Lebanon

From Metapedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon[1] or Lebanese Republic[2] is a religiously diverse, mountainous country in Western Asia, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south.

The flag of Lebanon features a cedar in green against a white backdrop, bounded by two horizontal red stripes along the top and bottom. This is a reference to the famous cedars of Lebanon, renowned throughout the region in antiquity.

Before the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), the country enjoyed a period of relative calm and prosperity, driven by the tourism, agriculture, and banking sectors of the economy. [3] It is considered the banking capital of the Levant and was widely known as the "Switzerland of the East" due to its financial power. Lebanon also attracted large numbers of tourists[4] to the point that the capital Beirut became widely referred to as the "Paris of Western Asia."[5]

Immediately following the end of the war, there were extensive efforts to revive the economy and rebuild national infrastructure.[6] By early 2006, a considerable degree of stability had been achieved throughout much of the country, Beirut's reconstruction was almost complete,[7] and an increasing number of foreign tourists were pouring into Lebanon's resorts.[4]

Israeli air attacks during the 2006 war, however, caused widespread loss of life and damage to Lebanon's infrastructure from July 21, 2006 until a ceasefire went into effect on August 14, 2006 and the country is still in the process of recovering.

[edit] External link

[edit] Note

  1. ^ According to the website of the Embassy of Lebanon in the U.S. and the website of the Lebanese presidency
  2. ^ According to U.S. government sources such as the CIA and State Department country guides
  3. ^ U.S. Department of State. "Background Note: Lebanon (History) August 2005" Retrieved December 2, 2006.
  4. ^ a b Anna Johnson (2006). "Lebanon: Tourism Depends on Stability". Retrieved October 31, 2006.
  5. ^ TC Online (2002). "Paris of Western Asia". Retrieved October 31, 2006.
  6. ^ Canadian International Development Agency. "Lebanon: Country Profile". Retrieved December 2, 2006.
  7. ^ Center for the Study of the Built Environment. "Deconstructing Beirut's Reconstruction: 1990-2000". Retrieved October 31, 2006.


Part of this article consists of modified text from Wikipedia, and the article is therefore licensed under GFDL.
Retrieved from "http://en.metapedia.org/wiki/Lebanon"
Personal tools
In other languages