The Melting Pot 2.0/The Melting Pot 2.0.iso/rdytrd/lebanon9.txt

Text File | 1994-04-23 | 170KB | 4,075 lines

Archive-name: lebanon-faq/part1
Last-modified: 1993/09/21
Version: 1.8


_______________________________________________________________________________



       Many FAQs, including this one, are available on the archive site
rtfm.mit.edu in the directory pub/usenet/news.answers.
The names under which this FAQ is archived are "lebanon-faq/part1" and
"lebanon-faq/part2".

If you do not have ftp, you can request messages from rtfm by using
the local mail server.  Send mail to [e-mail]
containing the line "send usenet/news.answers/lebanon-faq" to get
this file.  Send a message containing "help" to get general
information about the mail server.

This FAQ could also be obtained via regular anonymous ftp at the site:
                  borg.poly.edu (128.238.10.106) (try rama.poly.edu if borg is
down)
                  in pub/scl/lebanon-faq, filenames "part1"
    and "part2".

Version:          Version 1.8
Changes since last posting:  New information stored on the liasun cultural
        server (Question 22), new companion ftp server
        for the liasun server at Ostfold Regional College
        set up by Barre Ludvigsen, companion server
        address is : ftp.dhalden.no  (158.36.33.3),
        new material posted on the new server in:
        /ftp/pub/mideast, new merchandise shipping
        company listed (Question 28) ,
        new Lebanese Embassy and consulate addresses in
        France [Paris and Marseilles] (Question 2).

Here is a listing of questions :

1.  What is the value of a Lebanese pound in terms of US$, Can$, UK lb,
    etc.?

2.  What is the address and phone number of the Lebanese Embassy
    and/or Consulates in the US, Canada, France, etc....
    and how can I contact the American University of Beirut ?

3.  How can I phone Lebanon and which carrier gives the cheapest rates?

4.  What are the airlines servicing Beirut ?

5.  Where can I find tickets for Lebanon at a good price ?

6.  What are the e-mail and telnet IP addresses for sites in Lebanon ?

7.  What are the phone numbers to call to get Lebanon news ?

8.  What are the radio frequencies and broadcast times of Lebanese
    related radio programs  ?

9.  What are the various Lebanese organizations and how can I contact them ?

10. What are the projects you can contribute to help rebuild Lebanon ?

11. What are the various Lebanese magazines and newspapers ?

12. Where can I find Lebanese magazines and newspapers ?

13. What has been written by Lebanese and/or on Lebanon ?

14. Where can I find works written by Lebanese and /or on Lebanon ?

15. Are there Arabic word processors ?

16. Is there a standard Arabic alphabet representation in Latin ?

17. Where can I find Lebanese songs and music ?

18. Where can I find a Lebanese restaurant ?

19. Where can I find a Lebanese grocery store?

20. Is there a good Lebanese recipe book ?

21. Are there recipes available on the net ?

22. Is there an ftp archive site for Lebanese art works ?

23. What is the best way to deal with multiple system TVs and VCRs and
    where can I get my VCR tape converted to a format that works in Lebanon ?

24. What are newborn names that could be used for Lebanese children living
    abroad that would work in both Lebanon and Western societies ?

25. I plan to go home soon and I have heard rumors that the draft
    will be re-instituted, do you have any additional information about this ?
    I was born in 1923 and I am afraid that I would be subject to the draft !!!

26. Where can I get a copy of the English translation of
    the Lebanese Constitution ?

27. Where can I get a copy of the English translation of the
    Taef Agreement ?

28. I need to ship a car/ or some merchandise to Lebanon, do you
    know of a shipping company that handles this ?

29. I suddenly developped an urge for Middle-Eastern cuisine,
    can you help me quench this horrifying thirst ?

30. Where can I find information about US State Department visa regulations
    for foreigners.

31. Where can I get the latest travel advisory for Americans wishing
    to visit Lebanon or the Middle-East ?

32. Are there available statistical and basic general information about
Lebanon,
    and what are they ?

Thanks to all contributors to this FAQ, namely:
Naji Mouawad (who started the effort), Bassem Medawar, Samir Fahs, Mazen
Saghir,
Edmond J. Abrhamian, Alex Khalil, Olivier M.J. Crepin-Leblond, Hassan Hammoud,
Mazen Mokhtar, Barre Ludvigsen, Ghassan Semaan, Elie Wardini, Fady Harfoush,
Debbie Masri, Pauline Homsi Vinson, Youssef Fawaz, Mike, Nasri, Rached Zantout,
May Nasrallah, Khalil El-Khoury, Danny Chahal, Haidar Harmamani, Wadih Shaib,
Walid Nasrallah, Kamie Kitmitto, Ibrahim Ballouz, Nadim Maluf, Fadi Andraos,
Boudi Sahyoun, Naji Rizk, Berthe Choueiry, Jamal Zemerly, Wassim Alami, philo,
George Fisher, Roger Adbel-Hay, Knut Vik|r, Walid Keirouz, Jihad Kawkabani,
Joseph Mouhanna, Ayman Kayssi, Hayssam Taha, Elie Mourad, Jihad Daba,
Ala'a Dakroub, Salah Sadek and Basil Hamdan
(sorry if I missed anyone).

This FAQ file was compiled and edited by Alex Khalil and Basil Hamdan.

******************************************************************************
DISCLAIMER:

This FAQ is presented with no warranties or guarantees of ANY KIND
including correctness or fitness for any particular purpose.  The
author(s) of this document have attempted to verify correctness of the
data contained herein; however, slip-ups can and do happen.  If you use
any information included in this FAQ, you do so at your own risk.
The FAQ authors cannot and have NOT used all the the services suggested
in the FAQ, nor have they checked them for accuracy.  They were all
included mostly verbatim at the suggestion of contributors to this FAQ.

You can reprint any FAQ posting of mine anywhere you want, as long as
the following conditions are met:

1. You use as recent a version of the FAQ as possible.

2. My name (as well as the "credits" section, if any, listing other
   people who have contributed) stays on it.

3. Any modifications (other than typesetting changes) you make to it
   are clearly designated as your modifications.  If you are
   significantly reformatting the information in the FAQ, then you
   don't have to explicitly show every change from the original, but
   you make clear that what you are printing is derived from my FAQ
   rather than a direct copy of it.

4. You tell people where to find updated versions of it, i.e., what
   newsgroups it appears in.

******************************************************************************
_______________________________________________________________________________

First of all, for the patriotic among you, here is a uuencoded Lebanese
flag gif file, with instructions on how to display it using xv,
all provided kindly by Naji Rizk.
A nice way to use this flag is to have it displayed in the background of
your workstation.


   Here is the procedure:

   1) Cut the file out (between Cut Here signs) so that the following line
      be the first line in the file:

      begin 400 flag.gif

      and save on your filespace as a file named say, "leb.uu".

   2) Once the file leb.uu is saved after these modifications,
      type under the unix prompt:
      uudecode leb.uu, this procedure will automatically create
      the Lebanese flag gif file "flag.gif".on your filespace.

   3) If you are using xv as a gif viewer, type: xv flag.gif &

      In order to have the flag in the background (tiled), type this:
      xv  -rmode 1 full-path-name-of-flag.gif   &
      xv  -rmode 1 full-path-name-of-flag.gif   &
                   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
      If the file is in your home directory called /users/lebanese
      then the full path name is: /users/lebanese/flag.gif

___________________  Cut Here  ______________________________
begin 400 flag
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#   [

end

___________________  Cut Here  ______________________________

*******************************************************************************
1. What is the value of a Lebanese pound in terms of US$, Can$, UK lb,
   etc.?

  It fluctuates. Typically, a good way to keep abreast of the 'latest' figures
is to:

 - Look at the Wall Street Journal

 - Subscribe to Leb-Net (Leb-Net@@cumesa.mech.columbia.edu), which
   reports the value every couple of days.

*******************************************************************************

2. What is the address and phone number of the Lebanese Embassy
   and/or Lebanese Consulates in the US, Canada, Germany,  France, etc...
   and how can I contact the American University of Beirut ?

  For Canada:

Embassy of Lebanon
640 Lyon St.
Ottawa, Ontario
              K1S 3Z5
[phone]
Consulate of Lebanon
40 Cote St. Catherine
Montreal, Quebec

[phone]

  For the USA:

  Washington DC Embassy:

Embassy of Lebanon
2560 28th Street NW
Washington D.C.  20008

Phone: [phone]



Consulates:

New York

Consulate General of Lebanon
9 East 76th St.
NY, NY

Phone: [phone]

Detroit

Consulate General of Lebanon
1959 E. Jefferson
Suite 4A
Detroit, Michigan 48207

Phone: [phone]

Los Angeles

Consulate General of Lebanon
7060 Hollywood Boulevard, Suite 510
Hollywood, CA 90028

Phone: [phone]

  For the  United Kingdom:

Lebanese Councilor Section
15 Palace Garden Mews,
London W8 4QQ.

England UK

Phone: [phone]

  For Germany:

 BOTSCHAFT DES LIBANON
 RHEINALLEE 27
 53173 BONN
 TEL. [phone]

For France:

AMBASSADE DU LIBAN

42 rue Copernic   Tel: [phone]
75016 Paris   Fax: [phone]

Consulat du LIBAN (Paris)

47 rue Dumont d'Urville
75016 Paris   Tel: [phone]


Consulat General du Liban (Marseille)

424 rue Paradis
13008 Marseille   Tel: +33   91 71 50 60

Here are the AUB NY office numbers and the Beirut AUB number:

The numbers  for the NY office are:

  Phone: [phone]
  Fax  : [phone]
You can now fax directly to Beirut, via a NY number:
  [phone]

The switch board numbers in Beirut are:

  [phone]
  [phone]
  [phone]
*******************************************************************************

3. How can I phone Lebanon and which carrier gives the cheapest rates ?

     Using the *local* Lebanon number 04-961345 as example, you dial:

            011 961 4 961345   (to use AT&T)
     10 222 011 961 4 961345   (to use MCI)
     10 333 011 961 4 961345   (to use SPRINT)

 Note how the Metn area code 04 has been used *without* the leading
zero. These calls do not require an operator.

 Calls have been placed to beirut (01), & metn (04) without major
difficulty.

  MCI has the lowest rate, if you do the following.

 1- register for the $3 dollars a month international calling
 program. This will give you 15% discount on your calls if they were
 placed within the package specified time intervals.

 2- You have up to two international number to register under
 the family and friend program. So do register your Lebanon number
 under family and friends, and you will get 20% discount on these
 numbers when called.

 Total saving is 35% on their already cheapest Rate.

 Rates to Lebanon are $1.06 per minute all day saturday.
*******************************************************************************

4. What are the airlines servicing Beirut ?

  Most European and Arab airlines are now flying to Lebanon.

  *Some* are: MEA(obviously), Air-France, Swissair,
     Austrian Airways, Alitalia, Sabena, Alia, Egypt Air.

  Recently the State Department banned MEA from operating from
  its NY offices, and travel from the US with MEA has become
  very difficult.  Here is a related UPI article:

  Subject: Lebanese aircarrier chief urges lifting U.S. embargo
  Date: Mon, 24 May 93 13:17:16 PDT

BEIRUT, Lebanon (UPI) -- The president of the Lebanese national air
carrier, Middle East Airlines, said Monday that a U.S. order to suspend
MEA activities in the United States has left tens of thousands of
Lebanese stranded there and caused millions of dollars in losses.
MEA President Abdel Hamid Fakhoury called on the U.S. Administration
to exempt his company from a U.S. embargo imposed on Lebanon following
the hijacking of a TWA airliner in 1985.
Accordingly, MEA flights to New York and back to Beirut were
suspended while all other carriers were prevented from selling tickets
from its U.S. offices for destinations in Lebanon.
Fakhoury said MEA abided by the embargo but its U.S. offices
``continued to issue tickets, with the knowlegde of the U.S. officials,
placing either Damascus or Cyprus as destination countries.''
``But we were surprised last month of a new U.S. order to cease
immediately all commercial activities, which left tens of thousands of
Lebanese trapped there and inflicting losses estimated at $15 million,''
Fakhoury said.
The new order was apparently in retaliation to a decision by the
Lebanese Military Court on April stating that the 1983 bombing of the U.
S. Embassy in Beirut was covered by a general amnesty law.
The Lebanese Parliament approved the amnesty law as part of a
national reconciliation drive to end the Lebanese civil war.
The U.S. expressed dissatisfaction with the Military Court decision
and accused MEA of violating the embargo imposed during the
administration of President Ronald Reagan.
A month later, the Lebanese Supreme Court overruled the Military
Court decision concerning the U.S. Embassy bombing in which at least six
people were accused of involvement.
A suicide bomber drove through the gate of the U.S. Embassy in the
Muslim sector of Beirut on April 1983, killing 63 people and wounding
123 others.
activities in the U.S. as peace and security were restored in the
country.
He said contacts with U.S. officials have so far failed to alter the
order and called for launching a campaign ``to save the company and
allow the Lebanese residents in the U.S. to visit their homeland.''


The following is a summary of an article which appeared
in Middle East International (MEI - No. 450, p. 9-10);

The background is that Lebanese investigators had
recently identified 15 suspects in the 1991 truck
bombing of the US embassy in Beirut, and the US
government was anxious to see them prosecuted.
However, on April 24, Beirut's military court ruled
that the suspects were included in the general amnesty
covering "political" war crimes approved by the
Lebanese parliament in 1991.  The US was incensed that
the court's ruling would render them immune from
prosecution, and warned Lebanese leaders that the
prospect of normalizing relations with the US, which
seemed likely following Secretary of State
Christopher's March visit to Beirut, were no longer
realistic.

The impact on travel stems from the fact that Middle
East Airlines (MEA), which had hoped that it for the way it had
issued tickets to Beirut (actually entered on tth
connecting flights to or from Europe.  Although
technically a violation of the US travel ban, this
subterfuge had been used without objection for many
years.  Suddenly, MEA was told to stop selling tickets
or doing any other business, and warned that it was
subject to fines of $1000 per day for the entire period
during which it had sold such tickets.  The Beirut
government is having a second look at the amnesty law,
and may find a way out of the difficulty, but until it
does so, it may be impossible to get tickets to Beirut
in the US, and MEA is threatened with millions of
dollars of fines, an amount which MEI characterized as
"potentially crippling".

The Lebanese Supreme Court has already reversed the earlier ruling
making the suspects once again not covered by the General Amnesty law
but the US has yet to relax its position with regard to MEA operations
in the United States.

*******************************************************************************

5. Where can I find tickets for Lebanon at a good price ?

Travel Agency        Number(s)         Contact person(s),
     Name                                  location,
 (if available)                         and/or comments
                                          (if supplied)
_______________________________________________________________________________

Admiral :      [phone]     (located in Marietta GA)
                                  (ask for Hassan Ramadan)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Travel:    [phone]     (ask for Matthew)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Atlantis :     [phone] TEL  141 East 44th Street  #702
               [phone] FAX  NYC, NY 10017
               [phone]     (Alitalia and British Airways)
                                  ($ 1100 round trip ticket from
                                   San Francisco to Beirut bought
                                   in Christmas 92/93).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blue Mediterranean
Travel :       [phone]     (deals mainly with Alitalia,
                                   recommended for its good prices).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Char Tours:    [phone]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporate :    [phone]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Farra Travel:  [phone]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Golden Arch:   [phone]     (may be out of business ?)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Haddad Travel: [phone]     (experienced but beware)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Int'l Travel & [phone]     (ask for Doha Gabro ?)
Trade, Inc. :                     (Example of price quoted for
                                   Dec '92 round trip
                                             $ 880
                                   Travel from:
                                   Washington, DC - Beirut
                                   United: Wash <-> London,
                                   MEA: London <-> Beirut)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lotus :        [phone]     (located in Los Angeles area)
                                  (deals mostly with ALIA, the
                                   Royal Jordanian Airlines, can get
                                   relatively good prices if you are willing
                                   to endure traveling on ALIA)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mill-Run Tours:[phone]     (Ask for Jean Zodo.  She's lebanese,
                                   and she has been very helpful).
                                   They are located in Chicago, IL.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oxford Travel &                   (ask for Sami Silfani)
Tours :        [phone] TEL (located in the Atlanta area)
               [phone] FAX (Sami was quite informed and
                                   worked hard to get the
                                   cheapest fare possible.
       Strongly recommended by myself (Basil).
       Example of a fare: $ 1080 U.S., round trip
       on Air France from Cleveland,
       travel date: April 13, 1993).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sharif Travel: [phone]     (could be the same as the reference
                                   that shows up later as Moursi Sharif
                                   - other reference has an 800 number -
                                   Recommended as super nice and cheap)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunship :      [phone]     (deals mainly with British Airways)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Travel All(??):[phone]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Travel Corner: [phone]     (from outside Atlanta)
or             [phone]     (Atlanta)
or             [phone]     (Atlanta)
                                  (Ask for Lina Makhlouf, gets the
                                   prize as the most recommended
                                   travel agent)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Travel Nework: [phone] TEL  1581 Route 23 South
               [phone] FAX  Waynes, NJ 07470
                                  (Ask for Ms. Peggy Healy)
                                  (tell her Tommy's sister recommended!)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vista Int'l :  [phone]     (located in West Virginia ??)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
World Express Travel:             (ask for Annie - she is from Lebanon).
               [phone] TEL (located in Houston, Texas)
               [phone] TEL
               [phone] FAX
_______________________________________________________________________________
No name given
for travel agency:                (ask for Garbiz Askanian)
               [phone]     (gave the best deal to someone)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No name given
for travel agency:
               [phone]     (ask for Malek Haddad)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No name given
for travel agency:
               [phone]     (ask for Hala)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No name given
for travel agency:
               [phone]     (ask for Marwan or Maha)
                                  (located in the Washington DC area)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No name given
for travel agency:
               [phone] TEL (ask for Pierre or Nathalie)
               [phone] FAX (located in Montreal-Canada)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No name given
for travel agency:
               [phone]     (ask for Moursi Sharif)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No name given
for travel agency:
               [phone]     (ask for Ali Srour)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No name given
for travel agency:
               [phone]     (located in Florida)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No name given
for travel agency:
               [phone]
_______________________________________________________________________________
Negative Recommendations
_______________________________________________________________________________

D'International:                    (located in West Roxbury, Ma.)
                                     Travel agent is a Lebanese person.
                                     She booked flight on non-existing
                                     flight from Paris to Boston.
                                     The traveler had to pay a $ 100.00
                                     penaly, and agent did not reimburse him
                                     even though she had made the mistake.
                                     Traveler also found out she had done
                                     the same thing with several other people.
_______________________________________________________________________________

for 800 number directory call 1 [phone]

In France the following Travel Agency has been recommended as giving
good prices for travel to Lebanon:

Nouvelle Frontiere  with prices ranging from 3000 to 3500 F.F., round
trip, Paris-Beirut for Summer of '93 travel.  No phone number was given,
it is assumed that the agency is listed in the phone directory.

*******************************************************************************

6. What are the e-mail and telnet IP addresses for sites in Lebanon ?

  As far as anyone can tell, none accessible to the public so far. If such
is not the case, let us know.  There is a service, however,
similar to CompuServe that is available for a fee.

  To my knowledge,the closest that comes to international computer
communications is LibanPac, that is modeled on the French TransPac
and that regularly transfers data between Ashrafiyeh and France through
the submarine cable.

AUB has some MCI mail boxes but access is restricted.
This is what Nabil Bukhalid, Manager of Personal Computer Support Unit at
AUB says about it in a recent communication:

 AUB has a restricted TYMNET link and an MCI mailbox. The
 PC Support Unit at AUB is negotiating the implementation
 of an EARN node at AUB and we are in the process of
 testing an X.5 gateway to EARN via a C O. concentrator.
 Also AUB has applied to the NCI for an Internet address.

 A TCP/IP backbone network was planned and its
 implementation was scheduled for the last quarter of
 1991.  The project was freezed after the blasting of
 College Hall, the upper campus cabling ducts are badly
 damaged, and we are facing some budget problems.

 For the time being I have the permission to use the MCI
 mailbox for urgent correspondence..


There are efforts to link Lebanon by an X25 network, which would give
email access through France.  Here are some of the details:

AUB now has its own IP numbers. AUB is not connected yet to the Internet.
However, it will be very soon.
Through the X.25 network in Lebanon, one *can* access CompuServe, MCImail,
AT&Tmail and possibly Internet (that's how AUB is gaining access).

Connection cost to the Lebanese X25 network: 600$
Monthly fee for the Lebanese X25 network and the server in France: 50$
The connection to France will be used until Internet will be available
in Lebanon.
Each 1024 characters to the states cost 2.1 F.F (around $0.39)
plus around 500 Lebanese Pounds for X25.
But no telnet or ftp can be done.
However the subscription offers you a 10,000 PC and Macintosh programs to
download. They are updated on a daily baisis.
There are Forums and debates in French. You can also access the NEWS
of the INTERNET.
You will have an Easy Link, Mercury Link, X400 , Telex address as well
as the usenet one.
Also you can send faxes through the net....All in one subscription.
It seems that the costs for now are rather expensive, unless they are
borne by a business or a corporation.

*******************************************************************************

7. What are the phone numbers to call to get Lebanon news ?

  There is a mailing list called Leb-Net that sends digests to subscribers
every two days on the average. It is usually quite thorough.
  To subscribe, send a short request to:

         [e-mail]

*******************************************************************************


8. What are the radio frequencies and broadcast times of Lebanese
   related radio programs  ?

  This information is extracted from Passport to World Band Radio,
L. Magne (Ed.), IBS, 1992, ISBN 0-914941-27-5:

  All times are in GMT, frequencies are in KHz.

Voice of Lebanon, Beirut-Ashrafiyah, Phalange, 8KW, English but mostly Arabic
broadcast.

0900-0915       6550
1315-1330       6550
1815-1830       6550

King of Hope, Marjayou^n, Mideast, 12 KW, English and Arabic broadcast.
0700-1100       6280 (Mideast), 11530 (Europe)
1400-1700       6280 (Mideast), 11530 (Europe)

  Neither one of the stations listed above were easily received in NY with a
portable SW radio and an indoor antena.  The book doesn't list the government
radio station which used to broadcast in the 11KHz-12KHz range from Amshit.
The Amshit broadcast could not be received either.

According to the 1993 edition of World Radio and TV Handbook (WRTH), there are

a multitude of radio stations in Lebanon, transmitting on longwave, medium wave

and FM. They apparently represent every shade of politics, religion and
finance. ranging from the government RADIO LEBANON through SAOUT AL SHAB (in
Rmayleh, near Sidon - I new it for it's sugar cane and lettuce!) to RADIO
DUTCHBATT (UN Forces). WRTH notes: "There are dozens of AM and almost 150 FM
statons operating in Lebanon. Many of these are unliciensed , therefore
available details are incomplete, and many stations change frequencies often."

For listeners abroad there are 3 possible stations that may be received
depending on propagation conditions. You might want to consult
rec.radio.shortwave or rec.radio.broadcasting for postings on listening
conditions and tips on equipment, antennas and help in finding Lebanon on the
dial.

The 3 stations transmitting regularly on shortwave are:

6280  kHz  King of Hope, south Lebanon, 0500 - 2200 UTC
6550  kHz  Radio Voice of Lebanon, 24 hours
11530 kHz  Wings of Hope, south Lebanon, 0500 - 2200 UTC

Only the 6550 transmission is regularly audible in northern Europe.

The government-run RADIO LEBANON does not appear to have a shortwave service at

present.


The Voice of Lebanon has an address at PObox 165271 Ashrafieh, Beirut, vox +961

323458 tix VDL 23203 LE. General manager; Simon El-Khazen.

The address of King of Hope is PObox 3379 Limassol, Cyprus (High Adventure

Missionaries, Box 7466, Van Nuys, CA 91409), which is also the address of Wings

of Hope.

The WRTH, ISBN 0-8230-5924-3, also contains useful information about radio
receivers, antennas, radio dealers, etc.

For France:

People who are living in Paris can receive the broadcast
of "Radio Orient" on FM 94.3 MHz, Radio Orient provides News and cultural
programs from Lebanon and the Arab world in general. They provide headline
news each hour and detailed news at 7:00, 8:00 12:00 18:00 19:30 and 23:00
(Paris Time i.e +2 GMT). It is received in Lebanon as well in Syrie and Jordan,
and in some Europeen countries via cable(?). It can be also received by calling

[phone], it's useful in some french cities where RO broadcasting
does not reach.

*******************************************************************************

9. What are the various Lebanese organisations and how can I contact
them.

American Task Force for Lebanon
2250 M St., N.W., Suite 305
Washington, DC 20037
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

  This organisation publishes a monthly newsletter called "Outlook",
with Tanya Rahal (Exec. Ed.), and Deeb Keamy (Managing Ed.)

*******************************************************************************

10. What are the projects you can contribute to help rebuild Lebanon ?

  There is a non-profit organization for Lebanese Academics and Professionals
that is working on development projects between Lebanon and North America.
It is called ALPA (Association of Lebanese Professionals and Academics)
to join or contact them, send e-mail to:

          [e-mail]
or
          [e-mail]

*******************************************************************************

11. What are the various Lebanese magazines and newspapers.

  Some of the newspapers are:

Al Hayat  (published in London as well as in Beirut)
Al Nahar
Al Safeer
Al Anwar

  Some magazines:

Al Nahar al Arabi wal Duwali
Al Hawadess

  A very good source of information on economic developments in Lebanon
is the Middle East Economic Digest, which is published weekly, in English.
To subscribe, send a letter to the following address:

P.O. Box 14
Harold Hill
Romford
Essex RM3 8 EQ
U.K.

It costs 275 sterlings in the UK, 300 sterlings outside the U.K.
No special concessions are offered for students.
The AUB Alumni Science Subcommittee publishes a quarterly magazine (Sci-Quest)
that is distributed free of charge (in Lebanon--outside Lebanon, you may have
to pay a small amount to cover mailing charges). To get on the mailing list,
contact:

 Sci-Quest
 AUB Alumni Science Subcommittee
 AUB Alumni Club
 American University of Beirut
 P.O. Box 11-0236
 Beirut, Lebanon.
*******************************************************************************

12. Where can I find Lebanese magazines and newspapers.

   In NY/NJ, you can buy it in the World Trade Center, in Penn Station, Newark,
NJ, and in Arab shopping areas (see below).

In Boston there is the "out of town news" which sells them. It is located
Harvard square, right outside the "T" station.
It has several newspapers including "al hayat" and "al hawadeth".

  In Norway, many big libraries have  magazines and newspapers relating to
the Middle East. In Arabic there is the Ahram or the British based alHayat
or Sharq al-Awsat.

  In Oslo the small Kiosk besides Saga cinema sells magazines and newspapers
that relate to the Middle East. The University of Oslo publishes a magazine
called Midtosten Forum that takes up issues related to the Middle East.
Most articles are in Norwegian, but there are some in English or other
Scandinavian languages. To get this magazine write to:

Midtosten Forum
Tidsskriftredaksjonen
1030 Blindern
0315 Oslo
Norway

In Montreal, There are the "Maisons de la presses internationales", that
have a wide variety of Arabic/Lebanese newspapers and magazines. They have
the daily Alhayat (printed in NY), Al-Hawadeth, Al-Wasat, Al-Watan Al-Araby,
etc.
"Les Maisons" have three locations on St-Catherines st. in downtown Montreal.
Other downtown Kiosques and arabic food stores, get Al-Hayat and other papers
and magazines.

A couple of local Lebanese papers are issued in Montreal weekly or bi-weekly,
the most important are Al-Mustaqbal and Sawt-Canada. These papers contain news
from Lebanon and the middle-east as well as news of the Arab and Lebanese
communities in Canada.

*******************************************************************************

13. What has been written by Lebanese and/or about Lebanon ?

  What follows are titles of books by contemporary Lebanese writers available
in English.(They all deal with the war in one aspect or another).

Kamal Salibi, "A House of Many Mansions, The History of Lebanon
Reconsidered", 1988.

Emily Nasrallah, _Flight Against Time_ trans. Issa J. Boullata.
Charlettetown, P.E.I.: Ragweed Press, 1987.
  This is a very touching depiction of an older man's inability to get
  used to life in Canada, where his children live and where they want
  him to move because of the outbreak of the war in Lebanon.  The old
  man's attachment to his Lebanese village is conveyed in a simple,
  direct style, making his predicament that much more poignant.

Elias Khoury, _Little Mountain_ trans. Maia Tabet. Minneapolis: Univ.
of Minnesota Press, 1989.
  What I find really interesting about this book is its post-modern
  style.  The narrative point view, speaker, time, place, all shift
  without warning.  It is almost as though Khoury is trying to re-create
  stylistically the disjunctions and disruptions occasioned by the
  civil war in Lebanon. (his representation of women, however, is
  rather sexist in my view)

Etel Adnan, _Sitt Marie Rose_ Post Apollo Press, 1978.
  In this work Adnan narrates the experiences of a Maronite woman who
  falls in love with a Palestinian and is kidnapped by a group of men
  (her co-religionists  among whom is an old school friend of hers.
  Her experiences are witnessed by her students who are deaf-mutes.
  This is a very powerful and disturbing book.

Etel Adnan, "five senses for one death." The Smith Special Issue 18, 1971.
  This is a long imagistic poem by Adnan.

Jean Said Makdisi, _Beirut Fragments: A War Memoir_ New York: Persea Books,
1990.
  Makdisi is a Palestinian-Lebanese who describes her experiences in war-
  torn Beirut.  For her those experiences, which she retells in very
  moving terms, and her determination to stay in Beirut make her a true
  Beiruti.  Her love for Beirut and her agony over what is happening to
  it are quite clear.  Employing different styles (chronicle, descriptive
  narrative etc.) in different chapters, Makdisi ends her book with a
  very moving poem.

Here's the poem :

"Is it possible to hope that from the rubble of war, which at certain
times seemed to haved ended civilization, a new form might arise and
permit future creativity?  There is something of the alpha and omega
in this hope, is there not?

Zbale   garbage surrounds us, everywhere we look, there are piles of
        rubbish, debris, there is stench and ugliness, we

Yield   always we yield to the force of things, we are in danger of
        surrendering to despair, and to the ease of

Xenophobia
        there is always someone else to blame for what has happened to
        us, it's never our fault, oh no, and meanwhile we are

Waiting always waiting, for the others, for the solution, waiting for
        them to let the water come gurgling into our empty taps, waiting
        for the walls to crumble

Weary   of the never ending

War     we listen, overwhelmed with sorrow and anger to the the empty

Words   the endless empty rhetoric which has only brought more

Violence
        while the

Veneer  of fashion glitters like a wrothless, forgotten coin in a
        mound of rubble as it catches the sun.

Ugliness
        surrounds us, the ugliness of a broken city, ugly buildings
        sprouting up everywhere, ugly streets, whole neighborhoods, the
        beauty of mountains is destroyed by utilitarian ugliness, and

Time    weighs heavily on us--our days are long, and we carry History
        on our backs, an intolerable burden--but History gave us also

Tyre    and

Tripoli and

Sidon   timless relics from the past, ancient, beautiful, but

Scarred by war and the suffering of

Refugees
        We are a land of refugees, a people of refugees, coming from
        everywhere, going nowhere.

Refugees
        make beautiful causes, but they are people--their trucks piled
        high with the pathetic remnants of former lives, mattresses and
        goats and children and stoves--they have found no

Quicksand
        in which everyone sinks.  We are in a

Prison  of violence and forgotten ideals.  Still,

Peace   will come, and

Oppression
        will end, must end, and

Nemesis will come, but not with more

Militias
        certainly not with more fighting men, nor with more

Lies    the lies told by everyone to preserve the war and to preserve the

Knitting
        together of the unravelling whole.

Justice In war there is no Justice, and it is not from War that Justice
        will come.

Jbeil   ancient Byblos, and

Jounieh with its ancient harbors and stunning bay, emerald mountains
        dipping into the blue sea and searching into the azure skies,
        they are in danger of drifting away from us, but someday perhaps
        there will be

Joy     and

Jubilation
        when this war ends and the

Internecine
        butchery ends.  They say

Hope    springs eternal and so it does, in spite of the

Guns    and the

Fawda   the anarchy which threatens us at every turn, because

Earth   around us is beautiful: the gray rocks on the sheer cliffs, the
        shimmering silver leaves of the olive trees, the deep dark green
        of the ancient cedars, the sweet smell of the pine forests, the
        oranges dotted like yellow stars in the sparkling groves that lie
        by the blue seas.  Meanwhile, our

Days    pass, drearily, with explosions shattering the stillness of the
        nights.  Our senses are dulled by the

Catastrophe
        that has been upon us here in

Beirut  --poor, ugly, stricken beirut, broken Beirut, unloved city, lost
        Beirut, like the child in the tale, torn between two mothers, but
        no Solomon here, no true mother.

Beirut  pleads to be redeemed, but not by

Another

Army.
............................
(This poem is more effective as a culmination to Makdisi's memoirs.  It
is reproduced here without permission.)

Hanan Al-Shaykh, -The Story of Zahra_ trans. Peter Ford. New York: Quartet
Books, 1986.

  Zahra is a shia Lebanese living in Beirut during the war (though she also
goes to West Africa for a while).  I won't give away the plot but only
mention that she has a very complex relationship with a sniper.  I really
liked this book.  It deals very frankly with sensitive issues such as sex
and politics, and especially with the struggles of women.

  Other Lebanese writers I like but for whom I have yet to see anything
published in English are Ghada el Samman and Layla Baalbakki.  Excerpts
of their works are available in English in anthologies such as -Opening
the Gates_ edited by Margot Badran and Miriam Cooke. Indiana UP, 1990
and _Middle Eastern Muslim Women Speak_ edited by Elizabeth Warnock
Fernea and Basima Qattan Bezirgan. Univ. of Texas Press, 1977.  There
are several other anthologies out as well.

  The University of Chicago library has an excellent collection of books
in Arabic.  You might search there for what's available. UC Berkeley
also has a very good collection.  There is at least one bookstore that
I know of in San Francisco called The Arabic Book Center that also
supplies books in Arabic as well as English.  They will order books
for you as well.

  If you want to read good books by Lebanese writers, Amin Malouf has
written "Samarcande", "Leon l'africain", and "Les croisades vues par
les Arabes".  These books were best sellers in France.
(Samarcande in particular is HIGHLY recommended).

  Amin Maalouf's books have been translated into English.
Here are the English titlesof two of them:

  "The Crusades Through Arab Eyes" trans. Jon Rothschild. Schocken Books,
New York, 1987.

  "Leon l'africain" has also been translated.  The English title is
Leo Africanus.

[Begin French]

  Le dernier roman d'Amin Maalouf s'intitule "Les jardins de lumiere".
Il raconte l'histoire de "Mani", un oriental qui a vecu au 3eme siecle,
et fonde une nouvelle religion, le "manicheisme".
Son principe de base etait le respect de toutes les religions
(Christianisme, Boudhisme, ... l'Islam n'existait pas encore).
Apres s'etre repandu un peu partout (de l'Inde jusqu'en Europe, en passant
par la Perse, le Moyen Orient, l'Egypte ...) cette religion a disparu vers le
12eme siecle a cause des nombreuses persecutions de la part des autres
religions
(Christianisme, Islam ...). Bref, le roman est une sorte
de biographie imaginaire qui constitue neanmoins une vraie lecon de tolerance
et pose beaucoup de questions sur l'interet des religions ...
  Personnellement, j'ai lu les trois romans d'A.M. : "Leon l'africain",
"Samarcande" et "Les jardins de lumiere". Tous les trois sont excellents
(a mon avis) mais j'ai eu une legere preference pour "Samarcande".
  En realite, je pense que ce qui plait aux occidentaux dans les oeuvres de
Maalouf c'est son style de "conteur" (Haqawaati), auquel ils sont peu habitues
(parfois il va un peu trop loin dans l'invraisemblance des  coincidences...)

[End French]

  Robert Fisk,"Pity The Nation - The Abduction of Lebanon", Oxford Paperbacks,
1990, ISBN 0-19-285235-3, approx $16.00

  Fisk is an AP correspondent who reported on the war in Lebanon *from*
Lebanon since its inception in the mid 70's.  A devastating book.
  'Required' reading for anyone interested in an unbiased account
of the wars in Lebanon. Covers events through the late 80's.


  Thomas Friedman, "From Beirut to Jerusalem"

  Charles Glass, "Tribes With Flags"

  Jonathan Randall, "Going All The Way"

  N. Alamuddin

Title:      Turmoil: Druzes, Lebanon and the arab-israeli conflict

Publisher:  Quartet books (London)

ISBN        07043 7050 6     (hard back)
     07043 0189 x     (paper back)

     Price:      14.95  (english pounds), hard back.
   9.95        //         , paper back.

The book has recently been published and it is useful to those interested
in the lebanese politics and the history of Lebanon.

For those interested in the affairs of the Arab world, especially, the issue
of identity, Xavier de Planbol offers his ideas in a new book in french.
The book :

Les nations du prophete, manuel geographique de politique Musulmane.

Author: Xavier de Planbol.

Evelyne Accad :
_Sexuality and War :  Literary Masks of the Middle East_
New York :  New York University Press,  c1990
The topics in this book seem to include:
 Arabic fiction--Lebanon--History and criticism.
 Arabic fiction--20th century--History and criticism.
 Lebanese fiction (French)--History and criticism.
 Sex in literature.
 Feminism in literature.
 Violence in literature.
 Sexual animosity--Lebanon.
 Sexual animosity--Arab countries.
 Lebanon--History--Civil War, 1975-1976--Literature and the
 war.

Stefan Wild, Libanesische Ortsnamen, Typologie und Deutung, Beirut 1973.
(lebanese place names: their typoligie and meaning). This books belongs to a
series called: Beiruter Texte und Studien, vol. 9

Wild's book is in German  :(, yet he has an excelent summary in English.
Here is a quotation from the summary:

"A very interesting feature [in Lebanese place names] is presented by
sound-shifts due to an etymologizing tendency. This phenomenon was called in a
recent most illuminating study by Joshua Blau (On Pseudo-Corrections in Some
Semitic Languages) 'hyper-correction due to over self assertion'. In
correnction with Lebanese place-names it means that an Aramaic place-name, when
taken over by an arabophone population may be changed in its consonantic and/
or vocalic structure in accordance with an etymologically related Arabic model.
We find Sibliin < Aramaic Shibbliin 'ears (of wheat)' an Aramaic plural form,
with its initial 'sh' shifted to 's' under the ifluence of the etymologically
related Arabic 'sabal' with the same meaning. Another example is Biskinta <
Aramaic bee Shkinta 'house of dwelling', under the influence of the Arabic root
'skn'. The etymology is, of course, not necessarily 'correct' from a linguist's
point of view. A name like Nakhli most probably derives from the Aramaic
'naHla' 'valley, waadi'. Since Aramaic 'H' frequently corresponds to to Arabic
'kh', the Arabic word 'nakhl' 'palm-trees' could easily but wrongly be
assosiated with the Aramaic form..." (p.327)
"It is reasonably plausible to suggest that similar developments took place
when the Canaanite-speaking population gave way to Aramaic speakers, and even
before, when pre-Canaanite (pre-Semitic?) place-names were moulded into
Canaanite. BUt our data are insuffcient to quoet examples." (pp.327, 328)

"The great majority of place names in Lebanon, in fact about two thirds, is now
Arabic. The rest are chiefly Aramaic, some Canaanite (not more than 2%) and a
sprinkling of Greek names like Traablus < Tripolis, Turkish names like Qashlaq
< Kishlaa 'winter quarters', and French like Bois de Boulogne...."

"This clear cut division [of plcae names into Arabic, Aramaic etc.] is,
however, misleading. A large number of names must have shifted morphologically
from Canaanite to Aramaic and/or from Aramaic to Arabic. This is demonstrable
in cases like 'Jbail'. THis name sounds now like a purely Arabic toponym, a
very common 'f@ail'-diminutive of 'jabal' 'mountain'. We happen to know,
however that the same palce is attested as 'ku-ub-la' in Sumerian texts of the
thrid mellenium BC., a time when it is impossible to think of an Arabic
origine. While the original meaning of the name is unknown, the structure
mankes it highly probable that it was a Semitic name, and we may be justified
in calling it Early Canaanite. If we did not know the pre-Arabic evidence, and
this is the point, we should be obliged to interpret 'Jbail' as a quite recent
purely Arabic name. The only was to prove that an existing  Arabic-looking and
-sounding name is in reality pre-Arabic, is of course to find an attested
pre-Arabic form. As the majority of Lebanese place-names which can be attested
at all before the 20th. century, are to be found at best in late mediaeval
sources, a pre-Arabic origin can normally be suspected [as Frayha does], rarely
proved. There is however one further piece of circumstantial evidence
indicating that the shift of place-names must have frequently. We may safely
assume that the general eco ogical conditions determining, why names were given
to places remained fairly stable from Canaanite times up to the beginning of
industrialization in the 20th. century. We are therefore justified in assuming
that the proportion of compound place-names like '@ain'... 'spring of' or
'bait'... house of' was in early times as great as it is now. The most

important of the appelatives used to form place names are the same in
Canaanite, Aramaic and Arabic: @ain, @ainaa, @ayin 'source'; bait, baitaa,
bayit 'house'; karam, karmaa, kerem 'vineyard'; tall, tellaa, tel 'hill'; and
many others. The close structural and etymological relation between place-names
the three languages involved has made the transformation of place-names very
easy, and conversely often renders distinction between place-names of
Canaanite, Aramaic and Arabic origin very difficult. The place-names which have
preserved their Canaanite or Aramaic character are the exception rather than
the rule." (pp. 328, 329)

"... Place names show the Lebanon as a resort of te pious, where Canaanite
gods, Christian saints and Muslim sheikhs mingle. Velleys and rivers, springs
and forests, peaks and mountain stamp the life of the people. Place-names, the
linguistcially petrified remnants of cultural history, preserve the memory of
the cedar, where there are no more cedars, and recall roaming wolves and bears
where is today no more tha the occasional fox. Generations of hunters and
farmers, shepherds and hermits have left their unmistakable imprint on Lebanese
toponomy. At a time where, in the Syrian desert, the Bedouin are beginning to
use place-names like ij-jfuur (the pump-station H4), and the industrial age in
Lebanon is dawning, the spektrum of Lebanese place-names shows us an
enthralling and extraordinary vivid picture of yesterday." (p. 330)

  Here is a review that recently appeared in TIME magazine of Ziad Rahbani's
latest play:

From TIME Magazine (May 31, 1993)

SIGHTINGS by Emily Mitchell (p.61)

THEATER Lebanon
You Gotta Have Wasta
"Of Dignity and Stubborn Folk"
Written and Directed by Ziad Rahbani

ACT I: BEIRUT, 1998.
Syrian and Israeli troops have withdrawn from Lebanon, and the
country can determine its own fate. But greed is ascendant, and
mayhem is at hand. In kaleidoscopic scenes, belly dancers
alternate with news flashes and fake TV commercials, while people
boast of their "wasta" (connections). When an old Armenian is
electrocuted trying to repair a generator that is the only power
source, an announcement is made: " He was the last Armenian in
Lebanon - nothing technical will work again . "

ACT II: BEIRUT, 2003.
Though the country is in its death throes, sectarianism has not
expired. Animals join the few surviving Lebanese, and an
orangutan wants to vote. "What is your religion?" the humans
demand. Cannibals garbed in animal skin- and holding
walkie-talkies - proclaim a new credo:" We only eat our
friends."

In this bleak, gallows-humor play, Ziad Rahbani parodies Lebanese
society and evokes the pessimism of Orwell's 1984. The daily
"Hayat" notes that "Rahbani is like those animals that feel the
earthquake before it happens."
"Of Dignity and Stubborn Folk" is selling out in Beirut's
620-seat Piccadilly Theater, and audiences sense that the tremors
may already have begun.

*******************************************************************************

14. Where can I find works written by Lebanese and /or on Lebanon ?

  Check your local or University Library, most of the  books listed above can
be obtained in major bookstores or on special order from your local bookstore.

*******************************************************************************

15. Are there Arabic word processors ?

  Bassem Medawar has compiled a large FAQ on the subject of Arabic on
computers.  It is very comprehensive and is available on the SoL archive
in
     borg.poly.edu  in  /pub/reader/text/faq2   (notice the 2 in faq2)

  There is Arab TeX.  A message was posted about it on scl and Leb-Net
some time ago.  It is public domain, based on TeX which is also public
domain.  TeX is NOT user friendly -as compared to the Macs.

ArabTeX 2.07 is available by anonymous ftp from cs.ubc.ca.
The directory is /pub/local/arabtex

A new public domain release of my X-Windows based text editor
for arabic and any other Right-to-left language was recently announced.

The system was designed with flexibility in mind and ease of configuration.
Any one can configure the keyboard and font mapping to suit their language
and the keyboard they are used to.

The system can also be instructed to generate TeX files suitable for the
language in question. The System was tested on ArabTex with
satisfactory results. The README file provides more information.

The archive containing all the source code needed is available from:

ftp.ecs.soton.ac.uk /pub/incoming/xaw.tar.Z
borg.poly.edu       /in.coming/xaw.tar.Z

If you have any problems or queries and suggestions please contact:
A M Shihab <[e-mail]>

  There are Arabic word processors. But the solutions are a little more
complicated than we would want them.  There is one program
which runs on any Mac operating system, i.e. any language. I produces text
that can directly be pasted into other word processors. This program is
called AlKatib, but is very old and has very many restrictions. Don't
expect much from it.

  Otherwise the way to go is to use the Mac's Arabic Operating system
(AOS).  This system is designed to work with any program.  Yet again this
is not completely true. Most programs that are worth their price, are not
compatible with AOS. Only very primitive programs that uses the editor
routines of the operating system correctly and are very limited in
their features. There are however a few programs that work correctly
with AOS.  There are the products of a company called WinSoft
(based in France?). They have a word processor, WinText and a database
WinFile. I use the word processor and am sort of satisfied. It is not very
expensive either. On the other hand, there is an Arabic (and a Hebrew)
version of Nisus. I have not used it, but some colleagues who did are
satisfied. I am not sure of the price.

  For those who need a useful and cheap database, you could opt for
FileMaker Pro. It is not completely compatible with the AOS (you can not
search Arabic text) but is useful and quite efficient. Another program
that I used earlier was SuperPaint 1.xx. It is a paint/draw program which
is compatible with AOS.

  For those interested in Islamic studies, there is also Koranic software.
The Alim is an "Islamic Study Toolkit". It offers the entire text of:

  - The Qur'an in Arabic
  - Transliteration of the Qur'an
  - Yusuf `Ali's translation
  - Yusuf `Ali's commentary
  - M. Pickthall's translation
  - All nine volumes of Sahih Bukhary
  - Islamic Subjects Database
  - Maududi Sura information
  - Chronological History of Islam
  - Biographies of Companions
  - Islamic terms dictionary

  The Alim runs a clean and powerful text based windowing system.
Several windows can be run at once. It also has a powerful pattern
searching feature.

  The databases are cross-referenced. Separate modules can be
purchased, they include Sahih Muslim, Tirmizy, Al-Muwatta and Assad's
translation among other volumes.

  The standard package has an introductory price of $99.00 and costs
$149.95 in retail. Macintosh, Windows, OS/2 and OSF/Motif support is
expected in the first quarter of 1993. I saw the package and it is
EXCELLENT. It is certainly worth the price. If were to buy the books
in paper form it would cost more than $100, plus you would not be able
to cross reference or search.

  The current version is distributed on 7 high density DOS disks and
when decompressed takes 15Mb on a Hard Disk. You need at least 1.5Mb
on your Hard Disk to run the Software and you can decompress the
components you need. You also need EGA graphics or better. It also
runs on a Macintosh with Soft-AT.

  The Software was developed over six years by a two person company
called ADVENT (800-397-5561). It is distributed by IQRA Bookcenter:
800-521-ICRA or 312-274-2665.

  For users of Wordperfect, there is an Arabic module that can
be added to Wordperfect.  The module enables one to write in English and
Arabic.  It's extremely user friendly!  The regular price is
expensive but the educational price is about $135 (with student or faculty
id).  However that you need to have/buy the standard version
of Wordperfect in order for the module to run.  So it's great for those who
already use Wordperfect, but it may be too expensive for those who don't
since they would need to buy both the standard version and the Arabic
module.

Recently Arabic text editors for the Mac have undergone some major upgrades,
here is a critique of threeMac  Arabic text editors that have recently
been published.  These are: Tex-Edit, MuEdit and Style.

The problem with using Arabic on the Mac is that, while the Arabic system
itself is free and available, you can't use your standard word processor
properly with Arabic, and the Arabic-compatible programs like WinText and
Nisus Int. are expensive and always copy protected. The only alternative
has been to use small and fairly primitve "text editors", program-lets that
allows you to type text, but not very much more; not very useful.

However, recently some new text editors have appeared that makes this
option  more attractive. How do they handle Arabic? I have looked at three
of these new text editors, Tex-Edit, mu-Edit (formerly Quill), and Style,
to check how useful they are for the Arabist Mac user. These are some brief
remarks, based mainly on typing, editing and printing a couple of pages in
each.

A general remark first: These are still text editors. That means in
particular that they are limited in size, you can only write up to 32K
(about 10 pages) per document; any they may slow down when you approach
this limit. They do not have things like footnotes, style sheets, and
formatting beyond what is explicitly stated; none of them have rulers. But
they are free.

              Evaluation: Tex-Edit
A capable text editor. Has standard text styles like bold, italics,
outline, shadow, condensed and extended, as well as colour. You can freely
choose font and size and mix several in a document. All these three allow
multiple documents to be open at the same time.
     Tex-Edit has find/replace, with functions for finding returns, tabs,
linefeeds, whole word only, match case, and Replace all.
     Like Word, if you select a word by doubleclicking, it will include the
space after the word. Useful detail. Triple-clicking selects a sentence.
     It can strip unwanted control characters, and can paste time & day and
page number. It does not have a ruler, but when printing will ask for
margin sizes and may include page numbers. This does not work properly,
however, if you try change the margins on a document about a page or two,
the program hangs, and then crashes on command-period.
     You can justify left, right and center, but this will relate to the
whole document. Works under system 6.0.3 and newer, and with Macintalk will
read out typed text for you. (The name, incindentally, seems to refer to
Texas, not TeX.)

Handling of Arabic: Text entry and editing is acceptable, with a caveat
below. There are however some cursor problems with line breaks. Sometimes
when it should position the cursor at the beginning of a line, it is put at
the end instead. Eg: Moving back one step from the beginning of line 4 to
puts the cursor at the beginning of line 3; and typing will put new text
before the text in line 3.
     You can set the justification to right-oriented, but this is not saved
and has to redone every time you open the document. All these three editors
link fonts and script, thus changing script also automatically switches to
the previously used font in that script.
     Find/replace works with Arabic, but the dialog box shows only Chicago,
i.e. Roman characters (like Word would). However, what is inserted into the
text appears in the correct font.
     Positive: You can set the default font to an Arabic one, like Geeza
12. The editor will then start up with the Arabic script active.
     Negative: Actually, you have to do this. If the default font is a
Roman one, cutting and pasting will not work correctly. On pasting in the
middle of an Arabic block, the default will switch to Roman, and the Arabic
block will be split; the first part coming the left of the last. This can
be repaired, but is a nuisance. Also, if you write an English text, Arabic
is still default, so if you click somewhere in the English text, the script
often (not always) reverts to Arabic.

                  MuEdit
MuEdit appears to be designed for Arabic, thus it has a menu option for
"Orient left to right" and "Orient right to left". Generally, it has
capabilites similar to Tex-Edit: Multipe fonts and styles in a document;
multiple windows, text styles include extended and condensed; find &
replace. It has "find previous", but only options for whole word and case
senstive searches. It allows changing case, has a word count, and can
strip/add linefeed and carriage returns, but not as Tex-Edit, all control
characters. Like T., it has colour, but not  "smart quotes". Print margins
are set in the Page Setup dialog box.
     It works under System 7 only. Interestingly, cut and paste between
these two editors work better than between standard word processors:
Script, font and size information is remembered from one to the other. Both
read each other's files; Tex-Edit can read font and style (but not
justification) of a MuEdit document; MuEdit can only read the text of the
Tex-Edit.

Handling of Arabic:
Typing and editing Arabic text is unproblematic. Selection, cutting and
pasting work as they should. Justification does not automatically follow
scipt, but both are saved with the document.
      It has a couple of bugs, though:
      -- When you open Mu-Edit by double-clicking on a file, the line
breaks do not appear properly. However, if you open MuEdit first and then
the document, they appear as they should. There is an option for "word
wrap", what happens is probably that it is improperly set "off" when you
open document and program together.
     -- Find-replace does not work properly: It finds the Arabic, but the
"replace" string is inserted in Roman, i.e. as garbage characters; breaking
the line in two and reversing their order, in spite of the Right-Left
general orientation.  Instead, you have to copy the correct text, and then
use Find-Paste instead.
     -- Another peculiar bug when I use MuEdit with other text editors: If
right-left orientation is chosen in the MuEdit window; and I switch
directly to another editor, the text window there appears (incorrectly)
right-adjusted. Only by switching through the Finder is this corrected, and
the editor's window redrawn. This happens when I switch both to Tex-Edit
and to Eudora, but not to Word. Either it is problem in MuEdit, or in the
Arabic resources themselves.

                Style:
Style, an Italian offering, is the least capable of the three, and is not
really adapted for writing Arabic. It has the standard styles, and
Find/Replace, but no options for setting page width in printing. More
seriously, the word wrap does not break at the edge of the window, but at a
predefined length that seems to be calculated from a 13 or 14" monitor.
Thus, on my SE/30, I cannot see a full line, and I have to scroll
horizontally manually in order to see what I am writing. This is clearly
not acceptable. You can, however, mix styles and fonts in a document. Style
does not save in TEXT format, as the two others do, but has an XTND file,
so you can use it with MacWrite and other XNTD-programs. In version b.3,
the Open command did not work, perhaps due to a conflict with Super
Boomerang.
     In handling Arabic, another problem is that you cannot set
justification; it is stuck on left-adjusted. Thus you are always writing
'backwards', as it were, and printing will also be left-adjusted. Also, I
have been unable to add anything at the end of a line. The cursor will
then, whatever I do, place the correction at the beginning of the line.
Further, the cursor moves incorrectly. The left-arrow keys moves the cursor
forward, as it should, but at the end of the line, it jumps up to the
previous, rather than down (and vice versa for the right-arrow key). I.e.,
as in Roman text.
     Although Style handles Arabic text entry and editing, it is thus not
useful for Arabic; and hardly for for European languages, at least if you
don't have a 12"+ monitor.

                Summary
I will not recommend Style in its current version. The two others are,
however, very useful contributions, although both have some drawbacks. Each
has a bug; Tex-Edit the incorrect placement of the cursor at the beginning
of the line; MuEdit defaulting to no word wrap when you open the program
with a document. You can live with both, however. Tex-Edit can be set to
Arabic as standard script, so you can open it and just start typing Arabic.
MuEdit has an orient right->left option that makes it apt for Arabic, and
which is saved with the document (unlike Tex-Edit's justification).
     As it currently stands, I have problems choosing between them. If you
use System 6, you have to choose Tex-Edit, as MuEdit requires System 7.
Otherwise, the printing bug in Tex-Edit, if it is general and not just on
my machine, would tip the scales against it; I do not fancy being stuck
with a half-inch margin. On the other hand, the Find-Replace bug in MuEdit
is serious, but can be circumvented using Paste instead of Replace. Thus,
with the faults I have found to date, I would choose MuEdit; but both are
very useful, and to be recommended.
     If you want to include Arabic in a major work, like a book, you must
still buy a commercial Arabic-compatible word processor. But for simple
things, these editors are now almost as capable as the standard word
processors; and they are free.

     Versions tested:
     Tex-Edit 1.8.1 (8 April 1993). Freeware. Recommended memory: 390K
     MuEdit 1.0d0 (9 May 1993, formerly Quill) Freeware.
     Recommended memory: 360K
     Style 1.1b3 (US) (5 April 1993). Freeware. Recommended memory: 256K
     Tested on a Mac SE/30, 8 MB. All are on Sumex, in /info-mac/app.

*******************************************************************************

16. Is there a standard Arabic alphabet representation in Latin ?

  The standard is called cat (for Classical Arabic Transliteration) and
is the work of Bassem Medawar.

  The file can be retrieved from the SoL archive by anonymous ftp to

 borg.poly.edu   in   pub/reader/text/translit/cat

*******************************************************************************

17. Where can I find Lebanese songs and music ?

  Town Records in Manhattan sell International records including,
sometimes, Lebanese.

  Shahin Brothers, in Brooklyn, Atlantic Avenue, sell a large collection of
Lebanese and other Arabic Music.

  They also sell Lebanese/Arabic books.

*******************************************************************************

18. Where can I find a Lebanese restaurant ?

  In Brooklyn, NY, there are a couple Lebanese Restaurants on Atlantic
Ave.  One is Tripoli Restaurant, good food, a bit expensive, good to
invite a guest, and another more popular (and affordable) Kabab and
Shawarma restaurant (a-la Abu Khudor) accross the street from Tripoli
Restaurant.  The Kabab restaurant even has an indoor water fountain,
nice touch.

  The area near NY Univ in Manhattan has quite a few M.E. restaurants.

  In Manhattan there is Cedars of Lebanon restaurant.

Here is the Address:

  Cedars of Lebanon
  39 East 30th Street
  New York City, 10016
  Phone: [phone]

  I've been to this restaurant and it is excellent.
  They have a Lebanese band that sings Lebanese songs,
  and the food is very good.
  Excellent place for a saturday evening.
_______________________________________________________________________________

  There are three in the St.Louis area:

      Aladdin's - 2241 S. Brentwood, [phone]
      Very good, reasonable price.

      Salim's   - 6501 Delmar, [phone]
      Good, but expensive.

      Mediterranean Taverna - Edwardsville IL
      Good food & entertainment, Middle-Eastern buffet for ~$7.
_______________________________________________________________________________


Canyon Cafe, 330 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm  Springs CA 92262
Tel [phone], Owner Ghassan Razzouk.
It is a small cafe in Palm Springs that serves Lebanese dishes
The propritor is half Lebanese half Italian, he is married to
a Colombian and has lived most of his life in Mexico. He does
a good falafel, the makanek are nice, Tabouleh and Baba Ghannouj
need some work.

_______________________________________________________________________________

In Denver there is a Cedars Restaurant run by a Lebanese guy, I've
heard good things about it, but I've not been there.  Hopefully,
you can find it listed in the phone book.
_______________________________________________________________________________
In Austin, Texas:

Longhorn Po-Boy's
2801 Guadalupe, Suite 5
Austin, TX
[phone]

Armen's Meditarranean-Armenian  [mediocre food except for
     Restaurant     mashaoui's]
2222 Rio Grande
Austin, TX
[phone]

_______________________________________________________________________________

  Here are two lebanese restaurants I've been to in Paris - France.

Name    : Al-Dar.
Address : very close to Place Victor Hugo (?Av. Raymond Poincarre?).
Price   : relatively expensive (200-300 FF per person = medium size
           mezze + meat + dessert).
Quality : Good to Very-Good (same quality then in Lebanon).
Remarks : Lebanese service, arabic music, grocery with lot of lebanese
          staff (less expensive).

Name    : Al-Diwan.
Address : Avenue Georges V (close to the Champs Elysee)
Price   : relatively expensive (250-350 FF per person = medium size
          mezze + meat + dessert).
Quality : Good.
Remarks : Lebanese service, arabic music, grocery with lot of lebanese
          staff (less expensive).

There are a lot of other lebanese restaurants in Paris. I only know
these two and I recommand Al-Dar.

_______________________________________________________________________________

  Here in London, we are well supplied with a number of Lebanese
restaurants.  I'll describe only a small selection of them.

Name: Maroush I
Location: 21, Edgware Road, W2
Telephone: [phone]
Cost per Person: No music, no arak : GBP.18 (US$ 36);
                 Music and alcohol : GBP.37 (US$ 74);
Quality: The food is okay. This is the flagship of the Maroush/Ranoush
chain of three restaurants+ 1 takeway in London. On week-ends in the
winter and throughout the week in the summer, there is live music and
dancing which makes you think you are in Bairut itself ! Beware
though, minimum charge when there is music and dancing is GBP.37
(US$74) which is damn expensive, but if you don't care, then go for
it. Last time I went there with friends, we spent 4 hours eating,
singing, and generally having a good time.  Quantity of food: Well,
since they will charge you a minimum price of GBP.37, you really have
to eat a lot to make up to this price ! Say 3 starters per person,
plus main course, plus baklawa, plus fruit, plus mint tea etc. - open
'til 4:00am or so !

Name: Maroush II
Location: 38 Beauchamp Place, SW3
Telephone: [phone]

Cost per Person: GBP.18 (US$ 36) + drinks (3 starters(shared) + main
course) Note: Second Maroush restaurant in London, near Knightsbridge
Quality: I'm not pleased with this one. Bad service. Crowded with the
wrong type of crowd. Although the food isn't cheap, the decor is
el-cheapo.  Quantity of food: Okay.

Name: Maroush III
Location: 62 Seymour Street W1H - perpendicular to Edgware Road.
Telephone: [phone]
Cost per person: GBP.18 (US$ 36) + drinks
Note: 1 minutes away from Maroush I

Quality: This one's my favourite Maroush restaurant because I have
been there so many times I know everyone. The food is good while not
too expensive. Summer is more crowded than winter because of the Gulf
population taking its quarters around the nearby Edgware Road.
Recommended starters: Arayes, Baba Ghanouj (Mouttabal), firri, Makanek
Un-recommended starters: Kibbeh (it's not the real thing), sojuk (it
is different every time I go there !)  Recommended main course: Lahem
Meshwi. Farrouj Kebab.  Recommended drink: Laban Ayran (they know how
to do it properly) Beware of the meat Shawarma, it's very greasy,
*very*.  Quantity of food: plenty. 3 starters to share plus main
course is enough.  Baklawa and/or fruit is included in the cover
price. If you can eat the whole tray of baklawa (about 40+) your meal
is on the house (that's what they told me) Additional notice:
Check-out the Maitre d'Hotel. He thinks he's Lebanese but in fact he
is Spanish, and it's funny to hear him speak Arabic ;-)

Name: Al Hamra
Location: 31/33 Shepherd Market, Mayfair, W1Y
Telephone: [phone]
Cost per person: GBP.29 (US$58) + drinks
Quality: Situated in the heart of Mayfair, a very prestigious area of
town, Al Hamra is pretty expensive. But then again, it is the only
place which has someone at the entrance to park your car for you.
Since it is so hard to park in central London, it's pretty good,
especially in the evening when you don't want to walk the streets. The
food is of good quality. But then, one would really expect it. Book in
advance, because the restaurant is pretty small and very popular.
Quantity of food: less than in Maroush III, but who says that quantity
counts ?

Name: Fakhreldine
Location: 85 Piccadilly, Mayfair, W1
Telephone: [phone]
Cost per person: GBP.40+ (US$80+) + drinks

Quality: Very popular, very expensive, very good. The bill seems to be
exponential with what you eat. If you have a business meal with
anybody you want to impress, take them there. Most people whom I know
and have gone there have gone only once. They are still saving for the
next time !  This is known to be the best in town. Go there, if you
can afford it.  Quantity of food: at those prices, do you bother ?
It's the people there that matter. Who knows, you could be striking
the deal of your career !

Name: Beit Eddine
Location: 8 Harriet Street, SW1X
Telephone: [phone]
Cost per person: GBP.25 (US$50) including drinks

Quality: This is a small restaurant where it is advisable to book
during week-ends. The food is good, but nothing special. But a friend
of mine really likes it. I guess the atmosphere, although being
simple, is very pleasant. Shawarma is pretty good. Lahem Meshwi is a
bit dry, so be sure to order Humus to dip the meat in...  Quantity of
food: the portions are rather small. Be sure to order enough !

Take-away food:


There is a quantity of takeaway shops for Arabic food in London, especially
on the Edgware Road. After having tried nearly all of them, I can only
recommend one:

Name: Ranoush Juice
Location: 43 Edgware Road, W2
Telephone: [phone]
Cost of sandwich: GBP.2.50 (US$5) average
Recommended sandwiches: Chicken Shawarma; Mouttabal Sandwich
Recommended drinks: freshly-made carrot juice, it's good for you !
Recommended process-to-get-served: go to the till, and order your food; pay
and use the ticket that you get to give to the cooks. If you are a pretty
girl you'll probably get served immediately ;-).

  Well, that just about rounds-up a small selection of Lebanese
restaurants in this part of the world. One last observation: you'll
find that the garlic sauce served with chicken (for example) is pretty
weak compared to what is served back in Lebanon.  Home cooking is
still the best !

  Editorial Note: I have used GBP for Great Britain Pound Sterling, and
the exchange rate is US$ 2 for GBP 1. -> I can't be bothered to use
the exact exchange rate.

  The PHOENICIA, 11/13 Abingdon Road (Off Kensington High Street)
London W8. Tel: [phone]. The food is
consistently excellent, the quantities are more than ample, the prices are
reasonable and extremely good value, and above all the service is
friendly, courteous. They even speak Lebanese instead of the condescending
French some are prone to. It merits at least one visit every time I leave
this cold country for the nearest I can get to a good Lebanese meal
barring home cooking. Try their mezza!

*******************************************************************************

19. Where can I find a Lebanese grocery store?

  There are two large Arab shopping areas that I know of in NY/NJ:

Brooklyn, NY, Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn Heights.
Paterson, NJ, off Guarden State Pkwy, Hazel Street exit.
_______________________________________________________________________________

  In St.Louis:

Middle-Eastern Markets (Aswak al shark-al-awsat) on Grand Blvd.
Jay International Markets on Grand Blvd.
Al Madina Al Arabia in North County.
_______________________________________________________________________________

Phoenicia Bakery & Deli   [very good bread]
2912 S Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX
[phone]

Austin Gourmet Market
1931-G East Oltorf
Austin, TX
[phone]

_______________________________________________________________________________
These two bakeries in Michigan will ship baklava:

  Afrah Bakery
  12741  W. Warren
  Dearborn, MI 48126
  Phone: [phone]

  Shatila Food Products
  8505 W. Warren
  Dearborn, MI 48126
  Tel. [phone]
  Fax. [phone]

Warren Avenue in Dearborn, Michigan: *Lots* of places where you can find
Lebanese grocery stores and restaurants, Lebanese bookstores,
Lebanese music stores etc ...

end of part1/2
******************************************************************************
Archive-name: lebanon-faq/part2
Last-modified: 1993/09/21
Version: 1.8

20. Is there a good Lebanese recipe book ?

  Fann-Al-Tabkh by Georges Al-Rayess.
*The* book on Lebanese cuisine. This book is a classic, and is
extremely thorough. Not for the amateur cuisinard or the faint-of-heart,
though. Can be obtained from Librairie Antoine in Beirut.

  For a more practical and less complicated cookbook, see Madeleine
Farah's book 'Middle-Eastern Cuisine'

There is also "Cooking  the Lebanese  Way" by Cedar  Hashashe.

  Another alternative is a book,  that is not specifically Lebanese
but contains many Lebanese and other Middle Eastern recipies:

Claudia Roden: A New Book of Middle Eastern Food. Penguin.

Sahtayn!

*******************************************************************************

21. Are there recipes available on the net ?

  Yes! Telnet to Archie and search for recipies with the command: prog
recipies. Here you will get the address of the servers that have on-
line recipies. Choose the server closest to you and FTP the file(s).

following are addresses to Archie servers:

archie.doc.ic.ac.uk [146.169.11.3]     UK/European  Imperial, London,
                                                      UK
archie.funet.fi     [128.214.6.100]    European     FUnet, Helsinki,
                                                      Finland
archie.au           [139.130.4.6]      Australian   Deakin, Geelong,
                                                      Australia
archie.sura.net     [128.167.254.179]  World        SURAnet,
                                                      Maryland, USA
archie.rutgers.edu  [128.6.18.15]      World        Rutgers, New
                                                      Jersey, USA
archie.unl.edu      [129.93.1.14]      World        Lincoln, Nebraska,
                                                      USA
archie.ans.net      [147.225.1.2]      World        ANS, New York, US

archie.mcgill.ca    [132.206.2.3]      World        McGill, Montreal,

*******************************************************************************

22.  Is there an ftp archive site for Lebanese art works ?

  There is an effort undertaken by Barre Ludvigsen and Berthe Choueiry
to provide a multimedia server of cultural material relating to Lebanon and
the Middle East. Material is deposited as it appears and as people contribute.
Everyone is urged to contact Barre Ludvigsen at <[e-mail]>
or to directly add to the collection and contribute under the cultural material
heading.
Barre will be happy to help anyone who feels they might have
something to contribute, but feels unable to manage the technical aspects.

The liasun3.epfl.ch server has companion anonymous ftp servers in
Norway and the USA. If you are interested in cultural material
pertaining to Lebanon, the Middle East and "Arab World" you might
want to investigate the anonymous ftp servers

  liasun3.epfl.ch  (128.178.155.12) /users/choueiry
         ftp.dhhalden.no  (158.36.33.3)    /ftp/pub/mideast
         borg.poly.edu  (128.238.10.106)   /pub/sol
         (try rama.poly.edu if borg is not up).
______________________________________________________________________________
    ** Pictures, texts and sounds from Lebanon **

This is a overview of the /users/choueiry directory of the
liasun3.epfl.ch anonymous ftp server. This area is a cultural
repository of texts, images, sounds and animations related to Lebanon
and the Middle East in the form of a hitch-hiker's multimedia server.

(See the general remarks at the end of this message.)

 Read these first!

/users/choueiry/README.etq
/users/choueiry/README.ftp
/users/choueiry/README.gif
/users/choueiry/README.msg
/users/choueiry/README.snd
/users/choueiry/README.uu

General description of contents (May 15, 1993):

/users/choueiry/
 miscellaneous graphics images, text and message files
/users/choueiry/aleppo-Syria
 recent photographs from Aleppo and Syria
/users/choueiry/bin
 sound utilities for IBM PC, Mac and Unix
/users/choueiry/bonfils
 photographs from Lebanon 1870-1900
/users/choueiry/Bibliography
 bibliographies on text sources about Lebanon
/users/choueiry/poetry
 poetry such as Jibran Kahlil Jibran's 'My Countrymen'
/users/choueiry/fairuz
 songs (soundbytes), songtext, pictures and animation of and by Fairuz
/users/choueiry/Language
 information files on aspects of the Lebanese and Arabic languages
/users/choueiry/maps
 maps of Lebanon, general and detailed
/users/choueiry/sabah
 pictures of Sabah and Mohamed Fawzei from an early film
/users/choueiry/sahrathub
 songs (soundbytes) with Fairuz and Wadi el Safi
/users/choueiry/samiraToufiq
 soundbytes and animations of/by Samira Toufiq
/users/choueiry/umKoulthoum
 soundbytes, song texts (as gifs) of several Um Kalthoum songs
/users/choueiry/wadielsafi
 soundbytes by Wadi el Safi
/users/choueiry/1968
 some photographs from 1968 (Beirut and Saida)
/users/choueiry/giha
 Giha gif and story
/users/choueiry/postcards
 gifs of various old postcards of Lebanon.  The description of each
 gif is in its respectve .msg file.  Here is a list of some of the files:

alaqsa.gif
alaqsa.msg
arab-girl.gif
arab-girl.ps
corn.gif
jiitacard.gif
nahribrahim.msg
nahribrahimFront.gif
nahribrahimRev.gif
aitanit.gif
stjohn.gif
raouche.gif
martyr.gif
jupiter.msg
cedars.gif
cedar.gif
casinon.gif
casinod.gif
beyrout.gif
beirut.msg
stjohn.msg
raouche.msg
martyr.msg
baalbak-s.gif
baalbak.gif
baalbak.msg
fruit-s.gif
fruit.gif
fruit.msg
hotels-s.gif
hotels.gif
hotels.msg
teylan-s.gif
teylan.gif
teylan.msg

New postings to ftp.dhhalden.no in pub/mideast:

lebanon:
total 3
drwxr-xr-x  3 ftpadmin      512 Sep 17 21:39 ./
drwxr-xr-x  4 ftpadmin      512 Sep 17 21:38 ../
drwxr-xr-x  2 ftpadmin      512 Sep 17 21:45 beirut.mosques/

lebanon/beirut.mosques:
total 60
drwxr-xr-x  2 ftpadmin      512 Sep 17 21:45 ./
drwxr-xr-x  3 ftpadmin      512 Sep 17 21:39 ../
-rw-r--r--  1 ftpadmin      322 Sep 17 21:45 mosques.msg
-rw-r--r--  1 ftpadmin    19114 Sep 17 21:45 mosques1.gif
-rw-r--r--  1 ftpadmin    19845 Sep 17 21:45 mosques2.gif
-rw-r--r--  1 ftpadmin    17693 Sep 17 21:45 mosques3.gif

postcards:
total 2589
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel    278631 Sep 21 09:50 aqueduct.gif
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel       364 Sep 21 13:22 aqueduct.msg
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel    168908 Sep 21 09:51 baalbak1.gif
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel       419 Sep 21 13:22 baalbak1.msg
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel    171851 Sep 21 09:52 baalbak2.gif
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel       419 Sep 21 13:22 baalbak2.msg
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel    157720 Sep 21 09:54 beirut030192.gif
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel       323 Sep 21 13:22 beirut030192.msg
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel    206905 Sep 21 09:55 cedres.gif
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel       415 Sep 21 13:22 cedres.msg
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel    143185 Sep 21 12:09 coast.gif
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel       427 Sep 21 13:22 coast.msg
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel    219909 Sep 21 09:56 grapes.gif
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel       417 Sep 21 13:22 grapes.msg
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel    123862 Sep 21 12:10 jouniehbay.gif
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel       403 Sep 21 13:22 jouniehbay.msg
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel    248591 Sep 21 09:57 kharobpress.gif
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel       397 Sep 21 13:22 kharobpress.msg
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel    242112 Sep 21 09:58 murretelHarb.gif
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel       404 Sep 21 13:22 murretelHarb.msg
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel    199208 Sep 21 12:56 raoucheq.gif
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel       576 Sep 21 13:22 raoucheq.msg
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel    188720 Sep 21 09:59 stantoine.gif
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel       433 Sep 21 13:21 stantoine.msg
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel    115669 Sep 21 12:11 sunset.gif
-rw-r--r--  1 borrel       333 Sep 21 13:21 sunset.msg

Enjoy (read the README files first)

Nineteen files about the reconstruction of Downtown Beirut are also posted at
this ftp site, in the subdirectory beirut-reconstruction.
These articles first appeared in the Lebanese monthly construction, Industrial
and management magazine "Al-Handasah".  They appeared as three seperate
articles
and thus they are named accordingly.

The articles are in "Gif" format and are NOT uuencoded.  The retriever of the
articles should make sure that all ftp'ing is done in the binary mode.

  In addition to the files mentioned above, another article concerning the same
  subject is posted in the same directory.  The article is retyped from
  a Canadian daily newspaper " The Toronto Star".

  Anonymous ftp site: liasun3.epfl.ch
  Directroy:         /users/chouiery/ beirut-reconstruction

     ** Reconstruction **

      alh49p1.gif - alh49p4.gif
      alh50p1.gif - alh50p4.gif
      alh54p1.gif - alh54p11.gif
      article

  The filenames indicate the issue in which the article
  appeared and which of a total number of pages in the article.

A map of Lebanon is also available at this site in gif format
and in bitmap format (.BMP file).
The bitmap file is intended to be used as wallpaper under Windows
on a PC (where you can use Paintbrush to visualize it & edit it).
The gif format is usually used by unix users and is visualized
with a viewer software such as xv or an equivalent one.

 Both files are in directory       : /users/choueiry/maps
 filenames:
 MAP.BMP for the bitmap format file
 MAP.gif for the gif format file

and don't forget to switch to binary mode (type binary at ftp prompt)


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a purely experimental server maintained on a voluntary
basis by individuals whose contributions are made on their spare time.
Therefore, no support in the use of this server is given by the staff
of epfl. If you cannot find the help you need in the README files,
refer to the sysop of your local system for help. As for support from
contributors to this server, use them only as a last resort.

Before attempting to download or reading any of the files on this
server, we ask you *please to read the REAME files*.

File types are as follows, remember to set the correct transfer mode
and note the filesize before downloading:

.gif  - graphics image (pictures or Arabic texts)
.snd  - soundbyte
.au   - soundbyte
.uu   - uuencoded file (mostly graphics)
.msg  - message
.JPEG - graphics image
.tiff - graphics image
.anim - directory of sequential .tiff "movie" images

Files with other extensions will usually be text files where the
extension denotes the character of the file contents.

*******************************************************************************

23. What is the best way to deal with multiple system TVs and VCRs and
    how can I get my VCR tape converted to a format that works in Lebanon ?

  Three solutions :

    1. Buying a switchable television and use your video recorder.
    2. Buying a switchable video recorder (PAL / SECAM / NTSC) and
        a PAL / SECAM television.
    3. Buying a switchable video recorder (PAL / NTSC) and a
        PAL / SECAM television.

   First case : You can watch to french and foreign broadcast,
you can use your video recorder and your tapes, but you can't record
french broadcast.

   Second case : You have still to find a french PAL / SECAM
television. That should not be that much expensive. But : in that case,
you can watch the local broadcasts, watch your tapes AND record local
broadcasts.

   I don't know how much costs a switchable television, but as
for the video recorder, it's about 300.000 yen in Japan for the only
model available. That video recorder converts any video signal to any
other.

    Some people may point out that the conversion is not perfect.
That's true. In fact, the signal conversion achieved by that video
recorder is a VERY LOW COST conversion. It converts SECAM to a pseudo
PAL, PAL to a pseudo NTSC, but that's neither a professionnal quality,
nor a broadcast quality.

    Just for information : a professionnal quality PAL/SECAM/NTSC
converter (the converter only) costs 1.800.000 yen.

    Third case : There is another video recorder (AIWA) which
converts NTSC to PAL only. That one is quite cheap (60.000 yen here
in Japan). That one with a french SECAM / PAL television would make
it, if you don't expect too much quality, and if you don't record
SECAM broadcasts.

    About the quality : There are some video recorders allowing
to make low speed records (one third of the normal speed). Up to six
hours on one tape, but of course lower quality. The quality of a low
cost converter is about the same...

    The ideal solution : you buy a switchable television AND
a switchable video recorder. In that case, you can record in any format
you want and use your tapes in any country. Since you don't need the
signal conversion, you get a broadcast quality image in any case.
_______________________________________________________________________________

  Here are some recommendations for businesses that will convert
VCR tapes from one standard to another :

 DAKE International
 3208 Foxboro Dr.
 Richardson, TX 75082
 [phone] 1pm-9pm

  The cost is $18.50 per tape which includes a new tape and shipping.
They can convert to any TV system: PAL, SECAM to NTSC or vice versa.

  Another one is in Raleigh, NC.  It provides conversion from and to
any format (VHS, VHS-C and 8 mm types of cassettes).
This will allow playback of videotapes made overseas, here on U.S.
TV's and VCR's (NTSC System).
  The service will also convert the other way around,(i.e. from
U.S. system to any of the systems used anywhere else in the world - PAL,
SECAM, etc..)

Mailing Address:  INTERNATIONAL VIDEO CONVERSION
                  520 Harvest Lane
                  Raleigh, NC 27606-2217

Phone:            [phone]

Fees:             $24.90 + $5.00 S&H
                  (Price of a High Grade Cassette Included, 2hrs or less)

Delivery:         Mailed back the next day, express shipping at request.

Payment:          Check, Cash or Money Order mailed with tape.

Conversions from photographic pictures, slides, 8, super 8, 16 mm movies to
any of the video standards are also provided.

  A third one is:

SOMI International
50 Summer Street
Edison, NJ 08820.
Phone [phone]

  Their price is good ($12.99 for a regular 2-hr tape and $17.99 for more than
2-hr tape, include $3/tape for postage and handling).


  Fourth recommendation :

  This information was obtained from listings in VideoMaker Magazine.
Another good company is:

        RVT
        1911 Douglas Boulevard #85
        Roseville
        CA 95661
        [phone]

  The approximate cost is around $25 for 2 hours including tape
and return shipping.
CA residents have to pay tax at 7.25%. They have a 24 hour turnaround time.

*******************************************************************************

24. What are newborn names that could be used for Lebanese children living
abroad that would work in both Lebanon and western societies.

For girls:

  If names sound alike (Homonyms) the first one mentioned will
be the Arabic spelling, then the English (or the English equivalent):

Dana            Danah     The name that got the most votes from the net
Dania
Dina
Dima
Farah           Farrah
Faten
Hala
Hana            Hannah
Jihane
Johayna
Joumana
Karima
Laura
Leila           Leyla/Layla
Lina
Lubna
Mariam          Myriam
Marwa
May
Maya
Mona
Moniya
Nadia
Nadine
Najat
Nariman
Nour
Noura           Nora
Rania
Salam
Samar           Summer
Samia
Sawsan          Susan
Safiyya         Sofia
Sara            Sarah
Sourayya
Sukayna
Yasmin          Jasmin

For boys:

Yusef           Joseph
Ree'an          Ryan
Kareem
Nabil  Bill
Waleed
Sami
Nadeem
Fadi
Chadi  Chad
Fouad  Fred
Raji  Roger
Ya'oub  Jacob/Jake
Ree'an  Ryan
Naji
Farid
Ramzi  Ramsey
Samir  Sam
Rabih  Robbie

*******************************************************************************

25. I plan to go home soon and I have heard rumors that the draft
    will be re-instituted, do you have any additional information about it ?
    I was born in 1923 and I am afraid that I would be subject to the draft !

  The latest on the subject and the most recent decision  is that men
born during 1972 and later years will be drafted.  The same was also
confirmed recently in some of the arabic papers published in Canada.
Originally it was thought that only those of 1975 will be drafted, but
it was later decided to go with 1972...

*******************************************************************************

26. Where can I get a copy of the English translation of
    the Lebanese Constitution ?

  A Translated copy of the Lebanese Constitution is archived on
borg.poly.edu (128.238.10.106) as /pub/scl/constitution.
To obtain a copy from ftp enabled sites the following commands should be
followed:
ftp borg.poly.edu  (or ftp 128.238.10.106)
login name:  anonymous
password  :  send id as password
cd pub/scl
get constitution

*******************************************************************************

27. Where can I get a copy of the English translation of
    Taef Agreement ?

A Translated copy of the Taef Agreement is also archived on
borg.poly.edu (128.238.10.106) as /pub/scl/taef
To obtain a copy follow similar procedure as the one followed in
the previous  question using at the end :
get taef (instead of get constitution)

*******************************************************************************

28. I need to ship a car/or some merchandise to Lebanon, do you
    know of a shipping company that handles this ?


  There is a Lebanese person that handles shipping cars (among other things)
to Lebanon.
  His name is Hassan Issa, and his home phone is : [phone]
You can mention that Hassan Hammoud referred you.  It may be very helpful.
Phoenicia Shipping in Woodridge-Monachie in NJ is another company that
deals with shipping merchandise to Lebanon.
Phoenicia's number is [phone] but be warned, they're no longer
owned/operated by a Lebanese.  Charles Audi used to own Phoenicia.
The latest information about him is that he went back to Lebanon
but is trying to restablish himself again in the shipping business to
Lebanon.
Someone contacted them over the phone.  The guy who spoke is American.
He said they subdivide containers going to Lebanon.  For one cubic meter,
it costs $200 plus a $150 one-time "documentations  fee" (whatever that means).
You pick up your stuff from their office in Beirut.

From San Francisco, CA, the following price was obtained in September 1993:
Company name: Danzas Corp.
Phone: [phone] Ask for Hernando,
the Quote I got was about 260$/m3, plus an assortment of charges for
pick up, handling....

*******************************************************************************

29. I suddenly developped an urge for Middle-Eastern cuisine,
    can you help me quench this horrifying thirst ?

  You can try to prepare any of the following recipes:


Tabbouleh

 1 cup fine bulgur
 1 bunch green onions, chopped
 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped fine
 1 small bunch mint, chopped
 3 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
 1/4 cup olive oil
 juice of 2 lemons
 1 to 2 ts salt
 fresh ground pepper to taste

Soak bulgur in hot water for 30 minutes or until  no longer crunchy.  Drain
in fine strainer then squeeze excess water out by hand.

Return bulgur to bowl and add the rest of the ingredients.


Use the lemon juice to taste.


>From "Cooking  the Lebanese  Way" by Cedar  Hashashe (inexpensive paperback
from AH & AW Reed) slightly adapted by me:

Tabbouli

225g (1c) fine cracked wheat  1 large onion
2 - 3 c   parsley   1/2 c olive oil
1 c       fresh mint   juice of 3 lemons
2         not-quite-ripe tomatoes       black pepper
                                        cinnamon (2 heaped tsp)
Soak the wheat 1 hr in cold water.

Finely chopped parsley, mint (I usually am  forced to use  dried mint which
is quite adequate), tomatoes and onion. Put in a large bowl.

Drain wheat and sqeeze out all moisture with hands.

Toss onto salad. Add spice, lemon juice and oil. Mix well.

Season to taste so that salad is distinctly lemon-tasting and highly spiced.


Hummos

Ingredients:
2 cans of cooked Garbanzos
1/2 cup of Tahini (sold at Int'l food stores-mashed sesame seed pulp)
1/2 cup of lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 T of chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
1 T of paprika (or ground red pepper-depending on whether you like it hot)
salt (to taste)

It is a good idea to boil the precooked garbanzo beans that come in the
cans for an extra 10 minutes, it helps make the garbanzo easier to mash
thus the final product will have less granularity in it.
Save some (about 15 garbanzo beans) whole to use for plate decorating
once the hummos is done.
mash the rest of the garbanzo beans all by themselves in the food processor
(you can add a bit-less than 1/4 cup- of water to help the processing along)
once they are finely ground, add the crushed garlic, the tahini, and start
adding the lemon juice then mix in the food processor every time
you add a little bit and taste-test (I usually put less than what the recipe
calls for then increase the lemon juice slowly to the mix until I attain the
level of tanginess that I like, so it would be a good idea to keep
adding the lemon juice slowly, until the amount of tanginess you like
is attained). same thing for salt, put a little bit than add as you go along
(or don't add if you don't want it in).
Once you are satisfied with the mix, put it in a plate, decorate with
chopped parsley and whole garbanzos in bunches, then sprinkle the
paprika or red pepper on top, and add the olive oil.
Eat with pita bread.

Sahtain


   Baba Ghanouj

   1 eggplant (about 1.25 lbs.)
   1/4 cup of olive oil
   1   clove of garlic, crushed
   1/2 cup of lemon juice
   1/4 cup of tahini
   2   T of minced parsley

 1. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and make several incisions in
    the flesh. Sprinkle the exposed meat with salt and let it drain for
    30 minutes.
 2. Coat a baking pan with the olive oil and place the eggplant
    face-down in the pan. Bake it in an oven preheated to 400F for
    about 20 or 30 minutes, until tender.
 3. Remove the eggplant and let it cool. Then scoop out the pulp and
    place it in a food-processor or blender. Discard the skin.
 4. Place the garlic in the blender with the eggplant and puree. Add
    alternately the lemon juice and the tahini. Finally, blend in the
    parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper if desired.
 5. Chill before serving. Sprinkle with paprika to add a bit of color,
    if you like. Serve with raw vegetables and toasted pita
    triangles.


  Falafel

       1 lb. dry ful (fava beans)
       1 small onion
       1 bunsh of chopped parsley
       2 cloves of garlic, crushed
       1 t. ground coriander
       1/4 t hot red pepper (optional)
       1 t. baking soda
       1/2 t. cumin
       Salt and pepper to taste
       1 T. flour

  Soak ful in cold water for a few days, changing water daily.  When ready,
peel ful and grind with onion in meat grinder.  Add all ingredients,
mixing well.  Grind mixture a second time.  Form into patties and fry.

Variation:  Soak 3/4 cup of dry homus with ful.  Then follow above directions.

  Stuffed Grape Leaves in Oil.

1 lb tender grape leaves
12 oz. rice
12 oz chopped red onions
4 bunches parsley chopped fine
12 oz ripe tomatoes chopped very fine
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. spices (mixed cinnamon and sweet + hot pepper)
2 1/5 lb sliced tomatoes
1 pt. boiling water.
2 oz. lemon juice
4 oz. oil
potatoes cut in the thickness of 1 1/2 inch.

  My Lebanese mother-in-law adds garbanzo beans as well, about a cup
or so with the above proportions. Note that these are the "lentin"
variety; there are also grape leaves with meat, for those who eat
meat.

  As hinted above, rolling the leaves is the tricky part an the book
doesn't explain how to do it. Could anyone provide any hints on that?

  Nothing substitutes for experience.
When my wife and I make grape leaves, hers are always much tighter
and more consistent than mine. But I'm learning! Here's how we do it:

  Lay the leaf face down in front of you, with the stem end towards
you. (Be sure to remove the stem, by the way). Put a tablespoon
or two of the stuffing in the middle of the leaf. Fold in the
sides, then roll up the leaf starting with the end that is
closest to you. It's very much like rolling a burrito, if that's
any help.

  When cooking, be sure to put a plate on top of the grape leaves,
so that they don't expand too much. Also, we like to crush some
garlic and sprinkle it on top of the grape leaves before cooking.

Sahtain!


    Knafi (bil Jibn or Ushta):

  I have recently learned to make Knafi, and if I do say so, I think I have
become very good at it.  I use the shreded stuff, not the breadcrumb crust.

  First prepare the syrup ('ater) from twice as much sugar as water
with some lemon juice and orange-blossom water (mazaher).  Mixing in honey
makes
it taste more familiar to American palates, and putting in a tiny amount of
Carob molasses (dibs) makes the flavour "heavier" (i.e. more like
something cooked).
The syrup goes in the fridge.

  Next I prepare the clotted cream ('ushta).
The ingredients are:

One liter milk,
1/4 litre heavy cream
and one teaspoonful rosewater (maward)

  Prefereably boiled over a light flame in a wide, shallow tray over
two burners.
After that, it needs to be left at room temperature overnight so that the
thick layer of stuff on the surface can trigger the coagulation of a greater
of the milk/cream mixture.
Adding the rosewater after most of the boiling is done is a good thing to do.

  You may refrigerate the 'ushta now if you want to do this later.  The cheese
could be Lebanese white cheese (jinbi baidha) if you can get it or mozerella
otherwise.  The shredded dough needs to be well buttered : pouring melted
butter
over it is not enough, you have to leave some butter in solid form and rub it
in
to make sure every strand is coated.  I assume this will not be a problem with
breadcrumbs.  Also, using clarified butter is a good thing to do if you have
time.  (If you are still with me, you probably have time ;)
In order to clarify the butter, melt it and throw away the parts
that float or sink (unless, of course, you have some REAL samneh!).

  One layer of knafi in the tray followed by the cheese (cut into any shapes
you wnat: it'll melt anyway), covered with the 'ushta and topped off by another
layer of buttered knafi is the final configuration.
  Bake at 350 for half an hour then raise the temperature to 450 to brown it;
remove when it looks brown enough
(unless you see smoke, which is another indication it is done :>).

Baklava recipes

Syrup Ingredients:

1.5 cups sugar
 .5 cup water
1 tablespoon mazaher (orange blossom water)
squeeze of lemon

Baklava Ingredients:

1 box phillo dough
3 cups chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons mazaher
2 sticks melted unsalted butter
honey

1. Cook syrup first so that, if you mess up the syrup, you can
   make another batch.

   Combine all syrup ingredients and cook over medium heat and
   after it has come to a boil cook for 5 minutes and remove
   from the heat. Do not let it get too thick when it's still cooking
   or it won't be absorbed by the phillo dough.
   Place syrup in the refridgerator.

2. For the walnut mix - mix walnuts, mazaher and honey. Mix honey in
   so that the walnuts stick together but are not dripping.

3. Using a pastry brush, put a coat of butter on cookie sheet. Carefully
   place 1 sheet of phillo on top of butter.  Brush sheet with butter
   then put another sheet on top of that one. Continue until you've
   used 1/3 of the phillo.

4. Spread the walnut mixture on the phillo, leaving a tiny bit of space
   at the edges. Cover with the rest of the phillo, spreading butter
   between each sheet.

5. Make sure the top of the baklava has butter spread all over it. Then.
   cut the baklava in squares.

6. Place in oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes - but watch it closely.

7. When the Baklava is done cooking pour the syrup on top  - a little at
   a time using a spoon or ladle.

   The thing to remember about the syrup is hot baklava/cold syrup or
   cold baklava/hot syrup. You want the maximum amount of syrup to be
   absorbed.



BAKLAVA

Fillo dough (pastry leaves).
1 1/4 cups butter/margarine
1/4 cup sugar
1-2 tsp cinamon (ground)
4 cups almonds, slivered and chopped.
cloves (NOT ground)

syrup:
4 cups sugar
3 cups water
1/2 cup honey
1 stick cinamon
5-6 cloves (NOT ground)


Mix sugar, cinamon, sugar, and almonds.

Lay the fillo dough out on a table.  Fillo dough will dry quickly, so
you'll need to work fast, so what spills out of the pan doesn't dry
(although it will anyway), and keep a damp towel on the rest of it (that
you had laid on the table) so it doesn't dry.
 On a medium-sized, buttered pan (you'll need to melt the butter) lay
one of the sheets of dough.  Butter it, and lay another on top of that.
Continue until you have 5-6 sheets of dough on the bottom of the pan.
Then lay another sheet, and do NOT butter it.  On that, put some of the
almond mix, enough to cover it evenly, but not making a thick layer. On
that, lay another sheet of dough, butter it, and then another,
unbuttered.  On that place some almond mix again.  Repeat until all the
mix is gone, or you have only 4-5 sheets of dough left.

Fold in the dough that hangs from the side of the pan.  Some of sthem
will be dry, so just cut them and discard them.  Make sure to butter
all of them (except, of course, if they have almonds on them).Lay down
some more sheets of dough, buttering every one, and cutting off the
edges, that hang from the sides of the pan. here, I've found it easier
if you just lay the dough down, width of dough to length of pan.  That
is to say, the width of the dough is sometimes about teh same size as
the length of the pan, and the length of the dough about twice the widht
of the pan, so lay the short side of the dough down along the length of
the pan, so that some (about half) of it will hang out the end.  Then
butter it, and fold what hangs back in the pan, buttering that.  This
way you get it to look better, and stick better.

When you're done with laying the sheets of dough down, make sure you
butter the first one VERY well, and sprinkle some water on it before you
put it in the oven.  Also, with a sharp, pointy knife, cut the top few
sheets of dough, not getting all the way through, just sort of
"scratching" the top layer and marking the pieces, in rhombus-shaped
pieces.   I find it easier to cut along lengthwise, and then sideways,
from corner to corner, and lines paralel toothat:

______________
|  /  /  /  / |
|_/__/__/__/__|      <--I HOPE you get this "drawing"..and i hope it's useful.
|/  /  /  /  /|
|__/__/__/__/_|

(you get the idea).

Then, at the center of each rhombus, stick a clove, so that it keeps the
sheets of dough together.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour, until
golden-brown, and the edges no longer touch the wall of the pan.


Syrup:

Place sugar and water in a pan and bring tooa boil  Boil for 5 minutes,
then add honey and spices and simmer until all is combined well,
 10 minutes maybe, enough for the spices to give off flavor.
Retain the syrup hot until the baklava comes out of the oven and cools.
Pour the hot syrup over the cold baklava.  (some do it the other way, I
don't think it matters, as long as one is hot and the other cold, so
that it "boils" into the baklava and it saturates it well, whicle at the
same time keeps the top layer of filo dough crispy).

Note:  I usually put in along with the spices a piece of lemon peel.  A
friend of mine, on the other hand, uses 1-2 tbsp rosewater.  They both
work well, and I sugest one of them.

Note2:  (on syrup/baklava hot/cold thing):  I think you can save
yourself some time if you just take the baklava out, and then start the
syrup, so that by the time you're done, the baklava will have cooled
down enough.

Note3:  You may use wallnuts or baking pistachios instead of almonds, or
any wallnut/almond or pistachio/almond combo.  I've never tried
pistachio/almond/wallnut all in one, but I don't think it would be good.
Anyway, I usually prefer not to put any wallnuts because they give off
wallnut oil, which I don't think is fitting. (I guess I could roast them
first, so they wouldn't give off the oil, but I'm not a big wallnut fan
as it is.)  Pistachios make it extra-special.   Make sure that, no
matter what you use, they're ground coarsly.

Baklava

here's my recipe.  i'm doing this off the top of my head, so bear with me. :)

1 pkg philo dough
1 bag (the larger of the 2 kinds of bags, i think 8 oz) walnuts
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
almonds (optional, if i add them, i do 2 parts walnuts to 1 part almonds)
3 sticks butter (not margarine!)
3/4 cups sugar

syrup:
1/2 water
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups honey
3 or 4 lemon slices
1 cinnamon stick

make syrup:

dissolve sugar in water, bring to boil. add honey, cinn. stick and lemon
slices, reduce heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes.  strain and leave to
cool.

assemble baklava:

preheat oven to 325-350 (depends on how hot your oven is)

in a food processor, grind nuts, mix with sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  set
aside.  melt butter.  in a large pan (i use a roasting pan that is about the
size of a sheet of philo) place 2 layers philo, butter them lightly, then 2
more sheets, repeating this until you have about 8 or 10 layers.  add 1/3 of
the nut mixture.  cover with 2 more layers, lightly butter, repeat until you
have about 6 layers, add another third of the nut mixture.  repeat this until
you have used all the nut mixture, then layer the remaining philo and butter on
top.

take a sharp knife and cut diagonal through the top layers of philo (not past
the top nut layer, and about 1 1/2 - 2 inches wide).  turn and do the same on
the opposite diagonal, to form diamond shapes.  bake for 1 hour, or until
golden.  turn oven off and let baklava sit in oven for 1 more hour.

remove, pour cooled syrup over hot baklava.  take knife and slice all the way
through the cuts you made previously.  let cool, and enjoy!

p.s. until you get very fast at assembling the baklava, you might want to cover
the sheets with a damp towel while you are putting it together.
--

Ragout of Green Beans (Loobyieh ou rozz)
---------------------

Ingredients:

2 lbs. 10 oz green beans strung and cut
1 lb meat cut in medium-sized pieces
7 oz. onions chopped
6 cloves of garlic cut
5 oz. butter
2 tbs salt
1/2 tbs pepper
2 pts 2oz boiling water
2 lb tomatoes cut in slices

Clean and string beans and cut them in halves. Melt butter in a pot and fry
onions, garlic and meat. when onions turn brown add tomatoes, then beans, salt
and spices. After two minutes turn the beans with a flat ladle. Repeat this
four times. Add boiling water and cook fast for 30 minutes. Reduce heat
and continue cooking, stirring occasionally until beans are done.
Serve with rice on the side.




 Potato kibbeh recipe from the book
_The Art Of Cooking_ or Fann al Tabkh

Potato Kibbeh


Ing.

1 kg.  of potatoes
1 cup of Burghul (soaked in water) [alternatively called Bulgur]
1/2 cup of flour
2 onions (chopped)
3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1 bunch of fresh cilantro (or coriander) chopped
salt (to taste)
1 gram of ground white pepper
1 gram of ground black pepper
1 pinch of cumin
1 pinch of nutmeg
150 grams of olive oil

Boil potatoes, taking extra care not to overcook them, peel potatoes.
Saute' onions, garlic and cilantro in a little bit of
olive oil.  Mash the potatoes, mix in the flour, the burghul (after
draining them and squeezing excees water out), the spices and the
sauteed ingredients.  Form into small patties, and fry them in olive
oil over medium heat for approximately 20 minutes (until they
are golden brown color).
Eat.

Sahtain


Here is another recipe for "Potato Kibbeh". I suppose this one is a
"jabalieh"!! Mountaineer Potato Kibbeh ;-)


3 potatoes (large)
1/2 cup of Burghul Na'em (Fine Bulgur)
1 onion
1 to 2 cloves of garlic (according to taste)
3 tablespoons of Tehini


Boil potatoes and peel.
Mash the potatoes and the onion together using either
a hand-mill or a food processor. I have personally found that a mill usually
gives better results (maintains a solid mixture). Add the burghul and the
garlic and mix well. You may choose to pass everything
through the mill or food processor once more to get good mixing. Finally, add
the tehini and again mix well. If you find the tehini to be a little
too thick, add some water. Serve chilled on a platter and decorate with
fresh mint leaves and olive oil. Good appetite.


Mjadara recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup of lentil (the orange-colored type that you can find in health stores
                 international stores and even some groceries)
4 cups of water
1/2 cup of rice
1 huge onion
pepper and salt to taste (a couple of pinches should do)

Chop the onion and fry with some oil until moderately brown.  Place the rice
lentil and water in a pot, add the salt and pepper and the onion and bring to
a boil.  After the mixture reaches the boiling point, reduce temperature to
low, cover the pot, and let simmer for 20-40 minutes.  I like the mjadra to
have a pudding consistency.  So uncover the pot 30 minutes after letting it
simmer to check if the pudding consistency has been reached.  If the thick
pudding consistency was not achieved, then cover the pot again and let simmer
for 10 minutes.  Keep checking until the pudding consistency has been achieved.
At this point, pour content in deep dishes and let cool in room temperature.

When cooled, the mjadra will become firm.  Get a small white onion, cut it in
quarters and place in saucer w/ cold water.  Heat some Lebanese bread.  And...
sahtein...

Hint: it takes me a couple of times before I fully achieve the desired flavor
when I cook.  My first time around is usually experimental, though I learn from
it in order to perfect the dish the second time around.  My latest experiment
was Mloukhieh.  That was rather complicated but it turned out delicious!!


Sambusik.


Meat Filling:
1 tablespoon butter   1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 small onion chopped   Pinch of cinnamon
.5 to 1 lb ground beef or lamb  Salt and pepper to taste
3 to 4 tablespoons of pine nuts  2 teaspoons of lemon juice

Melt butter in saucepan and add onion.  Saute' until tender and then
add meat.  Cook until just brown, then add remaining ingredients.  Cook
and stir about 2 minutes.


Spinach Filling:
1 lb spinach fresh or frozen  Juice of one squeezed lemon
1/4 cup olive oil   1/4 teaspoon sumak
1 small onion chopped   Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 crumbled feta cheese or
 cottage cheese

Rinse spinach throughly several times and trim off stems.  Chop leaves
and drain well.  If you use frozen spinach, squeeze dry after thawing
and fluff with a fork to separate.  Put it in a large bowl, and then
start heating olive oil and add onion.  Saute' about a minute and then
add this to the bowl of spinach.  Add remaining ingredients and toss/
stir gently to mix well.


Cheese Filling:
1 cup crumbled feta, ricotta,  1/2 cup fresh parsley
 or Syrian cheese   Salt and pepper to taste
1 small onion grated

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.


Prepare filling.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Using filo dough (about 20 sheets
for each recipe, or one box), cut lengthwise into thirds (making long, thin
strips).   Keep the rest covered with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying
out.  Using one strip (of the three), take one from the top and brush it with
clarified (melted) butter.  Then continue until you have a total of four, all
stacked on top of each other, each one brushed with butter (except the top
one).

Place a heaping tablestoon in the corner of each strip, and fold it flag-
flag fashion, to make a triangle.  Place seam-side (when you are done folding
it, it looks like a seam - just turn it upside down) on a baking sheet with
as many as the baking sheet can hold, but give each a little space inbetween.
Brush each top with butter and bake about 15 or 20 minutes or until the top
is golden.

If your butter starts to get cold (hard to brush sheets with), just put it
on the stove for a few minutes until it melts.  The butter is best when it is
melted, but not too hot.  It is good to use a paint brush to brush the sheets,
and I don't know if you've ever made baklawa before, but follow the directions
of thawing the filo dough.  It is hard to make sometimes, but if you have it
at the right temperature, it will work very well.  Be sure to cover the dough
that you are not using, to make sure it doesn't dry out on you.

I think this is the best recipe (easiest), but if it's the first time you are
using it, it won't take very long before you know how to wrap each triangle.

Salam and sahteen,



Rice Bidfeen Recipe
-------------------

Ingredients:
3 lb. rump of lamb with bones (boneless beef can be substituted)
2.5 lb small onions
1.25 lb rice (soaked)
3 tsb cumin
1/2 tsp spices *
8 oz. soaked chickpeas (or Garbanzo beans)
11 oz. butter
3.5 tsp salt
3 pts water (9pts if "American" rice is used)

Cut meat into medium-sized pieces. Melt butter in a pan and fry the meat and
bones till they are a golden brown. Lift meat and bones into a pot and add
salt, pepper and water and allow to boil for about an hour. In the meantime,
fry the onions and chickpeas in the same butter in which the meat was fried,
until golden brown. Add onion, chickpeas with the butter to the boiling meat.
Add cumin and spices. After the meat is done, remove a large portion of the
meat, onions and chickpeas and put them aside. Add the rice to the water
and remaining meat. Cook rice until it's done.

When ready to serve, put rice in a platter and arrange the meat and onions that
were put aside on top of it.
Yogurt can be served on the side.


* A mixture of cinnamon and hot and sweet peppers.



Pita Bread Recipe

This recipe comes from Bernard Clayton's "New Complete Book of Breads,
Revised and Expanded", Simon and Schuster, 1973, p 679

I have tried the recipes for pita in Moosewood and in Beard on Bread
but this one has consistently produced the best results for me.

If you have any interest in making breads, Clayton's book is a must!

     PITA    -  eight 6-inch pieces

The pieces of dough must be rolled flat before they are placed into a
hot (500F) oven.  The dough should be rolled to a thickness of no more
than 3/16 inch.  This is the thickness of a wooden yardstick, the kind
given away at country fairs, auto dealers, and paint stores.  It can
be used as a gauge.  The oven heat generates steam inside the pita which
causes the dough to puff into a ball.  Later, as it cools the dough will
collapse.  The oven must be hot.  If it is not, the piece of dough will
think it is meant to be a bun, and will rise slowly but without the all-
important pocket in the center.

While this is a yeast dough, it puffs because of the steam.  The yeast
only adds flavor and texture.  Don't overpower the dough with flour
or it will be too dry to allow sufficient steam to be generated.
Leave the dough on the soft side.  Sprinkles of flour will take care
of stickiness.

Ingredients:

2.5 cups bread flour, approx.
2 tsp salt
1 Tbs sugar
1 package dry yeast
2 Tbs oil, olive oil preferred
1 cup hot water (120-130F)

Eight 7-inch squares of aluminum foil

Into a large mixing bowl measure 1 cup flour and stir in the dry
ingredients.  Add the oil and hot water.  Mix for about 30 seconds
to blend and then beat vigorously with a wooden spoon for three
minutes.  Stir in the balance of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time.
The dough should be a rough, shaggy mass that will clean the sides
of the bowl.  If the dough is moist, add a small amount of flour.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead with a
rhythmic motion of push-turn-fold.  Knead for about 6 minutes.

Preheat oven to 500F.

Divide the dough into eight pieces.  Roll into balls, cover with
wax paper or a towel, and let rest for 20 minutes.

With the palm of your hand, flatten each ball into a disk.  With
a rolling pin, flatten the dough into a disk about 6 inches in
diameter and 3/16-inch thick.  Their thinness is more important
than making perfect circles.  Irregularity adds charm!

Place each round on a prepared piece of foil.  Placing the
rounds on the foil rather than on a baking sheet or stone allows
a softer heat to surround the dough.  A direct thrust of heat
from a baking sheet or stone would form a crust difficult to puff.

Carefully place 2 or 3 of the breads (on their foil) directly on
an oven rack in the oven.   Back for about 8 minutes, or until
they are puffed.  Repeat with remaining disks.  Place the pitas
under the broiler for 2 minutes if a browner crust is desired.

Remove the breads from the oven and wrap in a large piece of
foil.  The tops will fall and there will be a pocket in the
center.  Serve warm, or let cool and freeze.   Thaw before
using.  To reheat, stack several in a pile, wrap in foil,
and place in 375F oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

*******************************************************************************
30. Where can I find information about US State Department visa regulations
    for foreigners.

     If you need any information about US visas or related subjects,
check out the new State Department BBS.
Here is a detailed description on how to access the BBS:

  In order to access the Sate Department's BBS, you need to have
  a Telecommunications software, such as Procomm, a modem, and a
  phone line (of course!).
  In the Telecommunications software, set the transmissions options
  as follows:

  Baude Rate: 9600(or 2400 if 9600 is not available)
  Parity:     None
  Data bits:  8
  Stop bits:  1
  Duplex:     Full
  Phone number: 1-[phone]

  Then, use the dial command to connect to the BBS. Once connected,
  online information will come up on screen, and it is easy to follow.

This procedure was tested with a 9600 baud modem, and it worked fine!

Note:  The BBS is not connected to Internet, yet!
*******************************************************************************

31. How can I get the latest travel advisory for Americans wishing
    to visit Lebanon or the Middle-East ?

  A collection of all travel advisories released by the State
Department during the last 4+ months is FTPable from

          RASCAL.ICS.UTEXAS [128.83.138.20]

          file Travel-Advisories in directory misc/misc.

There is another copy of these travel avisories in,
 /pub/travel-advisories/advisories on ftp.stolaf.edu
*******************************************************************************

32. Are there available statistical and basic general information about
Lebanon,
    and what are they ?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Several files have recently been added to the Lebanon archives on borg.poly.edu

Forty Six files named:

       leb01.gif

       ...
       lebnn.gif
       ...

       leb46.gif

consisting of 46 pages were scanned  from:


        Title:             The Midlle East and North Africa
        Published by:      Europa Publications Limited
        Copyright:         Europa Publications Limited 1993
        Printed and bound: In England by "Staples Printers Limited" at the
                           stanhope Press, Rochester, Kent, stablishment.
        Issued:            In 1993.


The chapter concerning Lebanon is  entitled :

"LEBANON: Physical and Social Geography"
       edited by  W. B. Fisher

The average size of each of these binary gif files is 250K.

The article treats the different aspects of the country.
It introduces the reader to its geography and economic life.
The article contains a somewhat detailed section about the history of
Lebanon, starting from the ancient history going through the Ottoman
period, and discussing the economic difficulties  and constitutional
reforms in the early days of independance from  the French occupation.
This particular section about the history of the country ends
with modern day Lebanon, highlighting the most recent civil war with
its inter-alliance fightings and the several Israeli invasions.
In addition, it deals with the circumstances and events leading up
to the Taef accord. The history section was revised  by Fida Nasrallah.

The economic section (revised by Alan George) offers seven pages of treatment
of the subject from the early days of the country to the current situation.

The statistical survey section offers a good general idea of the country,
and thus is especially beneficial to people who were not previously
familiar with Lebanon, or those who have a recent interest in the country.
It also provides a diversified general look at the economy as well as the
social  and political, institutional and constitutional structure of Lebanon.

A list of the different newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations currently
in operation is also provided.  The addresses and phone numbers of the
Diplomatic representations in lebanon are listed  in the Directory section
towards the end of the chapter.

A long list of bibliography is included which may prove helpful to people
interested in further researching the subject.

These files were scanned in GIF format and are NOT uuencoded so ftp 'ing
should be done in the image or binary form (type i for image before ftp'ing).

********************IMPORTANT NOTICE:******************************************

Due to the size of these files you are urged to download them at
a time that would not inconvenience other users of the archive server borg.
The files should thus ONLY be downloaded on weekends, or in evening
times between 5:00 pm and 8:00 am US Eastern Standard Time, which is GMT-5:00.
*******************************************************************************

Individuals interested in viewing these files can use any of the available
utilities that can handle GIF files to view the document.
Note: xv, on unix, and PhotoFinish for MS windows are recommended choices
      since both offer zooming in capabilities; this function does seem
      to be more easily  applicable in the latter option.

The screen gif document is a very legible form of the original document even
when viewed on a PC using a standard VGA monitor (640x480), although the
higher resolution monitors would certainly provide a better image quality of
the scanned document.  There appeared no need for magnification (zooming in),
in terms of legibility, when each of the documents was viewed on a 19"
monitor using xv.

Due to the volume of these documents, a better solution might be
to print those documents rather than individually viewing them on the
screen.  This procedure was tested on a postscript printer and the printed
copy is  of fairly good quality.  Depending on the type of printer used,
processing  might be time consuming.  In such a case, overnight batch jobs
do offer a reasonable alternative.  A note of caution,  when using
"xv" to convert the GIF files into PS files, the printed  document was
illegible.  However,  using PhotoFinish to view the GIF files and selecting
"Print" to send the document to a PS printer resulted in a quality
very comparable to a photocopy of the originals.

This work is a result of the collaborative effort of several individuals:

    Original Material: Rached Zantout  <[e-mail]>
    Coordination:      Basil Hamdan    <[e-mail]>
    Archiving:         Bassem Medawar  <[e-mail]>
    Scanning:          Samir M. Fahs   <[e-mail]>


These files are available by ftp from:

     borg.poly.edu

in directory:

     /pub/scl/gif

filenames:

     leb01.gif

     lebnn.gif (nn here is a double digit variable integer counter from 1 to
46)

     leb46.gif

     lebfiles.msg

The file "lebfiles.msg" contains a description of the contents of the
of the lebnn.gif files.

Important Note:  This file is to accompany the digitized material, or parts
thereof, at all times.

****************************  DISCLAIMER
**************************************
This material has been digitally reproduced without permission for
non-commercial use.  The intent of the archiving of this material is to
give ready and convenient access to the information included in this document
to people interested in Lebanon, or for research purposes.  All other
uses of this document would be a breach of applicable copyright laws.
All rights reserved to: Europa Publications Limited and Staples Printers
Limited.
*******************************************************************************


_______________________________________________________________________________



  Here are two listings of general  information about Lebanon, one is taken
from
the CIA fact book and has information dated to 1992, the other is from another
database (Kaleidoscope) and has information dated to 1990.

*******   DISCLAIMER   *********

These were published "as is", with no editing on my part, so if anyone wishes
to
disagree with the numbers or the information offered, please address your
grievances to the issuing agency, not me.  By publishing these, I do not imply
that what is in them is "the" truth, however, I think that the information can
be of some use to someone interested in Lebanon.  As always, one has to be
careful to not take everything one reads as god given or indisputable.

********************************

a) CIA Factbook on Lebanon listing (dated 1992):

Lebanon Geography

Total area:
    10,400 km2
Land area:
    10,230 km2
Comparative area:
    about 0.8 times the size of Connecticut
Land boundaries:
    454 km; Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km
Coastline:
    225 km
Maritime claims:
  Territorial sea:
    12 nm
Disputes:
    separated from Israel by the 1949 Armistice Line; Israeli troops in
southern
    Lebanon since June 1982; Syrian troops in northern Lebanon since October
    1976
Climate:
    Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers
Terrain:
    narrow coastal plain; Al Biqa` (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and
    Anti-Lebanon Mountains
Natural resources:
    limestone, iron ore, salt; water-surplus state in a water-deficit region
Land use:
    arable land 21%; permanent crops 9%; meadows and pastures 1%; forest and
    woodland 8%; other 61%; includes irrigated 7%
 Environment:
    rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous
    factional groups based on religion, clan, ethnicity; deforestation; soil
    erosion; air and water pollution; desertification
Note:
    Nahr al Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an international
    boundary

Lebanon People

Population:
    3,439,115 (July 1992), growth rate 1.6% (1992)
Birth rate:
    28 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
    7 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
    -5 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
    43 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Life expectancy at birth:
    66 years male, 71 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
    3.6 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
    noun - Lebanese (singular and plural); adjective - Lebanese
Ethnic divisions:
    Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%
Religions:
    Islam 75%, Christian 25%, Judaism NEGL%; 17 legally recognized
groups - 5
    Islam (Alawite or Nusayri, Druze, Isma`ilite, Shi`a, Sunni); 11 Christian,
    consisting of 4 Orthodox Christian (Armenian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox,
    Nestorean, Syriac Orthodox), 6 Catholic (Armenian Catholic, Caldean, Greek
    Catholic, Maronite, Roman Catholic, and Syrian Catholic) and the
    Protestants; 1 Jewish
Languages:
    Arabic and French (both official); Armenian, English
Literacy:
    80% (male 88%, female 73%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
    650,000; industry, commerce, and services 79%, agriculture 11%,
government
    10% (1985)
Organized labor:
    250,000 members (est.)

Lebanon Government

Long-form name:
    Republic of Lebanon; note - may be changed to Lebanese Republic Type:
    republic
Capital:
    Beirut
Administrative divisions:
    5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Biqa, `Al Janub, Ash
    Shamal, Bayrut, Jabal Lubnan
Independence:
    22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French
administration)
Constitution:
    26 May 1926 (amended)
Legal system:
    mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no
    judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
National holiday:
    Independence Day, 22 November (1943)
Executive branch:
    president, prime minister, Cabinet; note - by custom, the president is a
    Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker
of
    the legislature is a Shi`a Muslim
Legislative branch:
    unicameral National Assembly (Arabic - Majlis Alnuwab, French - Assemble
    Nationale)
Judicial branch:
    four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and
    one court for criminal cases)
Leaders:
  Chief of State:
    President Ilyas HARAWI (since 24 November 1989)
  Head of Government:
    Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri (since 13 May 1992)
Political parties and leaders:
    political party activity is organized along largely sectarian lines;
    numerous political groupings exist, consisting of individual political
    figures and followers motivated by religious, clan, and economic
    considerations; most parties have well-armed militias, which are still
    involved in occasional clashes
Suffrage:
    compulsory for all males at age 21; authorized for women at age 21 with
    elementary education
Elections:
  National Assembly:
    elections should be held every four years, but security conditions have
    prevented elections since May 1972; in June 1991, the Cabinet appointed 40
    new deputies to fill vacancies and balance Christian and Muslim
    representation; the legislature's mandate expires in 1994
Communists:
    the Lebanese Communist Party was legalized in 1970; members and
sympathizers
    estimated at 2,000-3,000.
Member of:
    ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
    ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC,
    ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU,
    WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Lebanon Government

Diplomatic representation:
    Ambassador - no ambassador at present; Mission is headed by Charge;
Chancery
    at 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008; telephone [phone];
    there are Lebanese Consulates General in Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles
  US:
    Ambassador Ryan C. CROCKER; Embassy at Antelias, Beirut (mailing address is
    P. O. Box 70-840, Beirut, or Box B, FPO AE 09836); telephone [961] 417774
or
    415802, 415803, 402200, 403300
Flag:
    three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red
with a
    green and brown cedar tree centered in the white band

Lebanon Government

Note:
    Between early 1975 and late 1976 Lebanon was torn by civil war between its
    Christians - then aided by Syrian troops - and its Muslims and their
    Palestinian allies. The cease-fire established in October 1976 between the
    domestic political groups generally held for about six years, despite
    occasional fighting. Syrian troops constituted as the Arab Deterrent Force
    by the Arab League have remained in Lebanon. Syria's move toward supporting
    the Lebanese Muslims, and the Palestinians and Israel's growing support for
    Lebanese Christians, brought the two sides into rough equilibrium, but no
    progress was made toward national reconciliation or political reforms - the
    original cause of the war. Continuing Israeli concern about the Palestinian
    presence in Lebanon led to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in June 1982.
    Israeli forces occupied all of the southern portion of the country and
    mounted a summer-long siege of Beirut, which resulted in the evacuation of
    the PLO from Beirut in September under the supervision of a multinational
    force (MNF) made up of US, French, and Italian troops. Within days of the
    departure of the MNF, Lebanon's newly elected president, Bashir Gemayel,
was
    assassinated; his elder brother Amin was elected to succeed him. In the
    immediate wake of Bashir's death, however, Christian militiamen massacred
    hundreds of Palestinian refugees in two Beirut camps. This prompted the
    return of the MNF to ease the security burden on Lebanon's weak Army and
    security forces. In late March 1984 the last MNF units withdrew. In 1988,
    President Gemayel completed his term of office. Because parliamentarians
    failed to elect a presidential successor, Gemayel appointed then Lebanese
    Armed Forces (LAF) Commander Gen. Michel Awn acting president.  Lebanese
    parliamentarians met in Ta'if, Saudi Arabia, in late 1989 and concluded a
    national reconciliation pact that codified a new power-sharing formula,
    specifying reduced powers for the Christian president and giving Muslims
    more authority. Rene MUAWAD was subsequently elected president on 4
November
    1989, ending a 13-month period during which Lebanon had no president and
    rival Muslim and Christian governments. MUAWAD was assassinated 17 days
    later, on 22 November; on 24 November, Ilyas Harawi was elected to succeed
    MUAWAD. In October 1990, the civil war was apparently brought to a
    conclusion when Syrian and Lebanese forces ousted renegade Christian
    General Awn from his stronghold in East Beirut. Awn had defied the
legitimate
    government and established a separate ministate within East Beirut after
    being appointed acting Prime Minister by outgoing President Gemayel in
    1988. Awn and his supporters feared Ta'if would diminish Christian power in
    Lebanon and increase the influence of Syria. Awn was granted amnesty and
    allowed to travel in France in August 199l. Since the removal of Awn, the
    Lebanese Government has made substantial progress in strengthening the
    central government, rebuilding government institutions, and extending its
    authority throughout the nation. The LAF has deployed from Beirut north
    along the coast road to Tripoli, southeast into the Shuf mountains, and
    south to Sidon and Tyre. Many militiamen from Christian and Muslim groups
    have evacuated Beirut for their strongholds in the north, south, and east
of
    the country. Some heavy weapons possessed by the militias have been turned
    over to the government, or sold outside the country, which has begun a plan
    to integrate some militiamen into the military and the internal security
    forces. Lebanon and Syria signed a treaty of friendship and cooperation in
    May 1991. Lebanon continues to be partially occupied by Syrian troops,
which
    are deployed in Beirut, its southern suburbs, the Bekaa Valley, and
northern
    Lebanon. Iran also maintains a small contingent of revolutionary guards in
    the Bekaa Valley to support Lebanese Islamic fundamentalist groups. Israel
    withdrew the bulk of its forces from the south in 1985, although it still
    retains troops in a 10-km-deep security zone north of its border with
    Lebanon. Israel arms and trains the Army of South Lebanon (ASL), which also
    occupies the security zone and is Israel's first line of defense against
    attacks on its northern border. The following description is based on the
    present constitutional and customary practices of the Lebanese system.

Lebanon Economy

Overview:
    Since 1975 civil war has seriously damaged Lebanon's economic
    infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended Lebanon's
    position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. Following October
    1990, however, a tentative peace has enabled the central government to
begin
    restoring control in Beirut, collect taxes, and regain access to key port
    and government facilities. The battered economy has also been propped up by
    a financially sound banking system and resilient small- and medium-scale
    manufacturers. Family remittances, banking transactions, manufactured and
    farm exports, the narcotics trade, and international emergency aid are main
    sources of foreign exchange. In the relatively settled year of 1991,
    industrial production, agricultural output, and exports showed substantial
    gains. The further rebuilding of the war-ravaged country could provide a
    major stimulus to the economy in 1992, provided that the political and
    military situation remains reasonably calm.
GDP:
    exchange rate conversion - $4.8 billion, per capita $1,400; real growth
rate
    NA (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
    30% (1991)
Unemployment rate:
    35% (1991 est.)
Budget:
    revenues $533 million; expenditures $1.3 billion, including capital
    expenditures of $NA (1991 est.)
Exports:
    $700 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.)
  commodities:
    agricultural products, chemicals, textiles, precious and semiprecious
metals
    and jewelry, metals and metal products
  partners:
    Saudi Arabia 16%, Switzerland 8%, Jordan 6%, Kuwait 6%, US 5%
Imports:
    $1.8 billion (c.i.f., 1990 est.)
  commodities:
    NA
  partners:
    Italy 14%, France 12%, US 6%, Turkey 5%, Saudi Arabia 3%
External debt:
    $900 million (1990 est.)
Industrial production:
    growth rate NA%
Electricity:
    1,381,000 kW capacity; 3,870 million kWh produced, 1,170 kWh per capita
    (1989)
Industries:
    banking, food processing, textiles, cement, oil refining, chemicals,
    jewelry, some metal fabricating
Agriculture:
    accounts for about one-third of GDP; principal products - citrus fruits,
    vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco, hemp (hashish), sheep, and goats;
not
    self-sufficient in grain
Illicit drugs:
    illicit producer of opium and hashish for the international drug trade;
    opium poppy production in Al Biqa` is increasing; hashish production is
    shipped to Western Europe, Israel, US, and the Middle East

Lebanon Economy

Economic aid:
    US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $356 million; Western (non-US)
    countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $664 million; OPEC
    bilateral aid (1979-89), $962 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $9
    million
Currency:
    Lebanese pound (plural - pounds); 1 Lebanese pound (#L) = 100 piasters
Exchange rates:
    Lebanese pounds (#L) per US$1 - 879.00 (January 1992), 928.23 (1991),
695.09
(1990), 496.69 (1989), 409.23 (1988), 224.60 (1987)
Fiscal year:
    calendar year

Lebanon Communications

Railroads:
    system in disrepair, considered inoperable
Highways:
    7,300 km total; 6,200 km paved, 450 km gravel and crushed stone, 650 km
    improved earth
Pipelines:
    crude oil 72 km (none in operation)
Ports:
    Beirut, Tripoli, Ra'Sil`ata, Juniyah, Sidon, Az Zahrani, Tyre
Merchant marine:
    56 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 236,196 GRT/346,760 DWT; includes 36
    cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 2 vehicle carrier, 2 roll-on/roll-off, 1
    container, 8 livestock carrier, 1 chemical tanker, 1 specialized tanker, 3
    bulk, 1 combination bulk
Civil air:
    19 major transport aircraft
Airports:
    9 total, 8 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over
    3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m; none
    under the direct control of the Lebanese Government
Telecommunications:
    rebuilding program disrupted; had fair system of microwave relay, cable;
    325,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 5 AM, 3 FM (numerous AM and FM
    radio stations are operated inconsistently by various factions), 13 TV; 1
    Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT satellite earth
station,
erratic operations; 3 submarine coaxial cables; radio relay to Jordan
    inoperable, but operational to Syria, coaxial cable to Syria

Lebanon Defense Forces

Branches:
    Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) (including Army, Navy, and Air Force)
Manpower availability:
    males 15-49, 750,319; 465,938 fit for military service
Defense expenditures:
    exchange rate conversion - $271 million, 8.2% of GDP (1992 budget)


/Lebanon/

b) Kaleidoscope listing (dated 1990):

              KCWD/Kaleidoscope Copyright (c) 1993 ABC-Clio, Inc.

                               COUNTRY:  LEBANON

LOAD:  April  16, 1993

GENERAL INFORMATION Note: Due to unstable political and social conditions
caused by the current civil war, data for  Lebanon  are often unavailable and
frequently based on estimates.|
Capital: Beirut
Location:  Lebanon  is located in western Asia on the eastern edge of the
Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Syria to the east and north and Israel to
the south.
Time: 7 hours later than US Eastern Standard,
2 hours later than Greenwich Mean
Currency: 100 piastres = 1 Lebanese pound
Weight & Measure System: The metric system is in use.

AREA: 4,036 square miles
Land Use: 29.13% cropland; 0.98% permanent pasture; 8.11% forests and woodland;
61.78% other (mostly desert).
Arable Land: 29%
Arable Land per capita: 0.27 acres
Coastline: 140 miles
Land Borders: 282 miles

POPULATION: 2,913,000 (1990 estimate
Rank: 114-th
Population Density: 722 inhabitants per square mile (1990 estimate
Population Distribution: 83.74% urban (1990 estimate
Population Growth Rate: 2.05% per year (1990-95 proje
Regional Population:
(not available)

MAJOR CITIES POPULATION: (1980 estimate
Beirut                                              702,000
Tripoli                                             175,000
Zahleh                                               47,000
Sidon                                                25,000
Tyre                                                 14,000

VITAL STATISTICS
Average Life Expectancy (years): 68.50 years (1990-95 proje
Male 66.60 years (1990-95 proje; Female 70.50 years (1990-95 proje
Age Distribution: (1990 estimate
0-14:                  35.30%
15-64:                 59.60%
65+:                    5.10%

Median Age (years): 21.50 years (1990 estimate
Maternal Mortality: (not available)
Infant Mortality: 40.00 (per 1,000 live births) (1986)

HEALTH CARE
Hospital Beds: 43 (per 10,000 pop.) (1982)
                                     PAGE   15
                     KCWD (c) 1993 ABC-Clio, Inc.  LEBANON

Doctors: 12 (per 10,000 pop.) (1986)

CULTURE
Ethnic Composition: Lebanese - 93%; Armenian - 5%; other - 2%.
Religion: Moslem and Druze - 57%; Christian (mostly Catholic) - 42%; other -
1%.

Language: Arabic is the official language, while French is a common second
language. Kurdish, English and Armenian are spoken by some groups.
Education: Illiteracy: 25%. In 1984, there were 329,340 primary school
students;
230,934 secondary school students; 37,036 vocational school students; and
70,510
students in institutions of higher learning. In 1980 there were 1,663 students
in teacher training schools.

ECONOMIC DATA ( amounts expressed in US$ )
Budget: Revenues: $ 331,000,000 (1986); $ 582,600,000 (1985).
Expenditures: $ 467,500,000 (1986); $ 692,900,000 (1985).
Budget Deficit: as % of GDP: (not available)
Expenditures by Function (as % of total): (1985)
Community, social and personal services                             10.77%
Government services                                                 10.19%
Fuel and energy                                                      5.42%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting                           8.54%
Manufacturing and construction                                      16.46%
Transportation and communication                                     3.74%
Trade, restaurants and hotels                                       28.29%
Commerce                                                            15.58%

Economic Aid Extended: (not available)
Economic Aid Received: Gross non-private: $ 101,900,000. US only: $ 24,000,000.
(1985)
External Public Debt: $ 443,000,000 (long-term). Service payments: $
114,000,000.  (1987)
Gross National Product (GNP): $ 6,050,000,000 (1984)
GNP per capita: $ 2,292 (1984)
Gross Domestic Product: $ 1,800,000,000 (1985)
GDP % by sector: Agriculture, forestry and fishing - 9.20%; mining - 0%;
manufacturing - 12.16%; utilities - 5.06%; construction - 3.19%; commerce -
28.63%; transportation and communication - 3.78%; other - 37.98%.  (1980)
GDP per capita: $ 687 (1985)
International Liquidity: Reserves (minus gold): $ 977,800,000.
Gold reserves: 9,222,000 fine troy ounces.  (1988)
Consumer Price Change: (not available)
Imports: Consumer goods, petroleum products, machinery.
Total Imports: $ 1,806,800,000 (1988); $ 833,600,000 (1987); $ 899,700,000
(1986).
Exports: Textiles, metals, machinery, foodstuffs, jewelry.
Total Exports: $ 575,500,000 (1988); $ 291,700,000 (1987); $ 220,500,000
(1986).

Trading Partners: (Imports-1987) Italy - 14.00%; France - 12.00%; US - 6.00%;
Turkey - 5.00%; Saudi Arabia - 3.00%. (Exports-1987) Saudi Arabia - 16.00%;
Switzerland - 8.00%; Jordan - 6.00%; Kuwait - 6.00%; US - 5.00%.
Tourists: Total: (not available). Revenue: (not available).
Country of origin: (not available).
Balance of Payments: (not available)
Labor Profile: Agriculture, forestry and fishing - 22.83%; manufacturing -
9.93%; transportation and communication - 4.53%; construction - 5.52%; other -
57.19%.  (1985 estimate
Agricultural Products: Citrus fruits, potatoes, sugar beets, grapes, apples,
grain, olives, tomatoes.
Industrial Products: Cement, processed food, textiles, refined petroleum,
timber, jewelry, tobacco manufactures, chemicals.
Natural Resources: Salt, limestone, iron, wood.

ENERGY
Electric Power Generation: 4,839,000,000 kWh.; kWh. per capita: 1,480.  (1988)
Generating Capacity: 1,381,000 kW.  (1988)
Nuclear Power Plants & Output: None (1987)
Crude Oil Production: None (1988)
Natural Gas Production: None (1988)

EMBASSIES
Canadian Embassy in  Lebanon,  None
US Embassy in  Lebanon,  Avenue de Paris (Corniche), Imm. Ali Reza, Beirut
Lebanese Embassy in Canada, 640 Lyon Street, Ottawa K1S 3Z5, Tel: (613)
236-5825

Lebanese Embassy in US, 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008, Tel: (202)
939-6300

TRAVEL NOTES
Climate: The climate varies with altitude. During the summer the coastal
lowlands are hot and humid and during the winter they are mild and damp. The
weather in the mountains is cool in the summer, with heavy snowfall in the
winter.
Health Precautions: (not available)
Holidays: 1990| Jan 1 (New Year's Day), Feb 9 (Feast of St. Maron), Feb 23
(Leilat al-Meiraj), Mar 22 (Arab League Anniversary), Apr 13-16 (Easter,
Western
and Eastern Churches), Apr 27 (Id al-Fitr), May 1 (May Day), May 24 (Ascension
Day, Western Church), Jul 4 (Id ul Adha), Jul 24 (Islamic New Year), Aug 2
(Ashoura), Aug 15 (Assumption), Oct 2 (Mouloud), Nov 1 (All Saints' Day), Nov
22
(Independence Day), Dec 25 (Christmas), Dec 31 (Evacuation Day).
Miscellaneous: Before the beginning of the civil war in 1975,  Lebanon  was a
major tourist center because of its natural beauty and such historic sites as
Baalbek and Byblos.

TRANSPORTATION
Roads: Total miles: 4,580; paved miles: 3,896.  (1989)
Vehicles: Registrations: 539,729. Passenger cars: 473,372; persons per car: 5.
Trucks and buses: 49,560.  (1982)
Railroads: Total track-miles: 235 (1989). Passenger-miles traveled: 1,757,900;
freight-ton miles carried: 24,018,100.  (1973)
Ports: Total: 6. Major: 3 (Beirut, Tripoli, Sidon).
Cargo loaded: (not available); unloaded: (not available).  (1989)
Merchant Fleet: 102 freighters; 9 bulk carriers; 3 tankers; 613,000 dwt. tons.
(1985)
Civil Aviation: Total airfields: 10; usable: 9; permanent surface: 5; runways
over 8,000 ft: 3 (1989). Commercial aircraft over 20,000 lbs take-off weight:
(not available). Scheduled airline traffic: passenger-miles 420,066,400,
international 420,066,400; short ton-miles 22,673,500, international
22,673,500.
(1986)
AGE   17

COMMUNICATION
Radio: Stations: 8 (1989). Receivers: 2,100,000; per 1,000 pop.: 802.  (1985)
Television: Stations: 15 (1989). Sets in use: 800,000; per 1,000 pop.: 305.
(1985)
Newspapers: Major dailies: 13. Combined circulation: 234,000; per 1,000 pop.:
89.  (1984)
Telephones: Sets in use: 325,000; per 1,000 pop.: 114 (1989). Subscriber lines
in service: (not available).  (1982)

ARMED FORCES
Total Armed Forces: 16,500 (1988)
Active Armed Forces (% of pop.): 0.68 (per 1,000 pop.) (1988) Although the
regular armed forces represent less than 1% of the population, there are at
least three private armies in  Lebanon  and at least 22 militias, the most
powerful of which are Shiite-controlled. The largest of the militias, Amal, has
an estimated 10,000 armed personnel, with as many reservists. In addition,
there
are approximately 25,000 Syrian troops in  Lebanon,  more than 1,000 Israeli
soldiers (mostly in the south), and hundreds of armed Palestinians in the Bekaa
Valley. A peacekeeping force comprising soldiers from 11 nations, the United
Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL), also maintains a presence in southern
 Lebanon. |
Annual Military Expenditures: $ 100,000,000 (1986); $ 150,000,000 (1985).
Military Service: (not available)

ARMY
Personnel: 15,000
Organization:
5 brigades
Major Equipment:
(1988) 288 tanks:
  135 M48A5
  60 AMX-30 medium
  50 T-54
  25 AMX-13, light
  18 M-41, light
Armored personnel carriers include:
  400 M113A2
  80 M113A1
  70 Saladin
  16 M59
  VAB-35
  Panhard M3
  Saracen
Antitank missiles include:
  AT-3 Sagger
  Milan
Surface-to-surface missiles include:
  20 MGM-71, TOW
  AS.11/SS.11
M88A1 recovery vehicles
Howitzers include:
  M109A2
  M98
Guns include:
  60 84mm Charioteer self-propelled antitank
  18 155mm M144
  18 105mm
  15 40mm M-42 self-propelled, antiaircraft
  10 122mm
  6 75mm
  20mm antiaircraft
Mortars include:
  120mm M1950
  120mm M1965
  81mm M125A2SPM
  60mm M27/31
  60mm HB, light
88mm, 83mm rocket launchers
Army Aviation:
None

NAVY
Personnel: 500
Organization:
The naval base is located at Juniye.
Major Equipment:
(1988) Patrol craft include:
  6 Aztec class 9-meter, 28 tons
  3 Byblos class coastal
  Tarablous class, 90-tons
  Tracker Mk 2 class, 31 tons
2 French Edic class landing craft, 670 tons
Naval Aviation:
None

AIR FORCE
Personnel: 1,000
Organization:
The operational base is at the Juniye-Jubayl highway strip.
Major Equipment:
(1988) 12 fighter aircraft:
  9 IIIE Dassault Mirage
  3 F-70 Hawker Siddeley Hunter
14 trainer aircraft:
  6 126 Bulldog
  5 CM-170-2 Super Magister
  2 T-66C Hunter
  1 IIIBL Dassault Mirage
2 transport aircraft:
  1 Dove
  1 Turbo Commander 690B
36 helicopters:
  12 Aerospatiale SA 330 Puma
  10 Aerospatiale SA 316 Alouette III
  7 Agusta-Bell AB-212
  4 Aerospatiale SA 342K Gazelle
  3 Aerospatiale SA 313B Alouette II
Missiles include:
  Matra R-530 air-to-air
  AS.11 air-to-surface

GOVERNMENT
 Lebanon  (al-Jumhuriyah al-Lubnaniyah -- Republic of  Lebanon)  is a republic
with a parliamentary form of government. The Government was virtually
irrelevant
from 1975 to 1990 due to a civil war that divided the country into regions
controlled by militias associated with religious and ethnic factions, including
Druze, Sunni and Shiite Moslems, and Maronite Christians. Syria and Israel have
maintained troops in various parts of the country since the early 1980s.
The National Assembly's (see below: Legislature) failure to elect a successor
to
President Amin Gemayel in September 1988 prompted Gemayel to appoint an interim
military government headed by army chief Gen. Michel Aoun. When in November
1989
Rene Mouawad was elected President, Aoun refused to relinquish power; Mouawad
was assassinated by unidentified assailants 17 days after taking office.
Although current President Elias Hrawi was installed later that month, he did
not take effective power until late 1990, when Syrian and Lebanese forces
expelled Aoun from his East Beirut stronghold of two years. Most other militias
withdrew from the Beirut area soon thereafter and relocated in southern
 Lebanon.

Constitution: The Constitution was promulgated on May 23, 1926 and amended
several times, most recently in 1990. According to the National Pact of 1943,
which provides for the proportional allocation of Government offices among
various religious and ethnic groups, the President must be a Maronite
Christian,
the Prime Minister a Sunni Moslem, and the president of the legislature a
Shiite
Moslem.

Executive: The President (head of state) is elected by the National Assembly
for
a 6-year term. While he or she may serve multiple terms, they may not be
consecutive. The President appoints the Prime Minister (head of government) in
consultation with the National Assembly. Amendments passed in 1989 transferred
other executive powers from the President to a half-Christian, half-Moslem
Cabinet.

Legislature: A 1990 constitutional amendment expanded the unicameral National
Assembly from 99 to 108 members, elected to 4-year terms, with seats equally
divided between Christians and Moslems. Formerly, the National Pact of 1943
mandated the distribution of seats between Christians and Moslems according to
a
6 to 5 ratio.

Judiciary: Four courts of cassation, comprising at least three judges each,
head
the independent judicial system, which also includes 11 appeals courts and 56
courts of first instance presided over by one judge. Specialized judicial
bodies
include: a 6-member council of state that deals with administrative cases; a
court of justice, consisting of a president and 4 judges, that hears matters
affecting state security; and Islamic, Christian, and Jewish courts, which
handle marriage, divorce, death, and inheritance issues.

Local Government: The country is divided into 6 provinces (muhafazat). Each
province has a Governor -- appointed by the President -- and a provincial
council.

Election Qualifications: All males 21 years of age and older are required to
vote. Voting is optional for women 21 years of age and older who have completed
an elementary education.

Chief Government Officials:
President: Elias HRAWI - since November 1989. Predecessor: Amin GEMAYEL, from
September 1982 to September 1988.
Prime Minister: Umar KARAMI - since December 1990.
Finance Minister: Ali Yusif al-KHALIL - since November 1989.
Note: The following ministers took office on Dec 24, 1990.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister: Michel al-MURR.
Foreign Affairs Minister: Faris BOUEZ.
Justice Minister: Khatchig BABIKIAN.
Interior Minister: Maj. Gen. Sami al-KHATIB.
Economy & Trade Minister: Marwan HAMADI.
Public Works & Transportation Minister: Nadim SALEM.

Political Parties:
Political parties are largely organized along sectarian lines, with members
motivated by religious, clan, and economic considerations. Many have well-armed
militias, although a number of them ceased activity following Government
changes
in late 1990. Major parties and those with representation in the National
Assembly are listed below.
The Parti Socialiste Progressiste (PSP -- al-Takadumi al-Ishtiraki --
Progressive Socialist Party), founded in 1948, is a largely Druze organization
that advocates socialism and has an anti-Western, nationalist orientation. The
PSP has 10 Assembly members.
The Parti National Liberal (al-Wataniyin al-Ahrar -- National Liberal Party) is
right-wing group with 9 members in the Assembly. It is mainly Maronite,
promotes a federal system of government, and is known for its anti-Palestinian
stance.
The nationalist and right-of-center al-Kata ib al-Lubnaniyah (Phalanges
Libanaises -- Phalangist Party) is the largest Maronite party and has 7 members
in the Assembly. Samir Geagea leads the Phalangist militia.
The Bloc National (al-Kutla al-Wataniyah -- National Bloc) is a right-wing
Maronite group that advocates power sharing between Christians and Moslems and
the exclusion of the armed forces from politics. There are 5 National Bloc
members in the National Assembly.
The Parti Dashnak (Armenian Revolutionary Federation) advocates collective
leadership and socialism. It has 5 Assembly members.
Hizb al-Baath al-Arabi al-Ishtiraki (Arab Socialist Renaissance Party), a
secular pro-Syrian party advocating Arab union, has two National Assembly
members. Branches of the party can be found in several Middle Eastern
countries.
A pro-Iraqi wing, also known as al-Baath, has existed since 1976.
The hard-line Parti Communiste Libanais (LCP -- al-Hizb al-Shuyu i
al-Lubnani --
Lebanese Communist Party) was founded in 1924, banned in 1939, and legalized in
1970. Primarily Christian in the first 50 years of its existence, the LCP
became
predominantly Moslem following the onset of the 1975-1990 civil war. It holds
one Assembly seat.
The Parti Socialiste Nationaliste Syrien (National Syrian Socialist Party)
advocates the creation of a "Greater Syria" embracing Syria,  Lebanon,  Jordan,
Iraq, and Palestine. It has one member in the National Assembly.
Shiite Moslem in orientation, al-Amal (Movement of the Deprived) is a
politico-military group that supports the 1979 Iranian Revolution and aligns
itself with Syria. The militia, led by Cabinet Minister without portfolio Nabih
Berri, has fought against pro-Palestinian Moslems, pro-Iraqi Baathists, and the
Christian right.
An offshoot of al-Amal, Hizballah (Party of God) is a fundamentalist Shiite
organization with ties to the Iranian regime of the late Ayatollah Khomeini.
The group has claimed responsibility for various terrorist acts.
A militant Shiite group based in the Baalbek region, al Jihad al-Islami
(Islamic
Jihad or Holy War) has claimed responsibility for various kidnappings of
foreigners in  Lebanon,  as well as other terrorist acts.

Results of Recent Elections: The last general election was held in May 1972;
subsequent scheduled elections have been postponed. Of the 99 deputies elected
in 1972, 30 have since died, many in the civil war. In 1972, the required
distribution of seats was as follows: Maronite Christians - 30; Sunni Moslems -
20; Shiite Moslems - 19; Greek Orthodox - 11; Greek Catholics - 6; Druzes - 6;
Armenian Orthodox - 4; Armenian Catholics - 1; Protestants - 1; others - 1.//
Note: Information on the distribution of seats following 1990 constitutional
amendments was not available at press time.

*******************************************************************************

end of part 2/2