Why Lebanon? (All you need to know about)

So what do you know about Lebanon? 

Hey, this is Vanessa and I'm a Lebanese girl living in my home town since birth. I'm going to introduce you to my lovely country with its beautiful places, restaurants, stays and traditions. 

Your first question may be:

Where is Lebanon?

It may be difficult to find it on the map because Lebanon is the seventh smallest country in Asia. It's bordered by Syria, Palestine and the Mediterranean sea. If you're still confused, we're talking about the Middle East! 

Lebanon's capital and largest city is Beirut, but trust me it's not the number one destination.

Our History in few words

Lebanon was home to the Phoenicians. I'm sure you've heard of them before, they created the oldest verified Alphabet. Lebanon has been under the rule of Romans, Arab Muslims, Ottomans and French Mandate before his independence. So, imagine how rich is our culture. Since 1950, Beirut attracted so many tourists that it was known as "The Paris of the Middle East". Personally, I think Lebanon looks more like Italy villages. Anyways.

What our climate is like?

Lebanon has a moderate Mediterranean climate, which is so great. In winter, you can enjoy our snowy mountains and in Summer, you'll be in love with our sandy beaches and diverse activities. In between, you can go skiing in the morning then drink wine at a beach bar while watching the sunset. Crazy right? 

Our tourism

In 2009, the New York Times ranked Beirut the no1 travel destination worldwide due to its nightlife and hospitality. Lately, there was a decline and it was caused by the war in neighbouring Syria. And No! There's no war in Lebanon. Feel safe.

We love art!

Art is a huge title but trust me, Lebanon is full of art and artists and Lebanese people are so interested in the domaine. You'll listen to music everywhere, see graphics on Beirut's walls, meet artists in Byblos' corners and many more! It's cool to know that Fairuz is a Lebanese legend, Shakira and Massari are Lebanese and Billie Eilish loves listining to Nancy Ajram's songs!

My favorite part, our cuisine!

Honestly, this is what I do the best: eating and trying every restaurant and cafe.

Lebanese cuisine is similar to Turkey, Greece, Cyprus and Syria. But trust me we are on another level! Our mezze is so rich and here's some you must try: 

The original Hummus, Kibbe, Tabbouleh, Waraa Aarich, Fattouche, Manouche, Shawarma, and many more...

Never forget about our sweets! You can eat crepe, ice cream and chocolate everywhere but while in Lebanon you must try Kanafeh, Baklava, Maamoul, Halewt el jebn, Karabij, Meghle... Oh god you'll gain so many calories but who cares?

What do we drink? 

The national beverage is Arak typically made from grapes. We also have so many famous vineyards and our wine is so good (red, white,pink and blue!) We also drink Lebanese Beer. Your breakfast is never completed without Arabic coffee. It's similar to Turkish coffee and I think you should try it! 

Beside our delicious food, you can find so many restaurants serving other cuisines such as Chinese, Thai, American, Greek, Mexican... Food is our priority!

We are educated!

Maybe you're not interested in this, but I have to mention that Lebanon has been ranked globally as the fourth best country for maths and science and the tenth best overall for quality of education. ( Oh hey, I'm a Lebanese University student, faculty of science, Biology major, and I'm surviving it. )

Don't worry if you don't speak Arabic, Lebanese people are at least trilingual. We speak Arabic, English and French! 

Religions in Lebanon

The main two religions are Islam and Christianity. The Druze are bout 5% of the citizens. It total, Lebanon has the most religiously diverse society off all states within the Middle East, comprising 18 recognised religious sects.

There are 851 cities and towns in Lebanon and yes, you can visit at least 50 without knowing during a five days stay! While visiting the largest cities ( Beirut Tripoli Sayda Tyre Zahle Jounieh Byblos Baalbek and Nabatieh) you'll pass by so many other towns and cities that are not so popular but are so beautiful. 

'In my future blogs I'll introduce you to many places that you've never heard of before'

So this is the end. I hope you enjoyed the read. Follow me for more and check out my YouTube channel and Instagram account for more contents. 

       A bientot !