Middle East - Anthony Ham [344]
While each of these three things may seem strange to a first-time visitor, you’ll soon realise that each is essential to keeping the troubled country soldiering on, no matter how bad life gets.
The element of national identity, however, that will most profoundly affect visitors to the country is the justifiably legendary hospitality of the Lebanese towards their guests who, as the Lebanese saying goes, are a ‘gift from God’. You’ll be assured a warm welcome every step of the way, and will barely have to pause on a street corner for someone to offer you assistance, refreshingly free of strings. This makes Lebanon, despite its frequently violent reputation, a reassuringly comfortable place to spend time, and it won’t take long for you to start reciprocating the Lebanese affection for their visitors ten-fold.
Daily Life
Though it’s hard to generalise about such a traditionally factionalised country, family life, as in most Middle Eastern destinations, is central to all in Lebanon. Extended families often live close together, and many children live at home until married, either to save money for their own home or simply because they prefer it that way. Social life, too, is both close-knit and gregarious: everyone within a small community tends to know everything there is to know about everyone else.
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HOW MUCH?
Cup of coffee LL1500
Newspaper LL2000
One-minute phone call to the UK LL3000
Internet connection per hour LL3000
Museum admission LL5000
LONELY PLANET INDEX
Litre of petrol LL1300
Litre of bottled water LL600
Bottle of Almaza beer LL3000
Souvenir T-shirt LL8000
Sandwich LL3000
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Marriage is a second crucial factor throughout Lebanon, and members of all religions tend to marry young. An unmarried woman in her thirties will raise eyebrows, though a man still single at 30, as in most parts of the Middle East, is usually thought to be simply waiting for the right girl. And though there has traditionally been an expectation that people will marry within their religion, this barrier is slowly being broken down: many mixed-religion couples opt for marriage in Cyprus or Greece, if one half of the couple (usually the woman) doesn’t choose to convert.
Alongside the importance of family and marriage, a university education is highly valued in Lebanon. Financial constraints aren’t too much of an issue: those whose parents can’t afford to subsidise them usually take part-time jobs alongside their classes. This is true for both men and women, since women of all religions are now readily accepted into all areas of the workplace, including the government. Many young people study with a view to emigrating overseas, lured by higher salaries and the promise of a safer, calmer lifestyle away from the unrest: for more on this, see the boxed text opposite.
As you’ll notice from the pace of Beirut nightlife, young Christians – both male and female – usually have far greater social freedom than Muslims or members of other religions. But while these freedoms may at first appear similar to their Western counterparts, there are definite limits to acceptable behaviour. Drinking heavily, sleeping around or taking drugs is frowned upon in Lebanese society – not that you’d necessarily know it on a night out on Beirut’s Rue Monot. And while party-central Beirut seems, on the surface, no different from any European capital city, venture just a few dozen kilometres north or south and you’ll find people in traditional villages living and farming almost exactly as they did a century or more ago. Add to this a substantial Palestinian population almost entirely cut off from the mainstream – and rarely referred to in conversation by the Lebanese themselves – and you’ll find that daily life in this tiny country is incredibly complex, and often wildly contrasting.
Population
Lebanon’s official