Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Lebanon is located in the NEAR East (not middle east)

Lebanon is located in the NEAR East (not middle east)
I just want to correct some misconception in that regard:

Just because Lebanon is a major player in the middle eastern game doesn't make it so....

Geographically speaking, the Far East being Thailand, Malaysia, China, India, etc... the Middle East being KSA, Iran, UAE (which by the way, is about 4hrs flight away from Beirut!), etc .. which makes Lebanon in the NEAR East on the Eastern side of the Mediterranean sea ...

Furthermore, Lebanon's climate's sets it appart from other Middle Eastern countries as Lebanon has a Meditarranean climate (obviously) characterized by a long, hot, and dry summer, and cool, rainy winter. Fall is a transitional season with a gradual lowering of temperature and little rain; spring occurs when the winter rains cause the vegetation to revive.

Its governmental system also sets it appart from other countries in the region.

I remember distinctly being taught in school when i was much much younger ;) that Lebanon is in the Near East but its only recently (last 2 decades) that I have been hearing that Lebanon is in the Middle East since its been linked so often to the problems in that area and been used so often as battlefield for whatever is the issue of the moment...

So anyway i googled Near East and according to wikipedia:

"The Near East is a term commonly used by archaeologists, geographers and historians, less commonly by journalists and commentators, to refer to the region encompassing Anatolia (the Asian portion of modern Turkey), the Levant (Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon), Georgia, Armenia, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The alternative term Middle East—preferred in some political and economic contexts—is not used by Near Eastern archaeologists and historians."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_East

So in the context of "location", my initial description that Lebanon is located on the Mediterranean Sea in the NEAR East (not the middle east) is correct... ;)

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