Guide to LEBANON
LEBANON which official name is Republic of Lebanon or Lebanon, is a country from Asia located at the Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria. LEBANON with 454 km sq km, limits with: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km; and is divided in 8 governorates . LEBANON's capital is Beirut which is the most populated city with about 1,252,010 inhabitants.
History of LEBANON
LEBANON's government is republic; a Republic with a Executive government type, with President Émile Lahoud as head of state and Prime Minister Fouad Siniora as head of government.
Other symbols of LEBANON are Lebanese motto " All for our nation Lebanese anthem "Koullouna Lilouataan Lil Oula Lil Alam (All Of Us! For Our Country, For Our Flag and Glory) Lebanese flag.Lebanese flag is composed by three horizontal bands consisting of red (top), white (middle, double width), and red (bottom) with a green cedar tree centered in the white band .
LEBANON's history is quite long: Following the capture of Syria from the Ottoman Empire by Anglo-French forces in 1918, France received a mandate over this territory and separated out a region of Lebanon in 1920. France granted this area independence in 1943. A lengthy civil war (1975-1990) devastated the country, but Lebanon has since made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions. Under the Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater voice in the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Since the end of the war, Lebanon has conducted several successful elections, most militias have been disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have extended authority over about two-thirds of the country. Hizballah, a radical Shi'a organization listed by the US State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, retains its weapons. During Lebanon's civil war, the Arab League legitimized in the Ta'if Accord Syria's troop deployment, numbering about 16,000 based mainly east of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley. Damascus justified its continued military presence in Lebanon by citing Beirut's requests and the failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if Accord. Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000, however, encouraged some Lebanese groups to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well. The passage of UNSCR 1559 in early October 2004 - a resolution calling for Syria to withdraw from Lebanon and end its interference in Lebanese affairs - further emboldened Lebanese groups opposed to Syria's presence in Lebanon. The assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI and 20 others in February 2005 led to massive demonstrations in Beirut against the Syrian presence ("the Cedar Revolution"). Syria finally withdrew the remainder of its military forces from Lebanon in April 2005. In May-June 2005, Lebanon held its first legislative elections since the end of the civil war free of foreign interference, handing a majority to the bloc led by Saad HARIRI, the slain prime minister's son. Hizballah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in July 2006 leading to a 34-day conflict with Israel. UNSCR 1701, which passed in August 2006, called for the disarmament of Hizballah.
LEBANON has an area of 10,400Km ,with a coastline of 225, this great area is composed by 10,230 sq km of land and 170 sq km of water. Lebanese geography is known by it's narrow coastal plain and El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains . This makes Lebanese's land specially proclive to dust storms, sandstorms.
Guide to travel to LEBANON
If you are thinking on traveling to LEBANON, you will have to take in consideration some points like LEBANON's currency, LEBANON's weather, LEBANON's national holiday and LEBANON's transports.
The first thing you need to know for your travels abroad is country's currency. LEBANON`s currency is called pound ( L.L.), which is divided in 100 piastres. For your consideration, pound's exchange rate is about Zenkov Cathedral per dolar.1,508.0003840000.
LEBANON's weather is characterized to be Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows. So be sure of choosing the proper date to travel to LEBANON.
You can also consider to visit LEBANON on it's national holiday to get in LEBANON's culture. If you do so, LEBANON's national holiday is called Independence Day, 22 November.
Also, if you like natural wonders, don't forget to visit the highest point of LEBANON: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m. And try also to get to LEBANON's lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 mBut if you prefer the city, you must visit LEBANON's tallest structure: ( ).
Don't be afraid to take a flight to LEBANON, with more than 7 airports and 1 airlines, you will get to LEBANON without problems. Once there, you can choose the transport type that better fits your needs. LEBANON has about401 of railways, and also0 of roadways, so is a good place for a car trip.
LEBANON is known by Lebaneses as Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah or Lubnan in the shortened way. Lebanese, about 3,925,502 people, are composed by different ethnics: Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%. And they also have different languages: Arabic.
Another relevant point nowadays it's LEBANON's religion. Lebaneses are divided in Muslim 59.7% (Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 39% (Maronite Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Chaldean, Assyrian, Copt, Protestant), other 1.3%.
But if want to know more about LEBANON's culture, the best way is by reading the most famous Lebanese novelists' books like Amin Maalouf, Hanan Al-Shaykh or Youssef Howayek (writer and sculptor).
Videos of Lebanon
See some viedos of Lebanon's places and tourism before choosing your vacations destination.