Safita (Edited)

So what is Safita? How did it make it to my, and others’, car’s license plate? Safita is my home town. It is located in a very beautiful area occupying about three neighboring hills and surrounded by olive trees. The first hill is “Al-Tal” or “The Hill”, the second is “Al-Burj” or “The Tower”, and the third is a lower hill called “Al-Dahr” literally meaning “The Back”. Its arc-like shape is like a newborn moon. The sea is no more than 16 miles away, and if located on the west side of the town, it can be seen in a clear day just about where the sky meets land in the horizon. As the sun goes south in autumn or around spring, the sun can be seen dipping in the sea as it sets. (the photo shown here is taken by my Dr Antoun Koht - Dr Koht has drove my attention that this picture is of his collection, thus the editting).
Safita is not big relatively speaking, nor is it small. I don’t know its population, but similarly to any other village or town in the area, it grows in the summer and shrinks in the winter. Sounds really like temperature effect. Going from one side to the other takes no more than 7 minutes (no more than five from our house to the farthest relative, just about what it used to take me to get to E-90 exit from Village in the Park).
I was very fond of Safita when I was a kid and still (some of you still think I am a kid). I used to come up with all kind of excuses so I won’t leave. Many memories rest here, most of them I cherish and adore. These were mainly at my grandparents house (both dead now), and my aunts. Our family there is big, and I have no ability, or intention, to know them all. One thing you get with big families is too much family troubles, which can be entertaining sometimes.
We have stayed at my grandparents house previously, but now our own has been in use for three years or so. I think it is occupies one of the best locations in Safita. It stands as the forth floor in a building inside the west side of its arc. When looking out of the balcony, the three hills described above can be seen next to each other in full details. The view is splendid at daytime or nighttime. To the left of the city lies a valley of olive trees that leads the view to the Mediterranean Sea. It is said that at night, lights of northern Lebanese towns can be seen. Almost both ends of Safita can be seen from here. The best thing about the house is the wind chill even in the summer. I would like to attach some photos here when I get my camera because they are worth 1000 words.
But in the winter, the wind is really chilly. Some of the best winter storms happen here with all the wind, rain, lightening, and thunder. Safita has the highest rain precipitation in Syria (I think much lower than how much rain occur in Cleveland in the summer alone).
You don’t really know how much you miss a place or someone until you see them again. And this, I missed a lot.