History & State
Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Islam, Christianity – they all left their mark on Lebanon. Their influences have a lasting impact on Lebanon’s political culture. Lebanon is a country in search of its political identity.
Economy & Development
According to thesciencetutor, the area of Lebanon is 10,452 km². About 4.5 million people live there, including about one million registered Syrian and 450 thousand Palestinian refugees. The country has few natural resources, hardly any industry and suffers from severe political conflicts. Nevertheless, Lebanon seems to be economically stable.
Society & culture
18 recognized religious communities, a denominational political system and 20 years of civil war shape the society and cultural life of Lebanon. A land of contrasts, full of tensions that threaten to split the country apart. But Lebanon keeps reinventing itself.
Everyday & Practical Information
Since the security situation in Lebanon can deteriorate very quickly, travelers to Lebanon should always heed the travel warnings from the German Foreign Office. An international driver’s license is recommended for longer stays.
Location and size of the country
The Lebanese Republic (Al-Jumhuriya al-Lubnaniya) is located in the Middle East and borders in the east and north with 375 km with Syria, in the south and southeast with 79 km with Israel and in the west with 225 km with the Mediterranean Sea with an area of 10,452 km 2. The Lebanon extends from north to south over a length of 225 km between the 33rd and the 35th northern latitude and reaches at the point breitesten a width of 80 km. Although Lebanon is half the size of Hesse, the country offers a great variety of different landscapes and a varied landscape. About 40% of the total population live in “Greater Beirut”, so that Greater Beirut represents by far the largest settlement area in Lebanon.
Beirut
The city on the eastern Mediterranean is a city of surprising contrasts. Almost half of Lebanon’s entire population lives in Beirut. As the capital, it is characterized by an incredible variety of contrasts. In the city center you will find the largest mosques but also the most beautiful churches in the country. The oldest synagogue still in existence, the Maghen-Abraham Synagogue, can be found in Wadi Abu Jamil, the old Jewish quarter in the heart of the Lebanese capital.
The history of Beirut goes back to the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. The city was already an important city-state under the Phoenicians and has been inhabited ever since. Phoenicians, Greeks, Persians, Romans, Europeans and Arabs left their mark on the city and shaped its culture.
Beirut suffered considerably from the aftermath of the Lebanese civil war (1975–1990). Large parts of the city, especially the city center, were destroyed. In June 1982 Israel invaded Lebanon and besieged West Beirut was besieged and massively shelled for 10 weeks. The consequences of the war are not only of a material nature; the war also led to an increasing segregation of the population, so that today most of the city districts have a certain religious homogeneity.
Beirut is divided into 12 districts, each of which is divided into several districts:
Center of Beirut
Port of Beirut (district), Beirut Central with the districts of Sahat an-Najma, Majidiye, harbor; Minet el-Hosn (district) with the districts Minet el-Hosn, Bab Idriss, Kantari; Zokak el-Blat (district); Baschura (district) with the Basta Tahta district; Saifi (district), Gemmayzeh.
Rather Islamic west of the city
Ras Beirut (district) with the districts Jounblat, Snoubra, Hamra, Ras Beirut, Manara, Koreitem, Moussaitbeh (district), Mar Elias, Mazraa (district), Bourj Abi Haidar, Basta Faouka, Tariq el-Jdide, Bir el-Abed, Cola, Ghobeiry, Jnah, Karakol el-Druze, Kaskas, Sanaye, Verdun.
Rather Christian east of the city
Medawar (district), with the Mar Mikhael district; Rmeil (district) with the district of Geitawi Aschrafiyya (district), Furn el-Chebbak, Dekwaneh, Haddath, Ain Roumene, Hazmieh, Jamhour, Fyadieh
Socio-geographical conditions
The majority of the Lebanese population lives in the cities along the Mediterranean coast. An estimated two million people live in the greater Beirut area. The second largest city in the country is Tripoli with 150,000 residents. followed by Sidon and Tire, each with around 20,000 residents.
Since around 2/3 of the Lebanese population lives in the greater Beirut area, infrastructure investments in the country are concentrated in this region. This causes almost insoluble traffic and supply problems. The concentration of investments on Beirut and the resulting lack of development of the regions lead to rural exodus, which intensifies the problems of the city of Beirut.
Transport and traffic routes
- Lebanon has an international airport
- Although Lebanon has a railway authority, there is no rail transport in Lebanon.
- In the coastal area, Lebanon has a very dense road network. However, the quality of Lebanese roads is very poor despite high government spending in this area. This is particularly true in the mountains and is reflected in the accident statistics.
- The port of Beirut remains an economic factor in Lebanon. In addition, Lebanon has three other, albeit smaller, seaports in Tripoli, Sidon and Tire.
