The national dance is the dabke, which is performed throughout the country by dancers wearing traditional Lebanese mountain costume. The theme of the dance relates to village life. Local crafts include glass-making, weaving, pottery, embroidery and brass and copper work.

CLIMATE :

Lebanon has a Mediterranean climate -- hot and dry summers and cool, rainy winters. The sun shines 300 days a year. The annual rainfall on the coastal plain is around 35in, and more than 50in in the mountains. Humidity is high along the coast in summer and daytime temperatures average 30°C with night temperatures not much lower.

Beirut in summer becomes a commuter society as families move to the mountains to enjoy the cool dry climate. Winters on the coast can be dry and mild one day and wet and chilly the next.

Winter daytime temperatures average 15°C. In the mountains summer daytime temperatures average 26°C and the nights are pleasantly cool. Winters are cold and it snows at the higher elevations. The snow ensures good skiing from December through April.

SHOPPING :

Beirut is full of shops and markets selling everything from hand woven rugs to electronic equipment, including fashionable clothing. Locally produced handicrafts include pottery, blown glass, embroidered materials, caftans, copper and brass ornaments, mother-of-pearl inlaid trinkets and furniture and rugs.

GEOGRAPHY :

Lebanon is located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea.
The country is 215km long, and from east to west the distance ranges from 25 to 90km.
It is bordered by Syria to the north and east, and by occupied Palestine to the south.
Lebanon Surface area is 10,452 km/sqr.
There are four main geographical regions running north to south parallel to the Mediterranean -- the coastal plain, the Lebanon mountain range, the Bekaa Valley and the Anti-Lebanon range.
The narrow fertile coastal plain is broken at several points by the foothills and peaks of the Lebanon Mountains.Lebanon's main cities, Beirut and Tripoli, are along this plain. The Lebanon mountains include numerous rivers which flow down to the sea, and Lebanon's highest peak Qornet Es-Sauda at 3090 meters. Behind the Lebanon Mountains is the Bekaa Valley, an extension of the Great Rift Valley.

The 15-kilometer-wide fertile Bekaa valley is the country's main agricultural region, growing crops as varied as sugar beet, potatoes, and grapes. The Bekaa's archaeological treasures are among Lebanon's finest: Baalbeck, once a Roman metropolis, and Anjar, an Umayyad city that was an 8th century shopping center, much as nearby Chtaura is today.

Lebanon's two major rivers, the Litani and the Orontes, rise in the Bekaa Valley. The valley ends abruptly at the foot of the Anti-Lebanon range, an arid mountain mass which forms the boundary with Syria.

CURRENCY & BANKING :

The unit of currency in Lebanon is the Lebanese pound (LL), known locally as the lira. There are only notes (LL 50, 100, are rarely used), (LL 250, 500, 1000, 5000, 10.000, 20.000, 50.000, 100.000) in circulation.

One U$ equal to 1500 LL. Most banks will only change US dollars and UK pounds in cash and travelers cheques, but moneychangers will buy and sell almost any currency.

EDUCATION & LIFESTYLE :

Lebanon has one of the best education systems in the Middle East. The literacy rate is more than 75%, one of the highest in the Arab world.

Beirut has important universities targeted from major Arab countries seeking for certain level of education. The most notable is the American University of Beirut (AUB); others are the American Lebanese University (ALU), Beirut-Arab University, and the Lebanese Maronite University.

As in other Arab countries the traditional lifestyle of the Lebanese revolves strongly around the family, socializing and hospitality. Western influences, mainly French and American, have given the country a cosmopolitan facade, mostly in the main cities.

Outside the cities, especially in the mountains, the people retain the old customs and traditions. The Lebanese people, despite being ethnically and religiously diverse because of the country's long history of conquest and assimilation, are friendly and hospitable.

They are familiar with foreigners' ways and dress and although sleeveless tops, miniskirts and shorts are acceptable in Beirut, the rest of the country is more traditional and modest dress is recommended. This is particularly necessary when visiting mosques and other religious places.