Portal:Lebanon

The Lebanon Portal

A view of Byblos, Lebanon

Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west; Cyprus lies a short distance from the coastline. Lebanon has a population of more than five million and an area of 10,452 square kilometres (4,036 sq mi). Beirut is the country's capital and largest city.

Human habitation in Lebanon dates to 5000 BC. From 3200 to 539 BC, it was part of Phoenicia, a maritime civilization that spanned the Mediterranean Basin. In 64 BC, the region became part of the Roman Empire and the subsequent Byzantine Empire. After the seventh century, it came under the rule of different Islamic caliphates, including the Rashidun, Umayyad and Abbasid. The 11th century saw the establishment of Christian Crusader states, which fell to the Ayyubids and the Mamluks. Lebanon came under Ottoman rule in the early 15th century. Under Ottoman sultan Abdulmejid I, the first Lebanese proto state, the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate, was established as a home for Maronite Christians, as part of the Tanzimat reforms.

Lebanon is a developing country, ranked 112th on the Human Development Index. It has been classified as an upper-middle-income state. The Lebanese liquidity crisis, coupled with nationwide corruption and disasters such as the 2020 Beirut explosion, precipitated the collapse of Lebanon's currency and fomented political instability, widespread resource shortages, and high unemployment and poverty. The World Bank has defined Lebanon's economic crisis as one of the world's worst since the 19th century. Despite the country's small size, Lebanese culture is renowned both in the Arab world and globally, powered primarily by the large and influential Lebanese diaspora. Lebanon is a founding member of the United Nations and the Arab League, and a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, and the Group of 77. (Full article...)

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Modern distribution of Levantine

Levantine Arabic, also called Shami (autonym: شامي, šāmi or اللهجة الشامية, el-lahje š-šāmiyye), is an Arabic variety spoken in the Levant, namely in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel and southern Turkey (historically only in Adana, Mersin and Hatay provinces). With over 60 million speakers, Levantine is, alongside Egyptian, one of the two prestige varieties of spoken Arabic comprehensible all over the Arab world.

Levantine is not officially recognized in any state or territory. Although it is the majority language in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria, it is predominantly used as a spoken vernacular in daily communication, whereas most written and official documents and media in these countries use the official Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), a form of literary Arabic only acquired through formal education that does not function as a native language. In Israel and Turkey, Levantine is a minority language.

The Palestinian dialect is lexically the closest vernacular Arabic variety to MSA, with about 50% of common words. Nevertheless, Levantine and MSA are not mutually intelligible. Levantine speakers therefore often call their language ‏العامية‎ al-ʿāmmiyya , 'slang', 'dialect', or 'colloquial'. With the emergence of social media, attitudes toward Levantine have improved. The amount of written Levantine has significantly increased, especially online, where Levantine is written using Arabic, Latin, or Hebrew characters. Levantine pronunciation varies greatly along social, ethnic, and geographical lines. Its grammar is similar to that shared by most vernacular varieties of Arabic. Its lexicon is overwhelmingly Arabic, with a significant Aramaic influence. (Full article...)

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1940 Mandatory Palestine v Lebanon football match Bodashtart Byzantine Empire Fakhr al-Din II Law school of Berytus Roman temple of Bziza Royal necropolis of Byblos Russian occupations of Beirut Salih ibn Mirdas Temple of Eshmun

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... that Reine Abbas chose the name Wixel Studios, a blend of "Weird Pixel", in recognition of being one of the only gaming studios in Lebanon?
... that the first day of filming of the psychological thriller Farah coincided with the beginning of the 2019 Lebanese protests?
... that the Mseilha Fort is strategically located to overlook the crossing of the Jaouz River near Ras ash-Shaq'a, a promontory in Lebanon?
... that the French Jesuit priest and archaeologist René Mouterde contributed to the documentation of 3,405 Greek and Latin inscriptions from Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria?
... that Baabda residents collectively purchased the Seraglio of Baabda for 1,000 gold Ottoman liras in the late 19th century to gift to the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate government?
... that Lebanese actress Cynthya Karam volunteers as a clown doctor in children's hospitals?

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Lebanon sent a delegation to compete at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from 12–28 February 2010. This was Lebanon's 15th appearance at a Winter Olympic Games. The Lebanese team consisted of three alpine skiers. Lebanon has never won a medal at a Winter Olympics, and their best performance in Vancouver was 37th in the women's super-G by Chirine Njeim; Ghassan Achi failed to post a result in either of his races, and Jacky Chamoun finished 54th in her only race. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various Lebanon-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Gibran Khalil Gibran Garden and surroundings in Beirut Central District, Majidiye, Beirut (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 2Fakhreddine II (from History of Lebanon)
Image 3Aftermath of the 4 August 2020 Beirut explosion (from History of Lebanon)
Image 4Csontváry Kosztka, Tivadar - Pilgrimage to the Cedars of Lebanon (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 5A map of Mount Lebanon c. AD 1180 (from History of Lebanon)
Image 6Christian Church and Druze Khalwa in Shuf Mountains: Historically; the Druzes and the Christians in the Shuf Mountains lived in complete harmony. (from History of Lebanon)
Image 7A building in Ghazieh, near Sidon, bombed by the Israeli Air Force (IAF), 20 July 2006 (from History of Lebanon)
Image 8Palm trees at the seafront in Corniche Beirut (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 9Map of the Shebaa farms (from History of Lebanon)
Image 10Beiteddine Palace, venue of the Beiteddine Festival (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 11Beirut in 1950 (from History of Lebanon)
Image 12Protesters in Beirut. Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque, 20 October 2019 (from History of Lebanon)
Image 13Fairuz playing guitar (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 14Aerial photo of Beirut, Lebanon's capital (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 15An array of Lebanese cuisine. (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 16Portrait of Elie Hobeika (from History of Lebanon)
Image 17The Green Line that separated West and East Beirut, 1982 (from History of Lebanon)
Image 18A selection of Lebanese dishes from Cafe Nouf Restaurant in London (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 19The funeral of the assassinated Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri (from History of Lebanon)
Image 20Rue Maarad is a main street in the central district (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 21Portrait of Fakhreddine while he was in Tuscany, stating "Faccardino grand emir dei Drusi" translated as "Fakhreddine: great emir of the Druze" (from History of Lebanon)
Image 22Map showing power balance in Lebanon, 1976:
Dark Green – controlled by Syria;
Purple – controlled by Maronite groups;
Light Green – controlled by Palestinian militias (from History of Lebanon)
Image 23Map showing power balance in Lebanon, 1983: Green – controlled by Syria, purple – controlled by Christian groups, yellow – controlled by Israel, blue – controlled by the United Nations (from History of Lebanon)
Image 24Anti-Syrian protesters heading to Martyrs' Square in Beirut on foot and in vehicles, 13 March 2005 (from History of Lebanon)
Image 25Bashir Shihab II (from History of Lebanon)
Image 26Flag as drawn and approved by the members of the Lebanese parliament during the declaration of independence in 1943 (from History of Lebanon)
Image 27The Grand Serail, also known as the Government Palace, is the headquarters of the prime minister of Lebanon (from Politics of Lebanon)
Image 28Sidewalk Cafes are a trademark of the BCD (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 29Lebanon Parliament 2018 (from Politics of Lebanon)
Image 30Khalil Gibran (April 1913) (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 31City of Zahlé at the eastern edge of the Mount Lebanon Range in eastern Lebanon (from Culture of Lebanon)