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Lebanon


The village of Bsharri (Bsharri) in the Lebanon Mountains
The village of Bsharri in the northern part of the Mount Lebanon range. The town is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Kadisha Valley and the Cedars of God.
Image: Martin St-Amant

 

Lebanon in brief


Location map of Lebanon. Where in the world is Lebanon?
Location map of Lebanon


Lebanon Flag
Flag of Lebanon

Destination Lebanon, a Nations Online country profile of the mountainous nation in the Levant with a coastline on the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon borders Israel in the south and Syria in the north. The Anti-Lebanon mountain range forms long stretches of the border between Lebanon and Syria in the east. The country also shares maritime borders with Cyprus.

One of the smallest nation on the Asian mainland covers an area of 10,400 km², compared it is about one-third the size of Belgium or about one-third the size of the US state of Maryland.

Lebanon has a population of 6.1 million people (in 2019), including approximately 1.5 million refugees from Syria and Palestine. Lebanon has been hit hardest by the exodus of Syrians fleeing their country's violence. [1]


 
Lebanese Republic | Lubnan


Background:

Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions since 1991 and the end of the devastating 15-year civil war. Under the Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese have established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a more significant say in the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government.

Since the end of the war, the Lebanese have conducted several successful elections, most of the militias have been weakened or disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have extended central government authority over about two-thirds of the country. Hizballah, a radical Shia 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 justifies 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.
(Source: CIA - The World Factbook)

Lebanon is a member state of the League of Arab States
 

 


Country Profile

Official Name:
Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah
short form: Lubnan
int'l long form: Lebanese Republic
int'l short form: Lebanon

ISO Country Code: lb, LBN


Time:
Local Time = UTC +2h
Summer (DST) UTC +3
Actual Time: Sun-Mar-17  22:38

Country Calling Code: +961

Capital City: Beirut

...show more



 


Official Sites of Lebanon


The Grand Serail in Beirut is the headquarters of the Prime Minister of Lebanon.
The Grand Serail is the Government Palace in downtown Beirut and the headquarters of the Prime Minister of Lebanon.
Image: BlingBling10


Government

Note: External links will open in a new browser window.

Republic of Lebanon - The Presidential Palace
The Presidency of the Lebanese Republic.

Lebanese Parliament
Official website of the Lebanese Parliament.


Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants
Official website of the ministry.


Diplomatic Missions
Embassy of Lebanon
Washington, D.C.
Lebanese Embassies and Consulates
Address list of Lebanese Diplomatic Missions abroad.
Foreign Embassies and Consulates in Lebanon
Address list of Foreign Diplomatic Missions in Lebanon.


Statistics
Central Administration for Statistics
Lebanon in figures.


Lebanon in Figures
Lebanon key statistical data.

 

 


 


Maps of Lebanon


Lebanon Map
Map of Lebanon (click map to enlarge)
Image: © nationsonline.org


Maps


Map of Lebanon
Political map of Lebanon.
Google Earth Google Earth Lebanon
Searchable map and satellite view of Lebanon.
Google Earth Google Earth Beirut
Searchable map and satellite view of Lebanon's capital.

profile Map of Countries of Western Asia
Political Map of Countries of Western Asia and the Middle East region.
profile Map of Western Asia
Map of Western Asia and the Middle East region.
profile Map of the Mediterranean Sea
Map of the Mediterranean Sea region.

 

 


News from Lebanon


Newsstand

Online News from Lebanon


Dailies with national and international news in Arabic.
Al-Anwar
Al-Diyar
Al-Mustaqbal
An-Nahar
Al-Safir

French-language
L'Orient-Le Jour
Lebanon and international daily news.

English-language
The Daily Star - Lebanon
Daily online news.
Naharnet
Naharnet is one of the first Lebanese online media

News Agency
Lebanese National News Agency
Official Lebanon news.


International News sources
AL-Hewar
US based weekly magazine for Arab culture and dialogue.


TV
LBC
Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation with national and international news. (in Arabic)

Al Jadeed
Al Jadeed is an independent Lebanese TV station based in Beirut,
 

 


Arts & Culture of Lebanon


Sarcophagus with the legend of Achilleus. Beirut National Museum
National Museum Beirut - sarcophagus with the legend of Achilles, found in Tyre.
Image: Émna Mizouni


Arts & Culture


Beirut National Museum
Lebanon's principal museum of archaeology in Beirut, the museum was officially opened in 1942.

Baalbeck International Festival
Annual event which takes place in the Roman Acropolis celebrating classical music, dance, theatre, opera, and jazz as well as modern world music.

Beiteddine Art Festival
International Art festival.

Byblos International Festival
A festival of world music in the Byblos Ruins at the city of Jbeil.

Sursock Museum
Modern and contemporary art museum in Beirut. Among the many homes and buildings damaged by the Beirut explosion were the Sursock Palace and Museum.

Lebanon Links
Lebanese culture web sites.

OneFineArt
Lebanese and Arab artists, painters, sculptors, poets, and writers.

 

 


 


Business & Economy of Lebanon


Shopping stores along vaulted alleys inside the Beirut Souks.
Shopping stores along vaulted alleys inside the Beirut Souks.
Image: n.karim


Banque Du Liban
Central Bank of Lebanon.

Beirut Stock Exchange
The Beirut Stock Exchange is located in Beirut; it is the country's principal stock exchange.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry
The Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon.


Lebanese Brands

Alrifai
Lebanese multinational nut-retailing company.based in Beirut.

Farra
Home products retail store.

Lebelik
Lebanese Designs and Fashion Marketplace

three monkeys concepts
Lebanese Stickers Brand.

Lebanese jewelry
AURA Headpieces
Handmade hair jewels and headpieces made by women for women, in Lebanon.

Tabbah
Tabbah is a jewelry company with Lebanese roots, founded in 1862.


Lebanese wine
Chateau Musar
Lebanese winery in Ghazir.
Ixsir
Lebanese wine company located in Batroun.
Massaya
Lebanese winery and arak distillery in the Beqaa Valley.


Transportation
MEA - Middle East Airlines
The national flag-carrier of Lebanon.

Beirut International Airport
Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport.

Port of Beirut
The Port of Beirut is Lebanon's chief port, located on the eastern part of the Saint George Bay on the city's Mediterranean coast.

 

 


 


Tourism in Lebanon


The port at the old city of Batroun with the St. Stephens Church, Lebanon
The port at the city of Batroun with the St. Stephens Church. The Phoenicians founded Batroun, it is one of the oldest cities in the world.
Image: Amalmc



Destination Lebanon - Travel and Tour Guides



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Discover Lebanon: Mount Lebanon, Beirut, Aanjar, Byblos, Baalbek, Qadisha Valley & Cedars Forest, Lebanon outdoor adventure, historical and cultural tourism, and ecotourism.


Destination Lebanon
Destination Lebanon, the official visitors guide to outdoor adventure, historical and cultural tourism, and ecotourism in Lebanon.


Downtown Beirut
A content rich Beirut portal.


Wikivoyage Logo Wikivoyage: Lebanon
A Wikivoyage guide to Lebanon.

   

 


 


UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Ruins of the cardo of the Umayyad city of Anjar, Lebanon
The cardo (a Roman north-south street) of the Umayyad city of Anjar, seen from the north.
Image: © Guillaume Piolle
 

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Lebanon
There are five UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Lebanon and ten sites on the Tentative List, an inventory of those properties which a State Party intends to consider for nomination. (see UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in Lebanon)


World Heritage Site Anjar
The city of Anjar is an example of an inland commercial center of the Umayyad civilization at the crossroads of two important trade routes: the one leading from Beirut to Damascus and the other crossing the Beqaa Valley from Homs to Tiberiade at the Sea of Galilee.

World Heritage Site Baalbek
The Phoenician city was known as Heliopolis during the Hellenistic period. Imperial Roman architecture at its finest.

World Heritage Site Byblos
Byblos was at the center of many successive civilizations. The place has been inhabited since the Neolithic Age. The port city saw the rise of Phoenician civilization and was the starting point for the history and dissemination of Phoenician writing.

World Heritage Site Tyre
Another one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. This Phoenician city on the southern coast of Lebanon ruled the Mediterranean Sea and founded prosperous colonies such as Cadiz and Carthage.

World Heritage Site Ouadi Qadisha (the Holy Valley) and the Forest of the Cedars of God
Ouadi Qadisha was home to the most important settlement sites of the first Christian monasteries in the world. The valley, carved out by the Kadisha River, has sheltered Christian monastic communities for many centuries.


The Temple of Bacchus and Temple of Jupiter at Baalbek, Lebanon
The ruins of the Temple of Bacchus (l.) and Temple of Jupiter (r.) at Baalbek, the site of the ancient city of Heliopolis during the Roman Empire.
Image: Dongyi Liu

 

 


Education in Lebanon


The Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut
The Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut.
Image: Nidal Mawas


American University of Beirut (AUB)
Major university founded in 1866.

Beirut Arab University (BAU)
A private institution for higher education founded in 1960.

Haigazian University
Established in 1955 as a liberal arts institution of higher learning.

Lebanese University (LU)
Established in 1951, the Lebanese University has 16 faculties; it is the only public institution for higher learning in Lebanon.

Lebanese American University
An American institution chartered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York.

MUC
The Matn University College of Technology (MUC) has campuses in Beirut and in Khalda.

Notre Dame University, NDU
Catholic institution of higher education.

University Of Balamand - UOB
Institution of higher learning founded in 1988 by the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church.
 
 

 


Environment & Nature


Cedars of God in the Kadisha Valley in Lebanon
The Cedars of God in the Kadisha Valley above Bsharri. The World Heritage Site is one of the last vestiges of the extensive forests of the Lebanon cedar that once covered large parts of Mount Lebanon.
Image: BlingBling10


Ministry on Environment
Official website of the ministry.

Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon
Established in 1983, SPNL is one of the oldest environmental NGOs in Lebanon.

AFED Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia
Environment & Development magazine.

Association for Forest Development and Conservation (AFDC)
The site provides information about projects and activities run by the AFDC and MFDCL.

Lebanon Research Guide: Environment
AUB Lebanon environment research guide.
 

 


Lebanon History


Al Mina Archaeological Site in Tyre, Lebanon
Al Mina Archaeological Site in Tyre, Lebanon. Tyre was a Phoenician trading center and became part of the late Roman Republic. It was the place where Europa, the Phoenician princess and cosort of Zeus, was born. Today, Tyre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (see above).
Image: Heretiq


History of Lebanon
Historic timeline of Lebanon.

A House of Many Mansions
The History of Lebanon Reconsidered (by Kamal Salibi).

Al Mashriq
Al Mashriq (the Levant), Lebanon, and the Middle East.

Lebanon History
Wikipedia: Lebanese History.

Timeline of Lebanese history
Wikipedia's dynamic list of Lebanese history timeline.

 

 


Additional Information

Selected country profiles of Lebanon published by international organizations.


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Amnesty International: Lebanon
Amnesty International is a non-governmental organization focused on human rights.

BBC News Country Profile: Lebanon
Country profiles by the British public service broadcaster.

FAO: Lebanon
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a UN agency that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.

GlobalEDGE: Lebanon
The Global Business Knowledge Portal about Lebanon.

The Heritage Foundation: Lebanon
Index of Economic Freedom by The Heritage Foundation, an American conservative think tank.

Human Rights Watch: Lebanon
HRW conducts research and advocacy on human rights.

OEC: Lebanon
The Observatory of Economic Complexity provides the latest trade data.

Reporters Without Borders: Lebanon
RSF (Reporters sans frontières) is an international NGO that defends and promotes media freedom.

Wikipedia: Lebanon
Wikipedia's Lebanon page in many languages.

The CIA World Factbook -- Lebanon
The CIA World Factbook intelligence on Lebanon.

 

 



 
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