The Ammiq Wetland is the largest remaining freshwater wetland in Lebanon. It is a remnant of an extensive ecosystem of marshes and lakes that once existed in the Bekaa Valley. The swamp is one of the Lebanon’s biodiversity hotspots and lies on one of the most important bird migration routes in the world. In this episode, Mariam takes us on a journey there and tells us about the place and describes some of its features that make it such an important nature reserve.
Lebanese Arabic Transcript and English Contextual Translation
1
لمن أي حدا فينا بفكر يضهر عالطبيعة، بكون عندو عدة أهداف وتوقعات. ممكن مثلا نكون بدنا نشم هوا نضيف، نستمتع بالخضار والهدوء، نحرك جسمنا ونشمي ويمكن نتسلق، نشوف أو حتى نشرب مي نضيفة، ونصادف حيوانات بالبرية، يعني بموطنا الطبيعي. نصادف جاي من كلمة الصدفة أو يعني coincidence بالإنكليزي.
When any of us thinks about going out to nature, they would have several goals and expectations. For example, we might want to breathe clean air, enjoy greenness and tranquility, move our bodies, walk, and maybe climb, see or even drink clean water, and come across animals in the wild, which means in their natural habitat. Nsadef comes from the word Sodfeh, which means coincidence in English.
2
ومن أكتر المرات اللي أدهشني اجتماع كل هالأشيا، مع غياب أي تدخل للعنصر البشري بالطبيعة، كانت يوم اللي رحت على مستنقعات محمية عميق بالبقاع الغربي بلبنان. أدهشني أو الدهشة بتعني مشاعر التفاجأ اللي منحسا وقت يصير شي مش متوقعينو، وهي مش دايما بتكون مشاعر حلوة أو إيجابية، يعني ممكن تعبرعن مشاعر سلبية إذا كان اللي صار شي سيء. بس هون أكيد قصدي فيا إيجابي.
Among the most times that I was astonished by the combination of all these things, with the absence of any human-element interference in nature, was the day I went to the Ammiq reserve wetland in West Beqaa in Lebanon. Adhashneh or al-dahsheh means the feelings of surprise that we sense when something we do not expect happens, and it is not always beautiful or positive feelings. This means it could express negative feelings if what had happened is something bad. But here, I certainly mean it is positive.