Lebanon is a tiny, mountainous nation, situated at the eastern extremity of the Mediterranean, covering an area of 10,452 square kilometers. It has a population of 4 million and is bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south. It is, depending on your mental references, half the size of Wales or two-thirds the size of Connecticut. The main cities are the coastal ports of Beirut, the capital, Tripoli and Sidon.

The country has a quirky reputation. On the one hand Lebanon is often held up as the epitome of chaos and strife – a throwback to the dark days of the 1975-90 civil war – while on the other it is famed for its wonderful food, shrewd and glamorous people and breathtaking scenery. It is also the site of Phoenicia, one of the world’s oldest civilizations, and home to some of the most magnificently preserved ruins from antiquity.

Its religious make-up is also something that baffles most outsiders. It is a crucible of the three great monotheist religions – Christianity, Islam and Judaism – with 16 state-recognized faiths. This confessional spread is what guarantees Lebanon’s vibrant diversity, even if consensus on major issues has often been elusive because of it.

The Lebanese are kind and generous and deeply proud of their country. They are, by and large, a fun loving bunch, even if centuries of either being governed – by the Ottomans and the French – or influenced by bigger and stronger nations has created a streak of fatalism and a penchant for seeing everything as a conspiracy.

They are also people who place huge emphasis on hard work and education. Lebanon’s schools were once by far the best in the region, while the American University of Beirut is still arguably the most respected seat of higher learning in the Middle East. Lebanese doctors are respected internationally, while its engineers can lay credible claim to having built the gleaming cities of the Arabian Gulf. Even the waiters speak three languages.

Lebanon is a tiny country with a wealth of natural and historic riches. Beirut is rapidly re-establishing, and maybe even surpassing, its pre-war reputation as the Paris of the Middle East. Dubai may have the skyscrapers and the razzamatazz, but Lebanon’s capital is so steeped in millennia of history, so alive with the heartbeat of its different communities, it is a bewitching and intoxicating urban blend with which few, if any, of the cities in the region can compete.

Lebanon today is a magnet for those who value the Lebanese sense of style and attention to detail. And so, whether it be in a shiny new apartment building, a bar or restaurant, a wedding party, box of Arabic sweets, intricate jewelry or a bottle of wine, the Lebanese are demonstrating to the rest of the region, if not the world, that beauty delivered with impeccable service is their hallmark.

Add all this to a country that is defined by rippling, snow-capped mountains that rise steeply off the coast, fertile plains, deep, thunderous valleys and an archeological and religious heritage that would be the envy of many other nations, and Lebanon should be one of the most dynamic countries on the planet. That it has not yet achieved this is maybe its curse, but it hasn’t stopped the Lebanese from showing the world that they are talented, hardworking and imbued with a rare joy for life.

Adapted from Michael Karam’s Lebanese Wines 2011

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