Lebanese Republic
Asia Occidental
Cedar · Complex · Vibrant
Lebanon is home to the Baalbek temple complex, where the Romans constructed the largest Roman temple ever built — the Temple of Jupiter, whose columns stand 22 m tall and whose podium stones are the largest quarried blocks ever used in construction.
Más allá de la capital, las principales ciudades son Tripoli, Sidon, Tyre — cada una un centro de cultura regional, economía e historia. Beirut rebuilt itself from the destruction of the 1975-1990 civil war in a regeneration whose architectural ambition and nightlife culture made it 'the Paris of the Middle East' for a decade before the 2019 economic collapse and 2020 port explosion — 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate detonating to create the largest non-nuclear explosion in history, killing 218 people and destroying a third of the city.
Los principales idiomas hablados son árabe, francés, que reflejan el patrimonio cultural del país y abren puertas a una amplia comunidad internacional. Internacionalmente, Líbano se contacta mediante el código +961. Lebanese society is organised around 18 officially recognised religious communities — Sunni, Shia, Maronite Christian, Greek Orthodox, and others — whose power-sharing constitution (the 1943 National Pact) was designed as a temporary arrangement and became a permanent framework, creating a system where every government appointment is calibrated to maintain sectarian balance and every politician represents a community rather than a programme.
Líbano comparte sus fronteras con Siria, Israel. El tráfico rodado circula por la derecha, en consonancia con la convención de
La vida económica y cotidiana se rige por la zona horaria de UTC+02:00, alineando el país con sus vecinos regionales.
Lebanese cuisine is the most globally recognised Arabic food tradition — hummus, tabbouleh, kibbeh, and fattoush are known internationally, but the Lebanese table's genius is the meze concept: dozens of small dishes arriving continuously, each prepared with careful technique, creating a meal that is simultaneously a parade of Lebanon's agricultural diversity and a demonstration of the Lebanese conviction that hospitality and food quality are moral imperatives.
Basketball is Lebanon's second sport after football, with the national team's multiple Asia Cup titles making Lebanon the most successful Asian basketball nation outside China and the Philippines — a success built on the Lebanese diaspora's global presence, with NBA-quality players choosing Lebanon over their adopted country's national team through the Lebanese citizenship laws that confer rights based on heritage.
The Cedars of God forest near Bcharre preserves a grove of ancient cedar trees (Cedrus libani) some over 3,000 years old — the remnant of forests that once covered Lebanese mountains referenced in the Epic of Gilgamesh and used in Solomon's Temple construction, now protected as one of Lebanon's UNESCO World Heritage Sites in a country where the cedar appears on the national flag and currency.