Beirut

Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon, is the world’s oldest city capital still in existence.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9404E2D9103EF930A15751C0A961958260.htm Evidence of civilization in Beirut dates back to the Canaanite period, though the city did not gain prominence until the first century A.D., after being conquered by the Romans.http://www.newint.org/features/1994/08/05/simply/.htm After four centuries of Ottoman rule from 1516 to 1918, Beirut fell under French jurisdiction at the close of World War I by mandate of the League of Nations.http://www.newint.org/features/1994/08/05/simply/.htm In 1943, Lebanon became a sovereign state.http://www.newint.org/features/1994/08/05/simply/.htm

Beirut continues to experience the political upheaval and turmoil that characterized Lebanon in the twentieth century. However, commerce and tourism are focal points in modern day Beirut.http://www.lebanon.com/tourism/beirut.htm.htm

An excavation, performed by the American University of Beirut, revealed that the city’s earliest development began in the Hellenistic period.http://ucl.academia.edu/ReubenThorpe/Papers/144491/A_note_on_excavations_in_Central_Beirut_1994_-_96.htm Ruins suggest that the city was largely comprised of homes and workshops.http://ucl.academia.edu/ReubenThorpe/Papers/144491/A_note_on_excavations_in_Central_Beirut_1994_-_96.htm While much of the Hellenistic architecture remained intact, new buildings were erected from the first century B.C. to the first century A.D. as the city succumbed to Roman rule.http://ucl.academia.edu/ReubenThorpe/Papers/144491/A_note_on_excavations_in_Central_Beirut_1994_-_96.htm However, it was not until the fifth and sixth centuries that modest erections gave way to major re-developments and larger, ornate structures.http://ucl.academia.edu/ReubenThorpe/Papers/144491/A_note_on_excavations_in_Central_Beirut_1994_-_96.htm On July 9, 551 A.D., Beirut, then known as Berytus, was destroyed by earthquake and Tsunami, and did not fully recover for 1,300 years.http://geology.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/35/8/755.htm With the rise of influence by Mohammed, Beirut was a caliphate by 634 A.D., and remained so until the Ottoman Empire took control in 1516.http://www.newint.org/features/1994/08/05/simply/.htm During the four century reign of the Ottoman Empire, Beirut’s prominence grew and the population flourished, reaching 46,000 inhabitants by 1861.http://www.newint.org/features/1994/08/05/simply/.htm

The end of World War I in 1918 marked the beginning of French occupation and governance in Lebanon and Syria, mandated by the League of Nations.http://www.newint.org/features/1994/08/05/simply/.htm In 1926, the Republic of Lebanon was officially formed, and a constitution drafted, though independence was not fully established until 1943.http://www.newint.org/features/1994/08/05/simply/.htm The same year the Lebanese National Pact was made, stating that Lebanon will remain neutral during intra-Arab conflicts.http://www.newint.org/features/1994/08/05/simply/.htm With the formation of Israel in 1948, resulting in a large migration of Palestinians into Beirut, Lebanon found itself in the crossfire of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict throughout the twentieth century, in spite of its neutrality.http://www.newint.org/features/1994/08/05/simply/.htm By 1975, civil war had broken out in Beirut, when a Christian militia attacked a bus carrying mostly Palestinian passengers. The war lasted fifteen years and claimed 150,000 lives.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/819200.stm.htm

After the assassination of eight-term Prime Minister Rashid Karami on June 1, 1987, political turmoil left the city of Beirut divided.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/819200.stm.htm On September 22, 1988, government officials were appointed, and Beirut was split and run by two governments, with El-Hoss heading the mostly Muslim government in West Beirut, and General Michel Aoun heading the primarily Christian government in East Beirut.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/819200.stm.htm The end of the decade was marked by the assassination of President Rene Moawad in November of 1989.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/819200.stm.htm

With the end of civil war in 1990 came a period of restoring order to the nation. In 1991, militias were ordered to disband, the Treaty of Brotherhood, Cooperation and Coordination was signed, amnesty was given for all civil war crimes, and Lebanon was a participant in the Middle East Peace Conference.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/819200.stm.htm In 1992, Rafik Hariri, a wealthy businessman, was elected Prime Minister, and economic security became the primary focus for Lebanon.http://www.rhariri.com/general.aspx?pagecontent=biography.htm The motion towards stability was disrupted, however, when in 1996 Israel launched "Operation Grapes of Wrath" in Beirut, killing 100 civilian Lebanese.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/819200.stm.htm By March of 2000, Israel had voted to unilaterally withdraw all troops from Lebanon and released thirteen Lebanese prisoners the following month.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/819200.stm.htm However, car bombings continued through the 2000s, including the assassination of Rafik Hariri by car bomb in 2005.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/819200.stm.htm In August 2010, after suggestions by the Israeli prime minister that war with Lebanon was likely, fire was exchanged on the border.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/819200.stm.htm

Located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea between the cities of Tripoli and Tyre, Beirut's topography is distinguished by its mountains, the Lebanon and anti-Lebanon, which are divided by the Bekaa Valley and its two rivers, the Litani and Orontes.http://www.lebanonembassyus.org/country_lebanon/overview.html.htm. The coastline of Beirut is 225 kilometers long, and is marked by cliffs and and a narrow coastal plane.http://www.mapsofworld.com/cities/lebanon/beirut/geography.html.htm

Beirut has a subtropical climate with a narrow average temperature range between thirteen degrees celcius in the winter and twenty-eight degrees celcius in the summer.http://www.lebanonembassyus.org/country_lebanon/overview.html.htm The dry summer climate results in frequent sandstorms.http://www.lebanonembassyus.org/country_lebanon/overview.html.htm Deforestation and polution have added to enviornmental problems.http://www.lebanonembassyus.org/country_lebanon/overview.html.htm Beirut typically has mild winters three hundred days of sunshine per year.http://www.lebanonembassyus.org/country_lebanon/overview.html.htm

• National Museumhttp://www.downtownbeirut.com/lb/.htm

• AUB Museumhttp://www.downtownbeirut.com/lb/.htm

• Sursock Museumhttp://www.downtownbeirut.com/lb/.htm

• Rue Monothttp://www.downtownbeirut.com/lb/.htm

• Rue Blisshttp://www.downtownbeirut.com/lb/.htm

• Beirut Central Districthttp://www.downtownbeirut.com/lb/.htm

• Elie Saabhttp://daytranslations.com/famous_lebanese.aspx.htm

• Philippe Aractingihttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm2127004/.htm

• Mario Kassarhttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0440830/.htm

• Keanu Reeveshttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000206/.htm

• Azar Habibhttp://www.azarhabib.net/.htm

• Gabriel Yaredhttp://www.gabrielyared.com/.htm

• Paul Guiragossianhttp://paulguiragossian.com/biography/index.php?id=6.htm