the country,

426
00:42:56,038 --> 00:42:59,859
we should help Qob Elias families,
and Lebanese people in general, as much as we can.

427
00:43:00,082 --> 00:43:04,082
I consider