- published: 08 Dec 2014
- views: 9317
Lebanon (i/ˈlɛbənɒn/ or /ˈlɛbənən/; Arabic: لبنان Libnān or Lubnān, Lebanese Arabic: [lɪbˈneːn]), officially the Lebanese Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية اللبنانية al-Jumhūrīyah al-Libnānīyah, Lebanese Arabic: [elˈʒʊmhuːɾɪjje l.ˈlɪbneːnɪjje]), is a country in the East Mediterranean. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south. Lebanon's location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland has dictated its rich history, and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity.
The earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than 7,000 years—predating recorded history. Lebanon was the home of the Phoenicians, a maritime culture that flourished for nearly 2,500 years (3000–539 BC). Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, the five provinces that comprise modern Lebanon were mandated to France. The French expanded the borders of Mount Lebanon, which was mostly populated by Maronite Catholics and Druze, to include more Muslims. Lebanon gained independence in 1943, and established a unique political system, known as confessionalism, a power-sharing mechanism based on religious communities – Bechara El Khoury who became independent Lebanon's first President and Riad El-Solh, who became Lebanon's first prime minister, are considered the founders of the modern Republic of Lebanon and are national heroes for having led the country's independence. French troops withdrew from Lebanon in 1946.
Has anybody ever been to Lebanon?
Does anybody really care to go, at all?
Anybody want to go to Lebanon
Where you can read the writings on the wall?
Do the caravans still ride across the sand
Or is the season causing everything sacred to fall?
Do the sages sing their chant throughout the land
Or has their song been silenced over the centuries, to
all?
Does the sun still kiss the earth in Lebanon?
Does the moonlight still reflect the sand at night?
Can a prophet still come out of Lebanon
Or has the thirst for profit changed the times?
Do Phonecian spirits dance across the sand?
Do the cedar trees still standing next to the ocean
still grow?
Do the sages sing their chant throughout the land
Or has their song been silenced?
Does the temple still exist in Lebanon
Or have the winds of time been blowing hard, for all?
Does the mosque still sing the hymn of Lebanon
Reciting old inscriptions from the wall?
Do the caravans now crawl across the sand
And is the season causing everyone sacred to cry?
Can the people of the land still hear the call
Or has the song been silenced over the centuries, to