Discover your Lebanese roots

Questions to ask the older generation

Memories fade faster than photos. Ask these over a meal or a phone call, and write the answers down.

1. Which town or region of Lebanon did our family come from? Was it near Tripoli, Jounieh, Byblos?
2. Who was the first in the family to leave Lebanon, when, and why?
3. Which dishes from Lebanon were cooked at home? Did anyone make Hummus or Tabbouleh?
4. Does anyone in the family still speak Lebanese Arabic, or use a few words of it?
5. Were there songs, prayers, games or holidays from Lebanon that the family kept?
6. Are there old photos, letters or documents from Lebanon? Who has them?
7. If you could visit Lebanon together, where would you go first?

A short history of Lebanon

Few places pack so much history into so little land. The Lebanese coast was home to Phoenician city-states thousands of years ago, while the modern state only took shape in 1920 and became independent in 1943.

1. 5000 BC

   Early settlement at Byblos

   By about 5000 BC fishing families were living in huts on the shore at Byblos. The town has been lived in ever since, and it is often listed among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.

2. 814 BC

   Tyre founds Carthage

   According to tradition, settlers from Tyre led by Queen Elissa, also called Dido, founded Carthage in what is now Tunisia in 814 BC. It grew into the capital of a great trading empire.

3. 64 BC

   Rome takes over

   The Roman general Pompey added the region to the Roman world. Under Rome, Baalbek received its giant temples.

4. 1516

   Ottoman rule begins

   Lebanon became part of the Ottoman Empire. For centuries local emirs, such as Fakhr al-Din II and later Bashir II, ruled Mount Lebanon on behalf of the sultan.

5. 1926

   The first constitution

   Lebanon adopted a constitution in 1926 and became the Lebanese Republic, though France still held real power under its League of Nations mandate.

6. 1945

   A founding member of the Arab League

   On 22 March 1945 Lebanon was one of the seven founding members of the Arab League in Cairo. The same year it also became a founding member of the United Nations.

7. 1990

   The civil war ends

   The Taif Agreement of 1989 laid the basis for peace, and the fighting ended in 1990 after 15 years. Estimates of the dead are around 120,000 to 150,000, and nearly a million people were displaced.

8. 2020

   The Beirut port explosion

   On 4 August 2020 a large store of ammonium nitrate, about 2,750 tonnes when it was unloaded and kept unsafely at the port of Beirut for six years, exploded after a fire. More than 200 people died, thousands were injured and large parts of the city were damaged.

Family recipes to cook together

Hummus 20 min · serves 4Tabbouleh 30 min · serves 4Fattoush 25 min · serves 4Za'atar flatbread 2 h · serves 6Lentils and rice with crispy onions 1 h · serves 4Turmeric cake 1 h · serves 12

Lebanese Arabic words to teach the grandchildren

Towns and regions

• Beirut, Beirut: The Corniche seafront promenade, The National Museum.
• Tripoli, North: The Crusader Citadel of Raymond de Saint-Gilles, Old covered souks.
• Jounieh, Keserwan-Jbeil: The cable car to Harissa, Its bay and old stone souk.
• Byblos, Keserwan-Jbeil: Its Crusader castle and ancient ruins, The old harbour.
• Batroun, North: Fresh lemonade, Old Maronite and Greek Orthodox churches.
• Bsharri, North: The Gibran Museum, The Cedars of God forest nearby.
• Zahlé, Beqaa: Riverside restaurants, Arak and Beqaa wine.
• Baalbek, Baalbek-Hermel: The Roman temples of Jupiter and Bacchus, The Baalbeck International Festival.
• Deir el Qamar, Mount Lebanon: The Fakhreddine Mosque, Old palaces around the main square.
• Sidon, South: The Crusader Sea Castle, Its old souk and soap museum.
• Tyre, South: Roman ruins and a huge hippodrome, Its old fishing harbour.