Lebanon

Lebanon is a typical cross-road country with a history of over 3,000 years.

The original inhabitants of Lebanon included the Semites as well as the Phoenicians. Contemporary Lebanese have a strong conviction and pride of their Phoenician origin, even though today they are a product of the mixture that includes Arabs, Europeans, especially French, as well as from the past Greeks and Romans, with influence from the Ottoman Empire. In the year 330 b.C. Lebanon was part of the Greek Empire. As a reaction to the Greek invasion, part of the Phoenician population of Lebanon emigrated from Byblos to Carthage. During the period known as pax romana, Lebanon was part of Rome and the Lebanese were considered Roman citizens. The strong interest of Rome in the region is reflected at some of the spectacular monuments built by the Roman ruins and which include the ruins at Baalbek.

During the Roman era Lebanon was subject to a strong Christian influence. Christianity in Lebanon generated the Maronite sect, followers of Saint Maron, who today form part of the Roman Catholic Church but continue to have their own rituals and rites. Many Lebanese abroad are in fact members of the Maronite Christian sect.

In the 7th century A.C. Lebanon was taken over by the Arabs and passed to form part of the Caliphate of Umayyad located in Damascus. Later, Lebanon passed to the Caliphate of Abbasid located in Baghdad. In the year 1099 the Crusades were present in Lebanon, leaving a collection of different castles set up for defence. In 1289 sultan Qalawun of the Mamluk dynasty, located in Cairo, took over the port of Tripoli. In the 16th century Lebanon was taken over by the Ottomans, as a product of the conquest by Selin I of the whole Middle East, including the occupation of Damascus. In the 19th century with the aid at times from the French, the Ottomans were able to conserve Lebanon up to 1915. During the 19th century under the Ottoman domination Protestant missionaries, especially from North America, went to Lebanon. At this time, the American University of Beirut was founded and is today one of the most important educational centers of the Middle East.

As a reaction to the presence of the Protestants in Lebanon, the Lazarist Order and later the Jesuits, started as of 1834 to set up schools in Lebanon. This competition between Protestants and Catholics through education made Lebanon one of the most advanced countries in education in the whole Ottoman Empire (Kamal Salibi). In 1916, after the French-British agreement for the division of the territories of the Ottoman Empire, Lebanon remained under French protection. The French influence in Lebanon had already been felt with the presence of schools set up in the 19th century and in Lebanon today, in addition to Arab, people with a high school education level speak French and a good number of them also speak English.

Lebanon as it is known today was born in 1943, while the Second World War was taking place in Europe.

At the time there was a national agreement between the Maronites and the Islamic Sunnis to govern Lebanon as an independent country. As of the Lebanese independence the Lebanese started to build a country that was isolated of the problems of the region. This peace that prevailed in Lebanon since the Second World War finished in 1975 with the well-know Lebanese civil war. From 1975 up to 2005 Lebanon went though a series of civil unrest, wars, invasions, including it was invaded by Israel in 1982 and later by Syria. During the fifteen-year period of the civil was (1975-1990) the city of Beirut, which had been known as the Paris of the Middle East, was completely destroyed. In 1994, under the efforts of the then prime minister of Lebanon, Rafik Al Hariri, and an extraordinary reconstruction of the capital started. In 2005 Al Harir was murdered by a car bomb. The murder of Al Hariri was attributed to Syria. Finally, the Syrian army left Lebanon in the year 2000, in view of the agreements of March 14.1 With the exit of Syria, Lebanon has apparently now entered into a period of peace, albeit fragile. This peace has helped in allowing for the reconstruction of the country that had been started by Al Hariri, as reflected in the renaissance of Beirut.

Mosque and Maronite church in Beirut

In Lebanon there are four religions: the Christians, which are in their majority Maronites. There are also Orthodox Christians, Armenians and Evangelical Protestants. Islam is equally divided between the Shiites and the Sunnis, which has caused confrontations that upset the internal peace of the country. Confrontations between these two currents of Islam has existed since since the time of Ali in the 7th Century. The Hezbollah a Shiite organization, has caused many problems in Lebanon since 1972 . Lebanon also has the Druses. A Druze is an Islamic sect that claims to follow Fatimid-al-Hakim who in the 11th century proclaimed that he was an incarnation of God on earth. Many consider that the Druses do not form part of Islam. The sect is secret and membership in the religion is closed, that is, they do not accept converts. The Druses are concentrated mainly in the mountain regions and they can be recognized by their peculiar form of dressing.

Beirut National Museum

Beirut is one of the oldest cities in the world. Originally it was a Phoenician coastal port. In the Roman era it was denominated Colony Iulia Augusta Felix Berytus, in honor of the daughter of the emperor Augustus. In Beirut the Romans established a school of law that attracted many jurists. Beirut was destroyed during the civil war (1975-1990). The reconstruction of Beirut commenced in 1994 at which time and during the reconstruction period, many old Roman ruins were discovered. The reconstruction of Beirut has also tried to save building that had a strong influence of French architecture of the 19th century. The Clock Tower in the Nijmeh Square was built in 1933 by Michel El Abed and has a mixture of French architecture, Oriental architecture and modern influences. Today the center of Beirut is surrounded by some of the best name stores in the world and has started to retake its position as an international banking center. A must visit in Beirut is to the Pigeon Rock which can be observed by a walk of the Corniche. The National Museum is also a required visit. There is a golf course. Beirut is also a university city, counting in addition to the American University (1866), the University of Saint Joseph, a school of management and the American-Lebanese University and the Arab University of Beirut.

Reminder of a war in Tripoli

Tripoli is a short two-hour drive by bus from Beirut. The city is dominated by the castle built by Ramón De Saint Gilles during the invasion of the Crusades. Tripoli, as a modern city, does not have much to offer. The buildings are poor and some of the wounds from the civil war are still visible. Inside Tripoli there is an old style medina full of small shops selling small artisan objects aimed at the tourist. Tripoli also counts with several mosques. The architecture reflected in the Tripoli mosques was strongly influenced by Mamluk architecture that arrived to Lebanon at the time of Mamluk occupation in the XII century. In the mosques there are still some madras or Islamic schools that also date back to the Mamluk period. Tripoli is well known for its soaps and different varieties of sweets. Though very interesting, and unlike Beirut, Tripoli has not been rebuilt after the civil war and one finds innumerable buildings with bomb holes and signs of bullets.

Crusaders Castle Byblos

En route back to Beirut from a day trip to Trípoli, Byblos is a sure stop. Byblos is as old as Beirut and is a port on the Mediterranean. The first phonetic alphabet comes from Byblos. From the Phoenician alphabet created in Byblos the Greeks Developer their own alphabet. Today the harbor in Byblos presents itself as a quaint Mediterranean harbor setting of a history of 7,000 years.

In Byblos, in addition to archeological sites dating several thousand years, one finds the remains of the imposing castle built by the crusaders in the 13th century.

Temple of Bakus at Baalbeck

One of the greatest monuments that Lebanon has to offer are, of course, are the Roman temples in the city of Baalbek. They were built in a period of 200 years and despite the fact that close to 2,000 years have elapsed, the temples are in very good condition. Baalbek was originally occupied by the Greeks and later taken up by the Romans. The best preserved temple in Baalbek is the temple to the god Bacchus, which appears practically in its original condition, with most of its columns and an impressive stairway going into the temple. One can practically imagine the preparation of going into the temple of Bacchus for the ceremonies close to 2,000 years ago. The temple of Bacchus was built in the 2nd century a.d. Also in Baalbek there are leftovers of the extraordinary temple of Jupiter, where six columns are still preserved. The temple of Jupiter was built at the time of Augustus, at the beginning of the Christian era. There are also parts of a temple for Venus. The surprising thing about Baalbek ruins are the good condition in which one finds them, apparently due to the fact that fortifications were built around it at the time of the Arab takeover of Lebanon.

The temple of Jupiter in Baalbeck

Also in Baalbek one can visit the Omaya mosque and other Roman ruins. Between Baalbek and Beirut there are vineyards where Lebanon is producing a wine of relatively good qualify and which is now starting to penetrate the international markets. Lebanon has developed a service economy where tourism plays an extremely important role and therefore it serves as an easy door into the Middle East. From Lebanon there are connections to major European capitals as well as to all the countries in the region. There is a fusion cuisine in Lebanon, with a strong French influence in traditional Lebanese cooking. Most impressive thing in Lebanon is the great effort that the Lebanese have made since 2005 to try to rebuilt their country. Lebanon, unlike many of its Arab neighbours, has no natural resources and this has helped them develop a culture of work that is quite admirable. Though the country has a high standard of living, most of the standard of living is obtained through hard work.

References

1 This brief history of Lebanon is taken from;

William Harris, Lebanon history, Oxford (2012), Kamal Salibi, Histoire du Liban, Beirut (1992).

The summary history of Lebanon in the book of Paul Doyle, Lebanon – Bradth Travel Guides, England (2012); Samir Kassir, Beirut, translated from French, Histoire de Beyrouth, translated by M.B. Debevoise, Berkeley (2011).