If you put Lebanon in a party and asked all the people to describe him, you'd probably get something like this:
He's very proud of his Catholic roots, but I think he said something about being Maronite.
Oh, he was all about being Shia Muslim and loving Iran, he couldn't stop talking about Iran.
Oh man, he hated Iran. He told me he just got back from a vacation from Saudi Arabia visiting his friends.
He said he was like Druze... Like what's that?
Oh! We had an amazing conversation on politics.
I was surprised he could understand me!
Dude, he was a total, absolute party animal.
He said he loved to read.
He gave me wood, like literally
he gave me this wooden cutout of Lebanon made out of cedar wood.
So Lebanon, Who Are YOU?!
Everybody I'm your host Barbs.
Oh Lebanon, you're such a man of mystery, or should I say 18 mysteries?
We'll cover that in a little bit, but first where does this man of mystery lie?
Lebanon may be small but oh man does it have a truckload of stuff coming out of it.
First of all,
Lebanon is located in the rocky yet fertile areas of West Asia known as the Levant,
located roughly in this area of the east Mediterranean.
The country is just a hop away from the island of Cyprus and surrounded by Syria to the east and north
as well as Israel to the south with the small dispute in the Golan Heights over the Shebaa Farms.
Although yeah, that entire Golan Heights area is kind of (Israeli control)... just watch the Israel episode.
Otherwise the country is divided into eight governorates,
with the capital city, Beirut itself acting as its own governorate
which by the way Beirut was destroyed like seven times throughout history
but like Betty White's career. It keeps coming back.
Hahah, Betty White is like... so dope...
The largest cities after Beirut are Tripoli in the north
Yeah I know, there's another one (Libya's capital city)
and Jounieh, a little closer to Beirut, however the Lebanese Trinity would be
Tripoli, Beirut and Tyre or Sour.
These three cities along the coast maybe also Sidon are like the PR directors of Lebanon.
These are like the best places to start if you visit. The country has one main
public International Airport, Beirut's Rafiq Hariri International.
Otherwise about three military airports exist as well.
Off the coast of Tripoli, Lebanon administers the uninhabited palm islands, a Nature Reserve.
Otherwise there's Zireh island by Sidon and everybody knows about the Raouché rock off of Beirut.
But yeah, not many islands off the coast.
So here's the thing: Lebanon has a lot of history
like seriously, the country in itself is mentioned in the bible like 70 times.
The borders today are pretty much the result of the French mandate times after the Ottoman Empire
but prior to the modern times, there was Phoenicia, an empire that extended all the way
across the Mediterranean on North Africa to Spain
which also became the Carthaginian Empire that kind of opposed the Romans
and before all this there was the ancient state of Canaan.
All these states took over the region that Lebanon is in today.
These places go back over 7,000 years.
We're talking about the time when people were like just discovering what farming was.
So essentially, everywhere you step could potentially be a historic site in Lebanon.
I mean they found Phoenician temples buried under churches buried under mosques.
The town of Byblos is possibly the oldest city starting somewhere around 5000 BC
Lebanon is Old.
Today though the country thrives in a modern state. Beirut sometimes called the Paris of the east
but then again, there's like 20 other places that claim that title.
Some notable spots might include places like:
The beaches of Jounieh
The Ruins of Baalbek
The temple of Bacchus and Jupiter
The Phoenician temple of Eshmun
The Beit ed-Dine Palace
The Roman baths
Ski resorts in Faraya
Jeita grotto
Moussa Castle
The mummies of Qadisha valley
Our Lady of Lebanon of Harissa
Mohammed Al-Amin mosque
Jabal al-Druze
Various Crusader castles built all over.
The National Museum of Beirut
The Sidon soap museum
and probably one of the most iconic landmarks, the Cedar forest reserve.
Why is it so important?
Well, let's just say they didn't put a cedar tree on their flag for nothing.
Speaking of trees, It's time to move on to:
It's often said that in Lebanon,
you can ski in the morning and swim at the beach in the afternoon all in one day.
The name Lebanon even comes from the Phoenician word that translates to white,
referring to the snowcaps of the mountains you can find there.
Lebanon is divided into four main geographic regions.
The coastal plain along the Mediterranean,
the Lebanon mountain range, where you can find the tallest mountain Mount Lebanon.
The Beqaa Valley and the Anti-Lebanon range.
Or as I like to call it the Leba-NOT Range.
Ahahahaha (Ooof!)
Hey, Kaleb! Good seeing you again!
Good seeing you - What are you up to, man? You Good?
Yeah, I'm good, man.
Yeah, what was the last episode your in?
Uhhh, I think it was, Germany, maybe?
Oh yeah, we did that gluten-free skit.
So anyway! These mountains are the source of most of the country's freshwater supply
as the ice caps melt providing 13 main rivers.
However the longest river in the country the Litani actually starts in the Beqaa Valley,
which gets backed up into the Qaraoun reservoir, the largest lake in the country and empties into the Mediterranean.
The interesting thing is that these two mountain ranges and the Beqaa Valley are all formed by the same riff system
that goes all the way down to Mozambique, caused by the Arabian plate grinding up against the African plate.
When it comes to pros and cons, Pro.
Lebanon doesn't have any deserts.
It has great weather, a little arid but mostly lush and green.
Con, just like Jordan and Israel, they have pretty much no oil.
But you know, eh, lots of countries don't have oil, and they're doing fine so eh, no biggie.
For what it's worth though, Lebanon's landscape is loaded with fascinating views and formations
like the Baatara Gorge waterfall, known as the cave of three bridges.
Can we just take like a few seconds to appreciate it?
Now if there's one thing that symbolized (Lebanon) -
You know what? Yo Kaleb, take this next part.
Why??
Eh, why not.
Okay.
If there had to be one thing that symbolized Lebanon, it would have to be the famous cedar trees.
Known throughout the ancient world is some of the most highly prized and sought-after trees
due to their nice yellow colored fragrance, extracts, durability and immunity to insects.
Today about 14% of the country is forested
and they hope to boost that number up to 20 percent by 2020.
The national animal is the striped hyena. Really? Cool!
Yeah, I guess hyenas are up in this area!
Dude awesome job, Kaleb. Yeah, I'll take it from here
because this next part has some hard to pronounce words and I'll take the embarrassment from you.
Oh, that's very considerate of you. Yeah.
You know, you're my buddy, alright.
Food! Now when it comes to Lebanon,
you'll find like this interesting mix between Middle Eastern and Western.
Now every Lebanese person I talked to has said that I have to mention
Kibbeh, made in various ways sometimes raw.
In addition Lebanon is famous for Tabouleh,
Fattoush, Manoushe or Mankish, however you freaking pronounce it?
Akawi cheese and znood el sett.
One controversy I was told was that sometimes in Lebanon,
getting consistent electricity is a little bit of a hassle in certain areas.
The government only provides partial power sporadically throughout the day
and you have to pay like a local generator to provide the rest of your power.
Also when it comes to buying imported electronics it kind of goes like this:
Hey, I hear that you're the only guy around here that sells laptops.
Do you think I can get one?
Sure thing. It's gonna cost you your entire month's salary for this baby right here.
That sounds outrageous.
Well the government says that I can sell whatever price I want, buddy.
Well, here's the deal: I'm gonna take my business elsewhere.
Go on ahead.
You're the only guy that sells laptops.
Yup.
Yeah, that's why there's like an underground electronics market.
Anyway, sweet, I think that just about covers it.
Now, let's learn about that incredibly confusing mystery man that we met at the beginning of this episode shall we?
Pope John Paul the second visited Lebanon in 1997 and was noted for declaring that:
"Lebanon is more than just a country, It's a message of freedom, and example of pluralism for East and West."
Now that's one way of putting it.
I kind of like to see it as a guy that has a beautiful case of multiple personality disorder.
Mental health is not a joke. I can't believe you would write that in the script. You're basically the next Hitler! I can't believe that you would even try - !
Aggh, It wasn't a demeaning joke at the expense of suffering people. It was a comparison portrayed in a metaphorical context with a positive undertone.
Not once did I even say that having MPT was bad. You're the one that assumed it.
Yeah, take notes guys, that's how it's done.
First of all.
The country has just over six million people around 8 million if you include the non citizen residents and refugees
and has the largest number of refugees per capita in the world at over 200 per thousand inhabitants.
That's about one out of five. That is ⅕.
Now here's a thing. Making that demographics graph is gonna be virtually useless
because technically, no official census has been taken since 1932
due to the sensitivities of political balance between the people groups.
Therefore, accurate data is not exactly available when it comes to numbers and statistics.
However most authorities will say that in the broadest, non-divisive sense,
around 95% of the population is Arab and 4% are Armenian whereas the rest are other people groups.
Saying that the majority of the population is Arab though is incredibly loose
because Arabs are incredibly different in this country.
So Lebanon actually usually likes to follow the religion chart rather than the ethnicity one.
Lebanon has 18 recognized religious sects. The largest one falls under Islam at about 55% of the population
Christians make up about 40% and the Druze make about 5%.
Of the Muslims, about half are Sunni and half are Shia
and of the Christians, the largest sect would be the Maronite and Malachite Catholics,
Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic with other small sects in between.
Oh, for those who that were wondering, the Druze are like an ethno-religious group of people found in the Levant.
They have a large community around Jabal Al-Druze.
They have a somewhat secretive belief system that kind of incorporates elements of Islam,
Greek Philosophy and even a little bit of Hinduism
as they believe in things like reincarnation and a cosmic mind.
Now keep in mind, there are somewhere between 1.1 to 2 million refugees living in Lebanon mostly Syrians and Palestinians.
These people have limited rights as non citizens and are usually the center of hot topic issues in Lebanon.
Oh, yeah, and they used a Lebanese Pound as their currency but they also accept US dollars
They use the type A, B, C, D and G plug outlets.
Yeah, they just go for everything.
and they drive on the right side of the road.
Now here's the thing: Calling a Lebanese person Arab might actually get a few rebuttals.
Some Lebanese people I have talked to have said that they technically don't even identify as Arabs
but rather Phoenicians or in some extreme cases, Canaanite?
I don't know. If you're Lebanese, write down in the comments.
Do you consider yourself Arab or Phoenician?
Culture wise, the Lebanese play by a whole different set of rules.
First off. The ancient Phoenicians supposedly invented the *Earliest Known* alphabet
consisting of 22 continents and no vowels.
This would later inspire the alphabets of other languages.
Although Arabic is the official language, Lebanese Arabic is very noticeably different from Standard Arabic.
Since French and English are taught mandatorily in schools, most people are bilingual or trilingual.
The Armenians are usually quadrilingual.
Lebanese Arabic infuses a lot of French and English words.
For example, one greeting all Lebanese people know is:
Hi! Kifak (كيفك)! Ça Va!
which incorporates all three languages in one phrase.
English: Hi! Arabic: Kifak (كيفك) and French: Ça Va.
Sentences typically mix up the languages all the time too.
For example: In Standard Arabic you might say:
.Marhaban, ana isme Barbs (مرحبا، أنا إسم باربي.)
but in Lebanese Arabic:
Bonjour, ana esme Barbs.
Ok, enough on language.
Lebanon's government is interesting too.
They follow a "confessional democracy", kind of similar to what Bosnia and Herzegovina does.
The head positions of office must be held proportionally by someone of each main confessed religious community.
The President must always be Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim,
the Speaker of the Parliament, a Shia and the Deputy Speaker, an Eastern Orthodox Practitioner.
This system is intended to deter sectarian conflict to keep the various contrasting people groups united.
And here's where we get into the controversy I'm sure you're all waiting for, Hezbollah.
What exactly is Hezbollah? I'm sure you've probably heard of them in the news.
Basically, it's a political party mostly run by Lebanon's Shia community,
whom actually holds seats in parliament backed by Iran and Assad-led Syria.
They've conducted a series of controversial actions that have earned them the title of a
'considered terrorist group' by various governments in both the Arab and Western worlds.
We don't really have time to get into it
but basically they've been the central figures of a lot of drama. Look it up.
Speaking of which, History.
Now is where things got a little complex because each of the 18 people groups kind of has their own version of Lebanese history,
and we really don't have a lot of time to get far into it
but the quickest way I can put it:
Phoenicians, Assyrian,
Yeah yeah yeah, you already know about all the empires. We've done this like 12 times.
Crusaders, Ottoman Empire, great famine of 1915,
French mandate, Lebanese fight for independence Golden Age, Lebanese Civil War,
War with Israel, Syrian occupation, Cedar Revolution, 2006 War with Israel,
2012 Syrian immigrant crisis and here we are today.
Today, Lebanon actually has more Lebanese people in diaspora than there are actually in Lebanon at around 14 million.
These people are mostly Christian Lebanese that fled during conflict years.
Today, the largest concentrations are found in Latin America in places like Brazil, Argentina
Colombia, where Shakira's dad met her mom and they made Shakira.
Lebanese are known for being the biggest party animals of the Arab world.
I mean it's kind of bound to happen when you celebrate both Muslim and Christian holidays.
Some notable people from Lebanon or with Lebanese descent might include people like:
Carlos Slim, Gebran Khali Gebran, Elie Saab, Georges Khabbaz,
Pierre Chammassian, May Chidiac, Fairuz, Maxime Chaaya, Saint Charbel,
Nicolas Hayek, Haifa Wehbe, Majida El Roumi, The Rahbani brothers, Nancy Ajram, Ragheb Alama.
Ah so much covered. Alas, we must move on.
Let's see how many people Lebanon invites to their parties now, shall we?
So again just like we studied in the Bosnia and Herzegovina episode,
Lebanon has a very diverse populace so it really depends on who you ask in Lebanon when it comes to know their best friends.
If you ask the Sunni Muslims, they'll probably tell you Saudi Arabia.
Tons of support comes from the Saudis and they provide economic assistance.
If you ask the Shias, they'll probably say Syria under Bashar Al-Assad and Iran, especially people in Hezbollah.
If you ask the Christians, they'll most likely say France or the USA since the French have had historically close ties.
and the USA does great business and investments, I mean why do you think they use the dollar as their second currency?
Plus, they get to practice their language skills on these people.
If you ask the Armenians, of course, they'll probably say mother Armenia
and possibly Greece or the Greek side of Cyprus.
Armenians and Greeks have been dating each other for centuries. They love each other.
Otherwise, Egypt is pretty much a close friend to all of them.
The two countries are kind of like co-stars in the media world for Arabs.
Many movies and TV shows use both Egyptians and Lebanese people which brings a bond in itself.
In conclusion, mystery solved.
The man at the party is truly a man of complexity yet despite the controversies,
he holds it all together because hey why worry about it when it's party time.
Stay tuned, Lesotho is coming up next.