I am moving or traveling to Lebanon and I have a bunch of practical questions

I have made a page especially for this, right here.

Lebanon is a desert country, right, with people living in tents and riding camels?

See for yourself how "desertic" Lebanon is. The image you have in mind is Saudi Arabia, although even there, not everybody lives in tents anymore. The name Lebanon itself means "white", in reference to the snow it is covered with in winter.The two mountain chains that make up the country create a barrage for the clouds coming from the Mediterranean, so that they spend themselves, in rain or snow, on Lebanon. We have an abundance of water, a high rate of humidity in the air (about 90%) and a very moderate weather. As a comparison, I was recently in the States and Beirut never gets as hot as New Jersey does. It's not for nothing that the Bible calls it "the land of milk and honey", and praises its cedars -- which are not the only plant species to be native to the area, by the way. Several dozen plant species are found only here, including many orchids and (funnily) the white lily that is now the symbol of French royalty.

How come your English is so good?

Languages are a Lebanese specialty. I studied in a French system school, so that from first grade I was taught both French and Arabic as first languages. In seventh grade English classes are introduced, and by the time we graduate we are perfectly fluent in all three. However, long before we take English in school, we all have solid notions of it thanks to the abundance of American movies and music we are exposed to. This is one of the advantages of being fully open to Western productions. English system schools have English instead of French as a first foreign language. To find out more about our language education, read my article "Don't present in three languages!" or the question of language in Lebanon.

Is Lebanon a Muslim country? Do you wear a chador?

No. Lebanon recognizes 16 religions and its Constitution is entirely secular: it simply stipulates that each individual must abide by the laws of his or her religious community. The holidays that are officially observed are the above communities' most important ones: Christmas, the Christian and Muslim New Years, the Catholic and Orthodox Easters, the Shi'a's Ashoura, the end of Ramadan, All Saints' Day, the birth of the Prophet, the Assumption... All government-dependent facilities close on these days, but they are not forced upon the communities who do not celebrate them. During Ramadan for instance, unlike in some Muslim countries, restaurants do no shut during the day nor is it forbidden to eat in public before sunset. The week-ends are officially Saturday and Sunday, although some areas do take Friday off rather than Sunday. The calendar we use is the Gregorian calendar. In a nutshell, if you were a Lebanese citizen, you would follow your religion's legislation for secular matters (marriage, property, etc) but be entirely free to practice your religion (or not) as you see fit.

As for the chador, very few wear that in Lebanon. We hold it in the same regard Westerners do. Muslim women who choose to wear the veil generally cover only their hair, and they are not "punished" if it shows. More than once, I have seen a woman's veil slip from her head while on the bus, before she noticed and calmly put it back as if nothing happened. In no place in the country is anyone forced to adopt a specific religious dress.

If you could see the kind of pictures that goes on our billboards, especially for lingerie ads, you'd get an instant and final answer to that question.

Are the Lebanese Arabs?

Lebanon belongs to the Arab World the way France belongs to the European Union. Historically, genetically and ethnically, the so-called Arab nations are all different and the language is the only thing they really have in common, but even that is an illusion as some of these languages are as different as Italian is from Spanish. The true Arabs originate in the Arabian peninsula. All other populations have their roots in different, often far older cultures -- the Phoenicians for Lebanon, Arameans for Palestine, Berbers for North Africa, etc.

Are there fightings still going on?

Except for the South, there have been no fightings since 1991. Exactly what is going on at the time you're reading this will depend on the news, but in general the country is actually much safer than the USA, France or the like, as we don't have to worry so much about school violence, gangs, armed robbery, etc.

If I visit and people notice I'm a foreigner, will I get my throat slit?

This question is tragicomic. You are more likely to be invited for coffee and sweets and to get pampered ad nauseam. The Lebanese reputation for hospitality never suffered from the political events. There are plenty of foreigners, including Americans, residing here permanently, and I have never heard of any foreign resident or tourist being harrassed or attacked.

Lebanon is a good deal safer than many western countries. Here's the volume of crime per 100,000 inhabitant in Lebanon and in the US in 2001, compiled by Interpol:

Source: International Crime Statistics.
Let us also note that Syria has exported its most undesirable citizens to Lebanon, filling the country with cutthroats and thieves that seriously weigh in the balance of our crime statistics. (Now that they've been given the boot, things are improving)

I have to speak Arabic to go to Lebanon, don't I?

Arabic would make you sound weird -- Lebanese would be more useful. It's not necessary, though. No matter where you are, there will be someone around who speaks or at the very least understands French and/or English (or other languages that you're less likely to speak, like Armenian, Italian or Russian). Signage is always in both Arabic and French, and so are most shop signs. We use US dollars along with our local currency, so you don't even have to go through the hassle of translating prices all the time.

Do people have arranged marriages, have several wives and lots of children?

I hear that some conservative Muslims, as well as extreme Christians, practice arranged marriages. However, only a small minority doesn't reel at the thought of arranged marriage. The active, modern population is monogamous no matter what religion they belong to. As for children -- no, large families are no more common here than they are in Europe or the States. Most people have between 2 and 4 children.

What kind of clothes do you wear?

A brief answer would be: everything that people wear in the West. People my age go for MNGO, Miss Selfridge, Gap, Guess, Benetton, GS, Nike, etc. In fashion now are tank tops, platforms and glitter for girls, baggy pants with spiky hair for guys. To my disappointment, the traditional dress is out of fashion for daily wear; it is left for restaurant costumes, special occasions, and to wear at home as a robe in the morning.

What kind of music do you listen to?

Music from the USA, France, England, Italy, Brazil, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Algeria, Canada, even Greece sometimes, and of course our local productions.

What kind of sports do you play?

The most popular sport is basketball, especially since the rise of our national team, Sagesse or 7ekmeh. The second most popular is soccer, then I guess tennis -- the ATCL club organizes yearly international tournaments. I must also mention the rallye, which attracts competitors worldwide as our mountain roads provide a serious challenge. In winter, ski and snowboarding are the tradition, and naturally, everybody swims and practices beach sports. These are the sports that stand out, but almost everything else is practiced in a less generalized way.

Do you get American TV shows or movies there?

Absolutely. If you quote Seinfeld there's a fair chance people will know what you're talking about, especially if you're with young people. I think that the most popular American sitcom right now is Friends. Our tastes differ, however. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was a flop, for instance, because people like the original movies much better.
As is the case with music, we are also widely exposed to cinema productions from everywhere else in the world, especially France. We do not dub movies or TV shows: we use subtitles in Arabic and French or Arabic and English.

What is the status of the French language in Lebanon?

French has been taught in Lebanon since the early 19th century with the arrival of religious missions from France that founded schools all over Mount Lebanon. During the period of the French mandate, which began in 1920 and ended in 43, the teaching of French became general. The Lebanese spoke French among themselves and gave their children French names. The Constitution of 1923, based on the French Constitution, stipulated that French and Arabic were the two official languages of the country. The new Constitution written in 1943 claims that the official language is Arabic and that the status of French would be examined later, which never happened, but nevertheless the French language is doing quite well. 72% of the students today learn French as their second language. To paraphrase a paper of Oct. 29, 2002: The success of the ?cole Sup?rieure des Affaires (ESA) proves that French can also be a business language. French also remains the first foreign language in school. Plus, Lebanon has an active francophone press and continues to produce authors. At the Games of the Francophonie we were awarded first prize in poetry. Moreover, the Lebanese are interested in the francophony, and the public rushes to related shows.

How diversified is the population?

It really depends on the location, but I found it interesting to give an idea using the following statistics pusblished in the American University of Beirut bulletin. For the school year 2002-2003 the 6,400 students enrolled at the AUB hailed from the 66 following nationalities:

Lebanon: 5,425
USA: 228
Jordan: 155
Palestine: 151
Syria: 148
Canada: 88
UK: 63
Saudi Arabia: 53
France: 37
Kuwait: 28
Australia: 22
Egypt, Venezuela: 19
Bahrain: 15
Germany, Iraq: 10
Greece: 8
Sierra Leone: 7
Cyprus: 5
Columbia, Italy, Nigeria, Qatar, Spain: 4
Austria, Iran, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Sudan, Sweden, Turkey, UAE: 3
Algeria, Argentina, Belgium, Czech, Ecuador, Ireland, Switzerland: 2
Bolivia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Chile, Denmark, Finland, Gambia, Ghana, India, Lesotho, Lybia, Mauritius, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Portugal, Belarus, Swaziland, Thailand, Tunisia, Ukraine: 1

Can I see some basic stats about Lebanon now?

You bet.

Name: The Lebanese Republic.

Spoken languages: Arabic (in truth Lebanese in daily life, Arabic for official stuff), French, English and Armenian.

Exchange: A free market exchange system.

Currency: Lebanese Pound (the leera or Livre Libanaise), where roughly $1=LL1500

Area: 10,452 km2. Highest point: Qurnet el Sawda (in the Cedars) at 3083m.

Climate: Mediterranean with 300 sunny days a year, 700 to 1200 mm of rainfall a year over four months.

Political system: Parliamentary Democracy.

Population: estimated 4 million, 80% urban.

Structure: divided into 6 Mo7âfazât (Governorates): Beirut, Mount Lebanon (chef-lieu Baabda), North Lebanon (Tripoli), South Lebanon (Saida), Beqaa (Zahle) and Nabatieh, themselves divided into Cazas.

Official holidays: New Year, St Maron (Feb. 9), Good Friday (for both Eastern and Western churches), Easter Monday (idem), Labour Day (May 1), Martyrs Day (May 6), South Liberation Day (May 25), Assumption (Aug. 15), All Saints (Nov. 1), Independence Day (Nov. 22), Christmas, plus the Muslim holidays which shift every year. Week-ends are Saturday and Sunday. Armenians get their own holidays off as well: Christmas (January 6), St Vartan's Day, and the commemoration of the Genocide (April 24)

Article © Joumana Medlej