The Majestic Lebanon

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Home of the seafaring Phoenicians and the mountainious Arameans. The land of the renowned and majestic Cedar trees of Biblical times. That was Lebanon in centries past.

Today Lebanon is a small modern republic occupying a strip of coastland along the eastern Mediterranean. The country covers only about 10 452 square km, being some 190 km long and 48-56 km wide. This coastal country is blessed with many semitropical crops. Towering above this fruitful scene beside the blue Mediterranean sea are the impressive mountains of Lebanon, rising to their highest altitude of over 3000 meters. Behind these mountains lies the fertile Bekaa Valley, and beyond that the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, dominated by lofty Mount Hermon in their southern end.

 Arabic is the official written language but a Lebanese form of Aramaic rooted language is spoken in all of its villages and cities. In the cities one can easily hear lots of French and English as well as other European languages. Armenian, Kurdish and Syriac are also present in the capital Beirut.

 Religiously speaking, there is quite a variety in the small country of Lebanon. The largest Christian community is that of the Maronite Syriac. Then comes the Greek Orthodox and the Greek Melkite. There are also a number of smaller eastern churches as well as many Protestant churches and organizations. These Christian groups make up half of the population of about 4 millions. The rest belongs to various Moslem sects, mainly sunni, shia and druze. There is also a small Lebanese Jewish community but most of them emigrated after the 1975 war and have not come back.

Lebanon is the only Arab country with a Christian head of state, that is thanks to the large percentage of Christians, the highest in the Middle East.

 By nature the Lebanese people are very friendly and easy to talk to. They are always willing to discuss matters of life. Even with total stranges. Many Lebanese have emigrated to other lands to seek their fortunes and to escape the many wars taking place on their soil. Many Lebanese return to Lebanon to raise up their families but also some comes back to spend their last years of retirement.

 If Lebanon can continue to be the great country as the world know it, then there should be more work done to keep the Aramean Christian groups in growth so that power and demography stays in status quo.