Lebanon
Written by: The Prophet Edited by: The Metallian
, a nation that once proudly called itself the Switzerland of the
Middle East, is today a country in name only. Its government controls
little more than half of the nation's capital, Beirut. Its once-vibrant
economy is a shambles. And its society is fragmented - so fragmented, some
believe, that it may be impossible to re-create a unified state responsive
to the needs of all its varied peoples.
Lebanon lies on the eastern shore of the Mediterranea n Sea, in that part
of southwestern Asia known as the Middle East. Because of its location -
at the crossroads of Asia, Europe, and Africa - Lebanon has been the center
of commerce and ...
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Mediterranean Sea to the
Lebanon-Syria border is 50 miles. In the south, along the border with
Israel, Lebanon's eastern border is only 20 miles from the sea.
Although a tiny land, Lebanon boasts a great diversity in its landscape
which makes it one of the most picturesque countries in the world. The
coast line is br oken by many bays and inlets of varying size. At some
points, the mountains wade silently right into the sea - then climb
suddenly tier on tier away from the Mediterranean to the sky. Because of
the limitation of flat agricultural land, all but the steepest hillsides
have been patiently and neatly terraced and planted with garlands of
twisted grapevines. The mountains lend a great variety of hues - pale pink,
rosy red, forest green or deep purple - to the landscape. Depending on the
time of day, they never appear the same twice, and from time to time
whipped white clouds hide all except their snow-capped peaks. Even on the
darkest night, the lights of the ...
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Its
waters are used for irrigation, so it becomes a mere tr ickle by the time
it gets to the sea. The Orontes rises not far from the Litani, but it
flows northward between the two mountain ranges, wending its way into Syria.
Beyond the Bekaa and the anti-Lebanon mountains, the Syrian desert only
stretches east f or about 800 miles to the valley of the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers. This geography has been a determining factor for
millenia in keeping Lebanon turned toward the West.
The landscape cannot be described without mentioning the most celebrated
tree o f Lebanon, the cedar. Called by the Lebanese "Cedar of the Lord,"
this famed tree retains somewhat of a sacred aura this ...
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CITE THIS PAGE:
Lebanon. (2008, November 2). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Lebanon/92391
"Lebanon." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 2 Nov. 2008. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Lebanon/92391>
"Lebanon." Essayworld.com. November 2, 2008. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Lebanon/92391.
"Lebanon." Essayworld.com. November 2, 2008. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Lebanon/92391.
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