Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east, by Israel to the south, and by the Mediterranean Sea to the west; Cyprus lies a short distance away from the country's coastline. Lebanon's location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterlands has contributed to the country's rich history and shaped a unique cultural identity denoted by religious diversity. Located in the Levant region of the Eastern Mediterranean, the country has a population of more than five million people and covers an area of 10,452 square kilometres (4,036 sq mi). Lebanon's capital and largest city is Beirut, followed by Tripoli and Jounieh. While Arabic is the official language, French is also recognized in a formal capacity; Lebanese Arabic is the country's vernacular, though French and English play a relatively significant role in everyday life, with Modern Standard Arabic being limited to news and government matters.
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. As of 2014, Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region and the thirteenth-largest in the Arab world. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coast. Beirut has been inhabited for more than 5,000 years, making it one of the oldest cities in the world.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial, originally the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, and now commonly called the Genbaku Dome, Atomic Bomb Dome or A-Bomb Dome, is part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.
The American University of Beirut is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs leading to bachelor's, master's, MD, and PhD degrees.
Michel Naim Aoun is a Lebanese politician and former military general who served as the President of Lebanon from 31 October 2016 until 30 October 2022.
Martyrs' Square, historically known as "Al Burj" or "Place des Cannons", is the historical central public square of Beirut, Lebanon.
Haret Hreik is a mixed Shia and Maronite Christian municipality, in the Dahieh suburbs, south of Beirut, Lebanon. It is part of the Baabda District. Once an agricultural village, Haret Hreik lost its rural identity due to the wave of refugees from Southern Lebanon who settled in the town and made it another urban neighborhood of Dahieh.
The Beirut Central District is the historical and geographical core of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. Also called downtown Beirut, it has been described the “vibrant financial, commercial, and administrative hub of the country.” It is thousands of years old, traditionally a focus of business, finance, culture and leisure.
Joseph Philippe Karam (1923–1976) was a Lebanese architect. He was a leading figure of modern architecture in Lebanon during the country's golden era, 1945 to 1975. Karam founded his practice the Atelier d'Architecture Joseph Philippe Karam in the late 1940s.
Lebanon is an eastern Mediterranean country that has the most religiously diverse society within the Middle East, comprising 18 recognized religious sects. The religions are Islam and Christianity. The Druze concern around an estimate of 5% of the citizens in Lebanon. Furthermore, outside of Lebanon, Lebanese people are mostly Christians. It is also estimated that a large proportion of its population are refugees, which affects statistics. The refugees, who mostly are of Syrian or Palestinian origin, are predominantly Sunni Muslim, but also include Christians and Shia Muslims.
Youssef Aftimus was a Lebanese civil engineer and architect who specialized in Moorish Revival architecture. Aftimus was the leading Lebanese architect and urban planner during the first half of the twentieth century, he is the author of many of Beirut's well known landmarks such as the Beirut Municipality Building, the Grand Serail's Hamidiyyeh clock tower, the Hamidiyyeh Fountain and the Barakat Building. Aftimus was also an academic, journalist, visionary urban planner, patriot, politician and philanthropist.
The InterContinental Phoenicia Beirut is a historic 5-star luxury hotel situated in the Minet El Hosn neighborhood of Beirut, Lebanon. It is located on Rue Fakhreddine near the Corniche Beirut promenade and walking-distance from Beirut Central District, and a few kilometers from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport.
Nabil Gholam is a French-Lebanese architect, urban planner and the founder of Nabil Gholam Architects (ngª). In 2010, Monocle magazine has called Gholam a "leading" architect in Lebanon. In Modern Architecture: A Critical History, critic Kenneth Frampton cited Gholam's colony of holiday chalets at Faqra as one of "two works [which] promise a renewal of Lebanese architecture".
Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland, has several distinct styles of residential buildings. Building styles reflect historical trends, such as rapid population growth in the 18th and 19th centuries, deindustrialisation and growing poverty in the late 20th century, and civic rebound in the 21st century.
Bayt Beirut is a project of a museum and urban cultural center that is meant to portray the history of Beirut, with a particular focus on the Lebanese civil war. This project is located in the restored Barakat building, also known as the "Yellow house", a historic landmark designed by Youssef Aftimus.
Beirut City Hall, also known as the Municipality of Beirut, is a landmark building built in downtown Beirut, Lebanon in 1924, and has become an architectural landmark in the downtown area of Beirut Central District. It features a yellow limestone facade and combines various architectural styles. The building is located on the intersection of Foch Street and Rue Weygand in the city center. The building is in the Venetian and Arabesque architectural styles, a mix that expresses the regional identity of the area. The building was restored after the Lebanese Civil War and it currently houses the office of the Governor of Beirut and the municipal council. It is open to the public and for official registration of documents.
The Hotel St. Georges is a historic resort hotel in Beirut, Lebanon, opened in 1934. It was constructed by a French investment group, the Société Des Grands Hotels Du Levant (SGHL), during the period of the French mandate. Parisian architect Auguste Perret came to Beirut to design the hotel with local architect Antun Tabet.
The Holiday Inn Beirut is a ruined hotel in Beirut, Lebanon on Omar Daouk Street in the central Minet el Hosn neighborhood. The Holiday Inn was in operation for less than a year before the Lebanese Civil War broke out in 1975.
The 17 October Protests, commonly referred to as the 17 October Revolution were a series of civil protests in Lebanon that began after the Lebanese cabinet announced financial measures on 17 October 2019. These national protests were triggered by planned taxes on gasoline, tobacco, and VoIP calls on applications such as WhatsApp, but quickly expanding into a country-wide condemnation of sectarian rule, the stagnation of the economy, unemployment, endemic corruption in the public sector, legislation that was perceived to shield the ruling class from accountability and failures of the government to provide basic services such as electricity, water, and sanitation.
