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 With its capital Beirut determined to regain its "Paris of the Middle East" reputation, Lebanon once again poised to play a significant role in the region s tourism and leisure sectors . Visitors could settle for basking on the beaches in the Mediterranean sun or heading for luxurious mountain ski resorts in winter .
Amateur explorers can take in ancient Phoenician, Greek and Roman sites, then join the night Crawlers enjoying Beirut s lively nightlife scene . Gastronomes are never disappointed with theEropean and Middle Eastern culinary palette of foods served up.
With competitively priced gold, jewellery, electronics, cameras and watches, Lebanon has established itself as a major regional shopping hub. The country is a compact one, just 180 kilometres from north to south and 50 kilometres from east to west .
Despite its modest size, Lebanon possesses compltely varying geographical areas. A very narrow, rugged coastal strip contains all the principal Cities while inland the Mount Lebanon range rises majestically to a dramatic range of peaks and ridges . The highest of them is Qornet as Sawda at 3,600 metres.
Still further inland, the range drops sharply to the 150-kilometre -long Bekaa Valley, running parallel to the coast at an elevation of 1,00 metres and a major wine-producing region . The celebrated cedars of Lebanon which covered much of the country in biblical times are mow found on only a few mountaintops .
Nonetheless, Lebanon is still the most densely wooded of all Middle Eastern countries with several varieties of pine and fruit trees along the coastal stretches .If you want to get to the beaches, the ideal period come to Lebanon is from June to mid- September .
But from December to May, sliers are increasingly taking advantage of the country s resorts . With such a diverse topography, its hardly surprising that the weather varies considerably from the coast , the mountains to the Bekaa Valley . If your luck is in , you could catch the end of the ski season, sunbathe on the beach and get fresh flowers in your hotel room , all on the same day .
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