Lebanon for many is a beautiful country and it is indeed but all are not aware of the crisis it is facing. Lebanese history had some bright unoque features. It started off well for lebanon but unfortuantely it had to face the decline path. The country is located on the eastern side of the Mediterrean Sea, in the Middle East. It is a very small country spread nicely by beautiful valleys mountains and set widely with lush greenary, the country is a paradise. It is bordered by Syria in the North and East, by Israel in the South and the Mediterranean sea in the West. Adding value to the country is their culture and more importantly the mesmerizing beauty of the lebanese people. During the Stone age the inhabitants of this country like all the stone age people took shelter in the caves and the discovery of fire made them more independent.
The people living along the coast of Lebanon called themselves Cannaanites, others though identified them as Phoenicians. These people started one of the vital part in any society-trading, with middle east countries.The trading relation between Egypt is said to be a crucial one in their development path because the relation with this country was successful than any other. Phoenicians used boats to travel to Egypt which carried Pine, wood and Olive oil and in return they received gold, linen, ropes and grains. The trade between Egypt alone was not essential but also with Spain, Africa and Iraq made Phoenicians villages to grow as big cities.
The people living along the coast of Lebanon called themselves Cannaanites, others though identified them as Phoenicians. These people started one of the vital part in any society-trading, with middle east countries.The trading relation between Egypt is said to be a crucial one in their development path because the relation with this country was successful than any other. Phoenicians used boats to travel to Egypt which carried Pine, wood and Olive oil and in return they received gold, linen, ropes and grains. The trade between Egypt alone was not essential but also with Spain, Africa and Iraq made Phoenicians villages to grow as big cities.
Invaders
The cities of this country were prosporous until the colonisers arrived. Imperialism was a major threat for humanity even before 5000 years. East is always the centre of attraction for the West because of its rich resources. The Romans conquered the Phonecians somewhere during 64 BC. It is a naked truth that Romans were always good in architecture and to prove that they started in the process of beautification by erecting huge temples, arenas,theatres and porticos. For the Roman Empire the City of Beryte now Beirut, became the power centre.
Birth of Jesus Christ
The birth of Jesus Christ did make a difference in these countries.Most of the Phoenicians became Christians but still Christianity was not recognized by the Empire. The split in the Roman again created an impact in the nation’s politics.
The Entry of Islam
Islam from Mecca reached the country and started to spread and by the time Christians realized that there is a immediate danger for their religion there came a war which eventually saw the victory of the Islamic Empire. Lebanon became a major part of Islamic terriotory and Arabic was made as the official language.
The Ottoman Empire
Around 1300, a Turk of Mongol founded the Ottoman Empire and invaded Lebanese and Syrian territories. Since then Lebanon was part of the Turkish Empire until France administered the League of Nations and declared independence for Lebanon in 1941.
Lebanon in the 20th Century
Diversity of Religion in Lebanon is one of the main cause of worry for the governments.Culprits use this oppurtunity to spoil the unity of the Lebanese people. It is a country which reserves members based on their religion. Civil war had disturbed the peace of this nation.The President appoints a prime ministers and other cabinet members. The President must be a Catholic Christian , the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, the speaker should be a Shi’a Muslim. This is how the Constitution of Lebanon is desihgned.
Business in Lebanon was thriving until the external forces devastated it completely.After the presence of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the country lost peace and there were only problems and sufferings all over. The Headquarters in Lebanon of this organization paved way to Israeli invasions while the country was also suffering with some internal problems. Civil war in Lebanon started in the year 1975 and lasted till 1990. This war had one of the deadliest effect on the people of Lebanon claiming more than 150,000 lives. This war saw a huge set back in the nation’s economic progress. Ceasefire was agreed in 1976 only for a shorter period just because of the intervention of UN. The incidents which followed after were even more worse, the assasination of Bachir Gemayel witnessed huge political imbalance in the country.Israel invaded Lebanon time after time because they felt the danger of PLO guerrilas. During the year 1983, United States of America organised talks between Israel and Lebanon and to ensure the withdrawal of foreighn troops from the country. Israel refused to pull its forces from the South while Syria left more than 40,000 troops in the Northern Lebanon. Hostages were also held and during 1989, Arab League intervened and an agreement also was signed by the key parties to end the civil war.In 1990 hostages were released by Pro-Iranian group in Lebanon. Though there are lot of problems exists in the country still there is hope among the people that all the problems will end in this region forever. Huge Migration also happened during these years and a estimated three million people migrated to United States of America, many left Lebanon in the early 70’s itself. Now Syrian army withdrew the troops from Lebanon in 2005 after 30 years stay. Palestinians are still living in the camps of Lebanon. Israeli troops left Lebanon in the year 2000.There is still problems with these countries for Lebanon, and because of poverty and unemployment people involved themselves in sexual businesses. Many were forced to leave the country because of the damaged economy.
The Current Scenario in Lebanon is far better, it is defenitely not dark. Lebanese began their writing and writers like Khalil Gibran are a huge inspiration for the younger generations.Another name that has received world wide recognition in literature is Karim El-Koussa. Alexandre Najjar has produced number of poems, historical novels and narratives. Mikhail Naimy is also one of the popular writers in Lebanon. Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet has been translated into more than twent languages and have also huge recognition. Elias Khoury and Amin Maalouf have also achieved international success in literature.
Lebanese indulged themselves in Music, artists like Fairuz and Haifa have taken Lebanese music to a different level. Nancy Ajram,Marcel Khalife, Najwa Karam and Fadl Shaker have helped the music industry of Lebanon to see different boundaries.There are not enough movies made though, but the few movies they have made proves their Potential. Recently Caramel, a lebanese movie recieved critical acclaimation and i watched that movie it was too good. After Shave which received many awards also proved to be a succesful project around the world. Lebanon’s development in economy is also visible despite it’s problems with neighbouring countries. The Darkest side of Lebanon is over now, now it is still having its problems but hopefully let this beautiful nation sees some change atleast in this century.
Business in Lebanon was thriving until the external forces devastated it completely.After the presence of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the country lost peace and there were only problems and sufferings all over. The Headquarters in Lebanon of this organization paved way to Israeli invasions while the country was also suffering with some internal problems. Civil war in Lebanon started in the year 1975 and lasted till 1990. This war had one of the deadliest effect on the people of Lebanon claiming more than 150,000 lives. This war saw a huge set back in the nation’s economic progress. Ceasefire was agreed in 1976 only for a shorter period just because of the intervention of UN. The incidents which followed after were even more worse, the assasination of Bachir Gemayel witnessed huge political imbalance in the country.Israel invaded Lebanon time after time because they felt the danger of PLO guerrilas. During the year 1983, United States of America organised talks between Israel and Lebanon and to ensure the withdrawal of foreighn troops from the country. Israel refused to pull its forces from the South while Syria left more than 40,000 troops in the Northern Lebanon. Hostages were also held and during 1989, Arab League intervened and an agreement also was signed by the key parties to end the civil war.In 1990 hostages were released by Pro-Iranian group in Lebanon. Though there are lot of problems exists in the country still there is hope among the people that all the problems will end in this region forever. Huge Migration also happened during these years and a estimated three million people migrated to United States of America, many left Lebanon in the early 70’s itself. Now Syrian army withdrew the troops from Lebanon in 2005 after 30 years stay. Palestinians are still living in the camps of Lebanon. Israeli troops left Lebanon in the year 2000.There is still problems with these countries for Lebanon, and because of poverty and unemployment people involved themselves in sexual businesses. Many were forced to leave the country because of the damaged economy.
The Current Scenario in Lebanon is far better, it is defenitely not dark. Lebanese began their writing and writers like Khalil Gibran are a huge inspiration for the younger generations.Another name that has received world wide recognition in literature is Karim El-Koussa. Alexandre Najjar has produced number of poems, historical novels and narratives. Mikhail Naimy is also one of the popular writers in Lebanon. Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet has been translated into more than twent languages and have also huge recognition. Elias Khoury and Amin Maalouf have also achieved international success in literature.
Lebanese indulged themselves in Music, artists like Fairuz and Haifa have taken Lebanese music to a different level. Nancy Ajram,Marcel Khalife, Najwa Karam and Fadl Shaker have helped the music industry of Lebanon to see different boundaries.There are not enough movies made though, but the few movies they have made proves their Potential. Recently Caramel, a lebanese movie recieved critical acclaimation and i watched that movie it was too good. After Shave which received many awards also proved to be a succesful project around the world. Lebanon’s development in economy is also visible despite it’s problems with neighbouring countries. The Darkest side of Lebanon is over now, now it is still having its problems but hopefully let this beautiful nation sees some change atleast in this century.
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