Lebanon breaks yet another food world record

Batroun has just broken the Guinness World Record for "biggest seafood display," after showcasing 2,613.8 kilograms of seafood in a market.

Batroun is known for its beautiful coastal village packed with picturesque beaches, a vibrant nightlife...and of course its delicious seafood.

The northern Lebanese city has just broken the Guinness World Record for "biggest seafood display," after showcasing 2,613.8 kilograms of seafood in a market on the city's port.

The record was previously held by Schmidt Zeevis and Wichter Stellar on the deck of the SS Rotterdam, Netherlands in 2011, where the duo displayed 2,271 kg of seafood.

DSC_3396
Photo source: Guinness World Records

"The record attempt was very well organized given the amount they had to put on display," said Ahmad Gabr, Guinness World Records Adjudicator.

DSC_3258
Photo source: Guinness World Records

"After the attempt, the food items were divided and distributed(sold)and what was left was donated to Batroun Fishermen's Co-op Association," Gabr added.

Photo source: Guinness World Records
Photo source: Guinness World Records

This is the second time the city of Batroun breaks a world record.

In 2012, Batroun made the largest cup of lemonade, which was beaten out by Calypso Lemonades in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2015.

And this is one of many food-related records held by Lebanon.

In 2010, Chef Ramzi Choueiri and the students of Al-Kafaat University made the largest serving of hummus...which amounted to 10,452 kg of the paste.

In 2011, Lebanon broke the record for the "longest sandwich" which measures 735 meters with a width of 12.5 cm. The sandwich weighed approximately 577 kilograms.

Lest we forget, Lebanon is the proud owner of a No. 1 International Food Destination ranking, announced last month.

The tiny Alawite village that sits between Lebanon, Palestine and Syria

There are certain places in Lebanon that will make you feel like you're somewhere overseas.

But there are also towns that remain unexplored, some for political reasons, others because of unfounded stigma that southern Lebanon has long been subject to.

One village that remains virtually untouched by the Lebanese is Ghajar, a tri-border village between Lebanon, Syria and Occupied Palestine.

Although you won't be able to enter the town, you can stand from afar and hope that one day this land will be ticked off your bucket list.

Here are 8 facts about the town that you may want to know:

1. Ghajar is an Alawite-Arab village on the Hasbani river, bordering Lebanon and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, considered to be a part of Syria

Photo source: Twitter
Source: Twitter

Prior to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Ghajar was considered to be part of Syria. However, when Israel occupied the Golan Heights in 1967, Ghajar remained a no man's land for two and half months.

Israel claims to have annexed the Golan Heights back in 1981. However, the claim has never been internationally recognized .

2. In 2014, the village had a population of 2,415

3. The name Ghajar means 'Gypsy' in Arabic, and was initially known as 'Taranjeh'

Photo source: Wikipedia
Source: Wikipedia

It was later renamed to Ghajar under Ottoman rule, when the land was allegedly seized by Kurds.

4. After Israel took the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967, some residents who remained in Ghajar accepted Israeli citizenship

However, in 1981 more than 90 percent of people living in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights refused the citizenship.

5. The village expanded into Lebanese territory following the Israeli occupation in Southern Lebanon in 1982

Soon after Israel pulled out of the territory in the year 2000, residents in northern Ghajar found themselves living in Lebanon, opposite neighbors in the south, who were part of a separate country now.

The northern part of the village was re-occupied during the 2006 war

After a month of negotiations and fighting, Security Council Resolution 1701 came about. It demanded the full cessation of hostilities, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and disarming of Hezbollah, among other things .

6. Residents on both sides of the village have Israeli citizenship

Some in the northern half hold passports from both Israel and Lebanon.

"My husband is Palestinian. His family lived on the Israeli side so they gained Israeli citizenship. Unfortunately that means he can never see most of the Middle East. But I guess that is better than being a Palestinian who can never return home," one user on Instagram wrote .

7. There is an Israel Defense Forces checkpoint upon entering the village, and a fence surrounding the entire village; The Blue Line border runs directly through the village's center

8. But, there is no barrier dividing the two sides within the village itself

Photo source: Wikimedia
Source: Wikimedia