Category: Lebanon

Lebanon is located in the Middle-East. The country is bordered by Syria and Israel. The country has a rich history with ethnic and religious diversity. The ancient civilization of Lebanon dates back to 7,000 years and was the base of Phoenicians. The country was prosperous in the field of banking, agriculture and tourism before the civil war and during that time the country was known as “Switzerland of the East”. Large number of tourists was attracted to the country and the capital Beirut was known as “Paris of Middle East”. But after civil war, the country had put great efforts to bring back its economy and to rebuild the infrastructure of the nation.

Lebanon has seen many empires succeeding in their country and the empires are Assyrian, Roman, Arab, Eastern Roman and Egyptian empire, Seljuk, Hellenistic, Persian, Crusader, Ottoman and Mamluk Empire. For more than 400 years, Lebanon was under the Ottoman Empire. Most area of the country is occupied by mountainous terrain with narrow coastline as well as Beqaa Valley. Lebanon is democratic country with parliamentary system in which a special system is implemented knows as the confessionalism. Each high-ranking office is reserved for a certain religious members. For example, the President should be Maronite Christian, Sunni Muslim Prime Minister and Shi’a Muslim member as Speaker of the Parliament.

The Lebanon population is about 4 million and 59.7% of the population in the country is of Muslims, 39% consists of Christian and the remaining 1.3% consists of other religious groups. The official language of the Lebanon is Arabic. In some cases, French is also used. Most of the Lebanese citizens speak Lebanese Arabic. Lebanon was recovered from the civil war and till 2006, the country enjoyed economic stability but month long war between Hezbollah and Israel caused heavy damage to the infrastructure of the country. Again by 2008, the country has rebuilt the infrastructure in tourism and real estate sectors resulting in the thriving economy.

Millions of tourists are coming in to the country at present. Beirut is ranked as the number one travel destination by New York Times in the year 2009. The popular tourist spot of Lebanon is the Jeita caverns. Jeita Grotto was nominated as the seven natural wonders in the world. Byblos is an ancient city of Lebanon with ruins of Phoenician, Hellenistic, Crusader, Roman and Canaanite periods.

Tyre is listed as the World Heritage Site by UNESCO with several archaeological sites which include Roman Hippodrome. Vacationers can enjoy their holidays by visiting Holy Valley or Qadisha Valley. Tripoli is a famous tourist destination with several mosques and the popular “Saint Gilles Citadel”. Tripoli’s history begins from 8th century BC with an Arabian charm in the city. Tripoli is surrounded by beach resorts and modern houses. Palace of Beiteddine is a historical monument with two huge courtyards. Larger courtyard is meant for visitors and smaller courtyard is for royal apartments. Lebanon is also famous for its nightlife with various clubbing locations. Some of the popular beach resorts of Lebanon are Janna Sur Mer, Laguava and Oceana.