- published: 08 Dec 2014
- views: 9344
Coordinates: 33°50′N 35°50′E / 33.833°N 35.833°E / 33.833; 35.833
Lebanon (i/ˈlɛbənɒn/ or /ˈlɛbənən/; Arabic: لبنان Libnān or Lubnān; Lebanese Arabic: [lɪbˈneːn]; Aramaic: לבנאן; French: Liban), officially the Lebanese Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية اللبنانية al-Jumhūrīyah al-Lubnānīyah; Lebanese Arabic: [elˈʒʊmhuːɾɪjje l.ˈlɪbneːnɪjje]; French: République libanaise), is a country in Western Asia. 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 facilitated its rich history and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity.
The earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than seven thousand years, predating recorded history. Lebanon was the home of the Canaanites/Phoenicians and their kingdom, a maritime culture that flourished for over a thousand years (c. 1550–539 BC). In 64 BC, the region came under the rule of the Roman Empire, and eventually became one of the Empire's leading centers of Christianity. In the Mount Lebanon range a monastic tradition known as the Maronite Church was established. As the Arab Muslims conquered the region, the Maronites held onto their religion and identity. However, a new religious group, the Druze, established themselves in Mount Lebanon as well, generating a religious divide that has lasted for centuries. During the Crusades, the Maronites re-established contact with the Roman Catholic Church and asserted their communion with Rome. The ties they established with the Latins have influenced the region into the modern era.
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