Lebanon
Lebanon (officially Lebanese Republic) is a country in Western Asia, with its capital at Beirut, and is home to roughly 5.8M people.
Its official languages are Arabic, French; the currency in circulation is Lebanese pound (ل.ل); people from here are called Lebanese.
- »Byblos is among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.
- »The Phoenician alphabet developed along this coast and is the ancestor of most alphabets in use today.
Lebanon touches two neighbours: Israel to the south and Syria to the northeast. Directions run from one centre to the other.
Beirut has been destroyed and rebuilt many times over five thousand years, and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.
10,019 km² (3,868 sq mi), 164th largest of 198 countries and territories on file, almost exactly the size of the Gambia.
Population 5,805,962, 115th of 198 on file. That averages 579 per km² (1,501 per sq mi).
The cedar of Lebanon at the centre is a symbol of endurance mentioned repeatedly in the Bible. The constitution specifies the tree must be green.