The next place on my travel wish list is Lebanon. Besides being a beautiful country, I’m largely interested in Lebanon because it is a country where both French and Arabic are widely spoken. While Arabic is the official language, almost 40 percent of the population speaks French, with a large percentage of the nation’s youth also speaking English. I have a pretty strong background in French and I’m currently taking Arabic, so I feel like this would be a great country to practice and expand my language skills. Snooping on the internet for sights to see in Lebanon quickly confirmed for me that this would, in fact, be a great country to visit.
While Lebanon is now a relatively stable country, I would most likely be staying towards the Northern end of the country, as the South still experiences occasional violence in the aftermath of the country’s civil war that lasted from 1975-1990. Caused by corrupt leadership within the country, such a long internal war took a great toll on the nation. However, since the war ended in 1990 there has been great effort into restoring the country, and many social and economic policies enacted to enforce peace in the area and restore the economy.
Consisting of a large coastal region located along the Mediterranean as well as a series of mountains and valleys, Lebanon has a little bit of everything in terms of sight seeing. One of the first locations that piqued my interest was the Jeita Grotto. This little underground cove consists of several crystalized caves, the longest in the Middle East, and was a finalist in the 7 Wonders of Nature competition.
The next place I would have to visit is the Baatara Gorge Waterfall. This beautiful landmark consists of not one but three separate waterfalls, as well as rock formations that are estimated to be millions of years old. The three stone bridges that span the Jurassic era limestone formations below also give the area the name “Three Bridges Chasm”.
Lebanon is also a historic country, containing many ancient Phoenician ports like Byblos, Baalbek, and Tyre. With their cultural background, many cities in Lebanon have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. My favorite sight within these ancient cultural hotspots is the Temples of Baalbek. This location contains lots of Ancient Roman influence, including temples to Roman Gods like Jupiter and Bacchus. And, considering it is heavily guarded, this is one of the safest tourist spots in Lebanon!
I will for sure be adding Lebanon to my travel wish list for its historic culture and beautiful sights, as well as the opportunity it would pose to me language-wise. Researching the country was fun and gave me lots of insight into a beautiful country that I did not know much about!
Woah the Three Bridges Chasm is gorgeous. I do think that Lebanon is a country that’s often forgotten about, because on the global news scale many of its neighbors are higher profile, usually for not-so-great reasons. I wonder why French is spoken so much in Lebanon. My dad’s French is passable, but mainly because he grew up in a French colony. I don’t know about/if Lebanon has a colonial history, but I definitely think that’s it one of the things which looking back, could be an interesting example of a confluence of imperial powers descending on a land like Lebanon, which so much historical, cultural, and agricultural value.
While researching I read that Lebanon was under France’s colonial rule at some point so that explains why there’s such a French influence in the area 🙂
This is giving me so much inspiration to travel there (after COVID)! The Batara Gorge Waterfall looks so majestic like I would expect to see fairies there or something. Definitely adding that one to my hiking wish list. I’ve always wanted to backpack around the world because there are really no language barrier problems when you’re just enjoying nature (unless you’re reading navigation signs of course). However, your dedication to learning new languages in order to immerse yourself more in the culture has inspired me to consider doing the same.
After reading this I definitely will be putting Lebanon on my travel wish-list, too! From the pictures you included, the sites in the country seems almost fantastical. The nature tourist locations look like something you would see in a story book. I’d love to go see the Jeita Grotto and the Baatara Gorge Waterfall, both look absolutely gorgeous. Along with that, as a lover of all things ancient and mythological, the Temple of Jupiter seems right up my alley as well.
Lebanon does not get a lot positive attention from the media or any for that matter so I have never really considered it as a destination to visit someday, but after reading your post, I would be happy to get the chance to see what all Lebanon has to offer! Those Roman temples in Baalbek are absolutely stunning and its crazy to think they were built thousands of years ago without the machinery we have now, yet they are still standing!
I have never really considered that Lebanon boarders the Mediterranean sea, but that certainly explains the roman influence as it was definitely under the control of the roman empire at one point. Normally I would not want to go to a country that has a very prominent public image of war and suffering, however the way you describe Lebanon and the sights to see it suddenly turns into a very hospitable place. If I ever get the opportunity I will be sure to check it out. Great Post!