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Lebanon
Lebanon has always been a special country.
Despite the recent years of war, Lebanon’s long history, natural beauty
and the spirit of its people give it a place in the heart of all who
have been there – whether in the halcyon years, or during periods of
crisis.
An independent republic since 1943, it is a
compact country of 10,452 square kilometers with a population
approaching 4 million. Located at the meeting point of three continents,
over the centuries Lebanon has been the crossroads of many civilizations
whose traces may still be seen today. Its countryside is a place of
rocks, cedar trees and magnificent ruins that look down from the
mountains to the sea.
“Lubnan”, means “white”, the colour of the
mountains. In winter the high peaks are covered with snow and in summer
their limestone slopes glimmer white in the distance. Two rocky ranges
traverse Lebanon parallel to the sea coast, seperated by the high
plateau of the Beqaa Valley. On the coast are five famous towns known to
every archeologist and schoolkid – Beirut, Byblos, Sidon, Tripoli and
Tyre – the names of ancient Phoenicia.
Beirut:
Beirut was built on the largest rocky
promontory of the coast at the near centre of the country. Later, it
would become capital of the modern nation, but in ancient times its deep
harbopur and central location were not so apparent and the city was
overshadowed by more powerful neighbors. Its earliest name was “Birot”,
a semetic word meaning “well” or “source”. When the city-states of Sidon
and Tyre began to decline in the first millenium B.C., Berytus, as it
was then called, aquired more influence, but it was not until Roman
times that it became and important port and cultural centre with its
famed Roman Law School.
After Roman power waned, Greek influence
dominated in the Byzantine period beginning in the 4th
century A.D. Later, the Crusaders held the city for some 200 years. It
was only at the end of the 19th century, after 400 years of
Ottoman rule, that Beirut began to develop and modernize.
Modern Beirut, which has well over a
million inhabitants, remains the cultural and commercial centre of the
country. Although the city centre was left in ruins by the war, business
was taken to other parts of Beirut and commerce continued as usual. In
the 1990’s, however, plans were made to reconstruct and develop this
war-ruined area. Over a period of 25 years the project will turn Beirut
into a city that is modern yet retains its familiar eastern flavor.
Such landmarks as Martyrs’ Square, the
Parliament Building, the Serail and the traditional souks are all part
of the new design that covers 1.6 million sqaure meters. Extensive
archeological investigations into the city’s past are also being carried
out under the general redevelopment plan.
Byblos:
Byblos, or “Jbayl”, one of the oldest towns
in the world goes back at least 9000 years. The rise and fall of nearly
two dozen successive levels of human culture on the site make it one of
the richest archeological areas in the Middle East. Millenia ago Byblos
wa the commercial and religious capital of the Phoenician coast. Byblos
also gave its name to the Bible and it was here that the fiorst linear
alphabet, ancestor of our alphabet, was invented. In the modern twon, 36
kilometers north of Beirut, the Roman-medieval port has been repaired
and nearby are the extensive excavated remains of the city’s past which
stretch from the Stone Age to the Crusader era.
This old part of town with its cafes and
restaurants and with its archeological areas dominated by the crusaders
castle, make Byblos a popular destination.
Tripoli:
Tripoli, or “Trablos”, some 85 km North of
Beirut and the second largest city in Lebanon, shares in the long
history of the Levantine coast. It was the centre of a Phoenician
confederation with Sidon and Tyre and Arados Island – hence the name “Tripolis”,
meaning “triple city”. The modern city is extremely rich in monuments
from the Crusader and later Mamelouke times. From the foot of the
Citadel, the old twon extends towards the busy international port. Here
are walls, the monumental gateway and inner courtyard of the Castle of
St. Giles, built by the Franks. Distinguished remnants of the Mamelouks
period are the Mosque of Teynal, and the Mosque of Al-Attar. Islamic
religious schools known as “Madrassah” bear witness to the brilliance of
Tripoli in the Middle Ages. The ancient Bazaars, towers, khans
(caravansaries) and baths add oriental charm to the modern city, which
is now a prosperous inductrial and business centre.
Sidon:
Sidon, or “Saida”, is said to mean
“fishing”, and even today fisherman moor their boats in the small
picturesque port. Sidon was the third great Phoenician city-state,
rivaling Byblos and Tyre as a naval power. In Darius’ time, towards the
end of the 6th century B.C., it was the capital of the fifth
Persian satrapy and a showplace of buildings and gardens, The town was
conquered by the Crusaders after a famous seige lasting 47 days, then
retaken by Saladin 70 years later.
The Castle of the sea, built by crusaders
in 1228, guards the entry to the harbor. The Great Mosque, the ruins of
the castle ofSt. Louis, the Phoenician temple to the god Eshmoun, and
the burial grounds with their catacombs and underground chambers, are
all relics of Sidon’s impressive past.
Today the town, 41 Kilometers from Beirut
and known as the capital of the South, has grown into a thriving
commercial and business centre serving the entire region.
Tyre:
Tyre, or “Sour”, was built in ancient times
on a small rocky island near the coast. In the 10th century
B.C., King Hiram of Tyre constructed two ports and a temple on the
mainland sector of the city. This was the era when the famous industries
of Phoenician glass and purple dye were developed. Behind the walls of
the old city the Tyrians successfully defied Nabuchadnezzar for 13
years. Alexander the Great also laid siege to it for 7 months, finally
overwhelming the island city by constructing a great causeway from the
shore to the island. Over the cinturies, however, the causeway was
silted up, turning Tyre into an isthmus. In biblical times it was at
Qana (Cana) near Tyre where Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding
feast.
In 1980, modern Tyre’s impressive Roman and
Phoenician remains prompted UNESCO to make the town one of its world
heritage sites. Despite its location in the deep South 79 km from
Beirut, where conflict often occurred during the war, Tyre has become a
prosperous twon notable for its many high-rise buildings. At the same
time the inner city has retained its inductrious maritime character and
its old-style houses.
Baalbeck:
A Majestic Ensemble – The Acropolis of
Baalbeck, in the Beqaa valley 85 km from Beirut, is the largest and best
preserved corpus of Roman architecture left to us. Its temples,
dedicated to Jupiter, Venus and Bachus, were built in the second and
third centuries A.D. The ruins present a majestic ensemble: two temples,
two courtyards preceded by propylaea (ceremonial entrances) and a
boundary wall upon which Arab architecture has left its traces. Six
immense columns still soar upwards from the holy place where the Temple
of Jupiter once stood.
(Caravans in the Beqaa)- The Beqaa Valley
is the old “Coele Syria” of the Latins, the granary of ancient Rome.
This great fertile plateau, 176 km long and 15km wide, was in times past
a route for caravans from the east and north. Traces have been found of
the many peoples who have passed here. Some merely came through –
Egyptians, Hittites, Persians, Crusading Franks. Others lingered-the
Greeks, Romans and Byzantines – while some, like Arabs, settled down.
Aanjar:
Also in the Beqaa Valley is Aanjar,
Lebanon’s only remaining walled city, some 58 km from Beirut. The stones
and carvings were brought to this spot by decree of the Omayyad Caliph
Al-Walid in the early 8th century A.D. The ruins of the
restored palaces, souks, bath, colonnaded streets and walls recall the
days of the first Moslem suzerains who spread their influence from
Damascus to Spain and India.
The Cedars:
Today the most venerable representatives of
the Cedars of Lebanon, which once covered the entire country, are in the
Besharre region of North Lebanon. Some 400 trees, many between 1200 and
2000 years old stand on slopes 2000 meters high in the shadow of the
3100 meter peak of Qornet Es-Sawda. From Lebanon’s cedar forests Solomon
got the wood to build his temple and palace, and from its wood the
Pharaohs carved their srchophago and their “sun ships”.
Jeita:
Caverns Measureless to Man – One of the
world’s most beautiful caverns can be found about 20km Noth of Beirut.
Closed during the war, these extensive grottos are now open to the
public after an elegant refurbishment with the installation of full
tourists facilties and cable cars.
The caverns are visited by boat over
subterranean lake 623 meters long. After many years of exploration,
Lebanese speleologists have penetrated 6200 meters from the entry point
of the grotto to the far end of the underground river. The main sourse
of the Dog River (Nahr El Kalb) rises in this cavern.
Beiteddine:
Model of Eastern architecture – 48km from
Beirut, stands this magnificent palace built at the beginning of the 19th
century by the Emir Bechir, who reigned over Lebanon for more than 50
years.
With its arcades, galleries and rooms
decorated by artists from Damascus, this building is a model of Eastern
Architecture.
Today the palace houses a museum of feaudal
weapons, costumes and jewelry as well as new archeological museum and a
museum of Byzantine mosaics.
More about Lebanon:
Cultural Renaissance Flowers in Lebanon:
While in Lebanon:
Languages:
Delicacies of the Local Cuisine:
Relax and have a good time:
Shopping:
Lebanon – Facts and figures:
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Lebanese currency and
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Information Services
in lebanon:
Ministry of Tourism
Beirut, 550 Central Bank Street.
Phone: +961-1-340940/4
Fax: +961-1-343279
P.O.Box: 11-5344, Beirut Lebanon.
www.lebanon-tourism.gov.lb
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