Lebanon

Lebanon is a small country on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south. It covers 10,452 km² (4,036 sq mi), where the Lebanon mountains rise to 3,088 m (10,131 ft) at Qurnat as Sawda' above the Beqaa Valley. Beirut is the capital, and the constitution names Arabic the official language, while a law sets out where French is used.

Byblos, settled before 5000 BC, ranks among the oldest continuously inhabited towns. From 3200 to 539 BC the coast belonged to Phoenicia, whose ports of Byblos, Sidon and Tyre traded across the Mediterranean, and the Phoenician alphabet later inspired the Greek and Latin scripts. Rome took the region in 64 BC, Arab caliphates followed, and Crusader states rose in the 11th century. Ottoman rule began in the early 16th century, and France governed Greater Lebanon under a mandate after World War I. Independence came in 1943. The Taif Agreement of 1989 renewed the sharing of power among the communities.

Power is divided among religious communities: the unwritten National Pact of 1943 reserves the presidency for a Maronite Christian, the post of prime minister for a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament for a Shia Muslim. Until the early 1970s Lebanon was called the Switzerland of the Middle East, as a snowy holiday destination and a secure banking center. The economy is open and largely dollarized, and remittances from the diaspora, banking, farm and factory exports and foreign aid bring in foreign currency.

The Forest of the Cedars of God near Bsharri protects old cedar trees, and the Bible tells of King Hiram of Tyre sending cedar wood for Solomon's Temple. Kibbe and tabbouleh are national dishes, served among the small plates of a mezze. Singer Fairuz is widely known across the Arab world, and Kahlil Gibran wrote The Prophet, published in 1923. Six ski resorts lie close enough to the coast to ski and swim on the same day.