Israel
SyriaEarly settlement at Byblos
By about 5000 BC fishing families were living in huts on the shore at Byblos. The town has been lived in ever since, and it is often listed among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.
Western Asia
Lebanon
Snowy mountains above a warm sea, cedar forests, Phoenician harbours and Roman temples, in a small country famous for its mezze and its hospitality.
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Overview
Lebanon at a glance
Lebanon is a small country on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, smaller than the US state of Connecticut. Two mountain ranges run through it from north to south, with the fertile Beqaa Valley between them. Its name comes from an old Semitic root meaning 'white', a reminder of the snow on its peaks.
Byblos, Sidon and Tyre were great cities of the Phoenicians, the seafaring traders who spread their alphabet around the Mediterranean. Later came Romans, Arab caliphates, Crusaders, Mamluks and the Ottomans, and after the First World War a French mandate. Lebanon became independent in 1943.
Today Lebanon is a parliamentary republic of about 5.4 million people, with 18 officially recognised religious communities that share political power. A civil war from 1975 to 1990, a deep economic crisis since 2019 and repeated conflict with Israel have made life hard for many families. As of September 2026, governments advise against travel to large parts of the country, especially the south and east.
CapitalBeirut
PopulationAbout 5.4 million (2024 estimate)
Official languageArabic (the constitution also allows French in cases set by law)
CurrencyLebanese pound (also called the Lebanese lira); US dollars are widely used
AreaAbout 10,450 km²
GovernmentParliamentary republic, with power shared among religious communities
Highest mountainQurnat as Sawda', about 3,088 m
Longest riverThe Litani, over 140 km, the longest river entirely within Lebanon
NeighboursSyria to the north and east and Israel to the south. Across the sea lies Cyprus
Drives on theRight
Calling code+961
The story
A short history of Lebanon
Few places pack so much history into so little land. The Lebanese coast was home to Phoenician city-states thousands of years ago, while the modern state only took shape in 1920 and became independent in 1943.
5000 BC 1000 BC The Phoenician alphabet at Byblos
A king of Byblos named Ahiram was buried in a carved stone coffin. Its inscription, usually dated to around 1000 BC, is considered the earliest known example of the fully developed Phoenician alphabet, the ancestor of the Greek and Latin letters.
814 BC Tyre founds Carthage
According to tradition, settlers from Tyre led by Queen Elissa, also called Dido, founded Carthage in what is now Tunisia in 814 BC. It grew into the capital of a great trading empire.
332 BC Alexander besieges Tyre
Tyre stood on an island about 1 km off the coast. Alexander the Great besieged it for seven months and built a causeway to reach it. Sand later built up along the causeway, and Tyre has been joined to the mainland ever since.
64 BC Rome takes over
The Roman general Pompey added the region to the Roman world. Under Rome, Baalbek received its giant temples.
1109 Crusaders take Tripoli
After a long siege, Crusaders from southern France took Tripoli in 1109 and made it the capital of the County of Tripoli, one of the Crusader states. The Mamluks took the city in 1289.
1516 Ottoman rule begins
Lebanon became part of the Ottoman Empire. For centuries local emirs, such as Fakhr al-Din II and later Bashir II, ruled Mount Lebanon on behalf of the sultan.
1861 Mount Lebanon becomes autonomous
After fighting between Druze and Maronite communities in 1860, European powers pressed the Ottomans to make Mount Lebanon a self-governing province with a Christian governor. It lasted until 1918.
1920 Greater Lebanon is declared
On 1 September 1920 France declared the State of Greater Lebanon, with Beirut as its capital. It joined Mount Lebanon with the coast, the north, the south and the Beqaa, close to the borders of today.
1926 The first constitution
Lebanon adopted a constitution in 1926 and became the Lebanese Republic, though France still held real power under its League of Nations mandate.
1943 Independence
In November 1943 Lebanon's parliament removed the French mandate from the constitution. France arrested the leaders, but released them on 22 November after protests, and Lebanon still celebrates 22 November as Independence Day.
1945 A founding member of the Arab League
On 22 March 1945 Lebanon was one of the seven founding members of the Arab League in Cairo. The same year it also became a founding member of the United Nations.
1975 The civil war begins
Tensions between political and religious groups, and the presence of armed Palestinian groups, turned into a civil war. Syria and Israel both sent troops during the war.
1990 The civil war ends
The Taif Agreement of 1989 laid the basis for peace, and the fighting ended in 1990 after 15 years. Estimates of the dead are around 120,000 to 150,000, and nearly a million people were displaced.
2000 Israeli troops leave the south
In May 2000 Israeli forces withdrew from southern Lebanon, which they had held for years. The Lebanese mark 25 May as Liberation Day.
2020 The Beirut port explosion
On 4 August 2020 a large store of ammonium nitrate, about 2,750 tonnes when it was unloaded and kept unsafely at the port of Beirut for six years, exploded after a fire. More than 200 people died, thousands were injured and large parts of the city were damaged.
At the table
What to eat in Lebanon
Lebanese food is built on olive oil, lemon, garlic, fresh herbs, chickpeas, bulgur wheat and flatbread. A meal usually starts with mezze, many small dishes shared from the middle of the table, such as hummus, tabbouleh and stuffed vine leaves. Then come grilled meats or a baked dish, and the meal ends with fresh fruit and a small cup of coffee. A plate of raw vegetables, olives and pickles is almost always on the table.
StarterRecipe
Hummus
Hummus bi tahini (حمص بطحينة)
All of Lebanon and the wider Levant
A smooth purée of cooked chickpeas, tahini (sesame paste), lemon juice and garlic, spread on a plate, drizzled with olive oil and eaten by scooping it up with flatbread.
In May 2010 about 300 cooks in the village of al-Fanar near Beirut made a plate of hummus weighing about 10,450 kg, a Guinness World Record at the time.
See the recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cans (400 g each) chickpeas, drained, or 250 g dried chickpeas soaked and cooked until very soft
- 4 tablespoons tahini
- Juice of 1 to 2 lemons
- 1 to 2 garlic cloves, crushed with a pinch of salt
- 3 to 4 tablespoons ice-cold water
- Olive oil, paprika or sumac, and parsley to serve
Method
- Keep a few whole chickpeas aside for the top.
- Blend the rest of the chickpeas with the garlic and lemon juice until crumbly.
- Add the tahini and blend again, pouring in the cold water a spoonful at a time until the hummus is smooth and pale.
- Taste and add salt or more lemon.
- Spread it on a plate with the back of a spoon, make a hollow in the middle, pour in olive oil and top with the whole chickpeas, a pinch of paprika or sumac and chopped parsley.
StarterRecipe
Tabbouleh
Tabbouleh (تبولة)
Mountain villages of Lebanon and Syria
A bright green salad that is mostly finely chopped parsley, with a little mint, tomato, onion and fine bulgur wheat, dressed with lemon juice and olive oil.
In Lebanon tabbouleh is a parsley salad with a little bulgur, not a bulgur salad with a little parsley. Some families eat it with crisp lettuce or cabbage leaves as spoons.
See the recipe
Ingredients
- 3 large bunches of flat-leaf parsley
- 1 small bunch of mint
- 3 firm tomatoes
- 3 spring onions
- 2 tablespoons fine bulgur
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt, and a pinch of allspice or seven-spice if you like
Method
- Rinse the bulgur, cover it with a little lemon juice and leave it to soften for 10 minutes.
- Wash the parsley and mint and dry them very well. Pick off the leaves and chop them finely with a sharp knife, so they stay fresh, not bruised.
- Dice the tomatoes small and slice the spring onions thinly.
- Just before serving, mix everything with the lemon juice, olive oil and salt. Serve at once, with lettuce leaves on the side.
StarterRecipe
Fattoush
Fattoush (فتوش)
All of Lebanon
A crunchy village salad of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, radish, peppers and herbs, tossed with toasted or fried pieces of flatbread and a dressing sharp with lemon and sumac.
Fattoush is a good way to use up yesterday's bread. Its name comes from the Arabic word 'fatt', to crush.
See the recipe
Ingredients
- 2 round flatbreads (pita)
- 1 small cos lettuce
- 2 tomatoes, 1 cucumber and 4 radishes
- 1 green pepper and 3 spring onions
- A handful each of parsley and mint, and purslane if you can find it
- For the dressing: juice of 1 lemon, 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses, 1 small garlic clove crushed, 5 tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons sumac, salt
Method
- Split the flatbreads, brush them with olive oil and bake at 200°C for 8 to 10 minutes until golden and crisp. Break them into pieces.
- Chop the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, pepper and spring onions into bite-sized pieces and put them in a large bowl with the herbs.
- Whisk together the dressing.
- Just before serving, add the bread, pour over the dressing and toss. Sprinkle with more sumac.
Starter
Smoky aubergine dip
Baba ghanouj (بابا غنوج)
All of Lebanon and the wider Levant
Aubergines are charred over a flame until the flesh is soft and smoky, then mashed with tahini, lemon, garlic and olive oil. It is a favourite on the mezze table.
In Lebanon the tahini version is often called moutabal, and the name baba ghanouj is also used for a lighter mix of aubergine and chopped vegetables. Menus do not always agree.
Starter
Labneh
Labneh (لبنة)
All of Lebanon
Yogurt strained in a cloth until it is as thick as soft cheese, spread on a plate and drizzled with olive oil. It is a breakfast favourite with olives, mint, cucumber and bread.
Labneh can be rolled into small balls and kept for weeks in jars of olive oil.
BreadRecipe
Za'atar flatbread
Man'oushe (منقوشة)
All of Lebanon
Round flatbread spread with za'atar, a mix of wild thyme, sumac and sesame seeds in olive oil, and baked until crisp at the edges. Cheese and minced meat are other toppings. It is the classic Lebanese breakfast.
In 2023 UNESCO added al-man'ouche, 'an emblematic culinary practice in Lebanon', to its list of intangible cultural heritage.
See the recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon dried yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 300 ml warm water
- 3 tablespoons olive oil for the dough
- For the topping: 6 tablespoons za'atar mix and about 100 ml olive oil
Method
- Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt, add the warm water and oil and knead for 8 to 10 minutes until smooth. Cover and leave to rise for about 1 hour.
- Heat the oven as hot as it goes, about 250°C, with a baking tray inside.
- Stir the za'atar and olive oil into a loose paste.
- Divide the dough into 6 balls and press each into a round about 20 cm across, leaving a thin rim. Press dimples into the dough with your fingertips.
- Spread each round with the za'atar paste and bake on the hot tray for 6 to 8 minutes, until golden underneath. Eat warm, folded with tomato, cucumber and mint.
Snack
Spinach pies
Fatayer bi sabanekh (فطاير بسبانخ)
All of Lebanon
Small triangles of soft dough filled with spinach, onion, lemon juice and sumac, baked until golden. Other fatayer are filled with cheese or meat.
Lebanese and Syrian emigrants took fatayer to South America: in Argentina they are sold as empanadas árabes.
Snack
Sfiha
Sfiha (صفيحة)
Baalbek and the Beqaa Valley
Small open pies of thin dough topped with minced lamb or beef, onion, tomato and spices. The Baalbek version, sfiha baalbakiya, is famous across Lebanon.
Arab emigrants took sfiha to Brazil, where the esfiha became a popular snack sold all over the country.
Main course
Baked kibbeh
Kibbeh bil-saniyyeh (كبة بالصينية)
All of Lebanon
A paste of fine bulgur wheat pounded with lean minced lamb or beef and onion, layered in a tray around a filling of fried meat, onion and pine nuts, then cut into diamonds and baked.
Kibbeh is considered a national dish of Lebanon and Syria. It is also shaped into fried torpedoes, and in some villages served raw as kibbeh nayyeh.
Main course
Chicken skewers
Shish taouk (شيش طاووق)
All of Lebanon
Chunks of chicken marinated in yogurt, lemon, garlic and tomato paste, grilled on skewers and served with a strong garlic sauce called toum, pickles and bread.
The name comes from Turkish: 'şiş' means skewer and 'tavuk' means chicken.
Main courseRecipe
Lentils and rice with crispy onions
Mujaddara (مجدرة)
All of Lebanon
A humble, filling dish of brown lentils cooked with rice or bulgur and topped with a heap of deeply browned onions, often eaten with yogurt or a salad.
The name means 'pockmarked' in Arabic: the lentils among the rice look like little marks.
See the recipe
Ingredients
- 250 g brown or green lentils
- 150 g long-grain rice, rinsed
- 3 large onions, thinly sliced
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Salt and black pepper
- Plain yogurt and a green salad to serve
Method
- Cook the lentils in plenty of water for about 15 minutes, until almost tender. Drain, keeping the water.
- Meanwhile fry the onions slowly in the olive oil for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring often, until deep brown. Lift out half of them for the top.
- Add the rice, lentils, cumin, salt and pepper to the pan with the remaining onions, then pour in 500 ml of the lentil water.
- Bring to the boil, cover and cook on a very low heat for about 20 minutes, until the rice is soft. Rest for 5 minutes.
- Serve topped with the crispy onions, with yogurt and salad on the side.
Dessert
Knafeh
Knefeh (كنافة)
All of Lebanon and the wider Levant
Soft white cheese under a layer of semolina or shredded pastry, baked and soaked in sugar syrup scented with orange blossom. It is also eaten as street food inside a sesame bread.
Ka'ak knafeh, knafeh tucked inside a sesame-coated bread, is a popular Lebanese street food.
Dessert
Ma'amoul
Ma'moul (معمول)
All of Lebanon
Buttery semolina cookies filled with dates, walnuts or pistachios and pressed into carved wooden moulds, then dusted with icing sugar.
Families bake ma'amoul together before Easter and before Eid, and the pattern of the mould often shows which filling is inside.
DessertRecipe
Turmeric cake
Sfouf (صفوف)
All of Lebanon
A golden-yellow cake of semolina and flour coloured with turmeric, flavoured with aniseed and topped with pine nuts or almonds. It is not soaked in syrup, so it is light and not too sweet.
See the recipe
Ingredients
- 250 g fine semolina
- 125 g plain flour
- 200 g sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground aniseed
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 350 ml milk
- 150 ml vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon tahini to grease the tin
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts or flaked almonds
Method
- Heat the oven to 180°C. Spread the tahini over the base and sides of a 25 cm square tin.
- Mix the semolina, flour, sugar, turmeric, aniseed and baking powder in a bowl.
- Stir in the milk and oil to make a smooth batter.
- Pour into the tin, smooth the top and scatter over the pine nuts or almonds.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool before cutting into squares or diamonds.
Drink
Lebanese coffee
Ahweh (قهوة)
All of Lebanon
Very finely ground coffee, often with cardamom, boiled in a small long-handled pot and poured into tiny cups without filtering. Offering coffee is the first sign of welcome in a Lebanese home.
A traditional Lebanese meal ends with a plate of fresh fruit and a cup of coffee.
Drink
Arak
Arak (عرق)
Zahlé and the Beqaa Valley
A strong clear spirit made from grapes and aniseed. Mixed with water and ice it turns milky white, and it is sipped slowly with a long mezze meal.
Arak is often called Lebanon's national drink, and Zahlé is known as a capital of arak.
Table manners
- Before eating, people say 'Sahtein', to your health, and the answer is 'Ala albak', to your heart.
- Mezze is shared: tear off a piece of flatbread and use it to scoop up food from the plates in the middle of the table.
- Hosts keep offering more food. Saying no once is often taken as politeness, so leave a little on your plate when you have really had enough.
- Lunch on Sundays is often a long family meal that lasts much of the afternoon.
- When raising a glass, people say 'Bisahtak', to your health (to a woman, 'bisahtik').
Cities
11 cities to know
Most Lebanese live along a narrow coast, in towns founded by the Phoenicians. Up in the mountains and in the Beqaa Valley, stone villages, monasteries and vineyards tell a different story.
Beirut Capital
Beirut
The capital and largest city sits on a headland in the middle of the coast. It has been lived in for more than 5,000 years and was once called the Paris of the Middle East. Greater Beirut is home to almost half of the country.
- The Corniche seafront promenade
- The National Museum
- Pigeons' Rock at Raouché
Tripoli
North
Lebanon's second city and the capital of the north. After the Crusaders and Mamluks it was rich in mosques, bath houses and markets, and it has the densest collection of Mamluk buildings outside Cairo.
- The Crusader Citadel of Raymond de Saint-Gilles
- Old covered souks
- Sweet shops and knafeh
Jounieh
Keserwan-Jbeil
A seaside town on a wide bay about 16 km north of Beirut, busy with beaches, marinas and restaurants. A cable car climbs from the shore to the shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon at Harissa.
- The cable car to Harissa
- Its bay and old stone souk
Byblos
Keserwan-Jbeil
A small harbour town, known locally as Jbeil, with ruins from the Stone Age to the Crusaders. The Greek name of the town gave us the word Bible.
- Its Crusader castle and ancient ruins
- The old harbour
- A UNESCO World Heritage Site
Batroun
North
An old coastal town surrounded by citrus groves, with stone churches, a small fishing harbour and a lively summer seafront.
- Fresh lemonade
- Old Maronite and Greek Orthodox churches
- Beaches and cafés
Bsharri
North
A mountain town high in the north, at the head of the Kadisha Valley. It is the birthplace of the writer Kahlil Gibran.
- The Gibran Museum
- The Cedars of God forest nearby
- Skiing at the Cedars
Zahlé
Beqaa
The largest town of the Beqaa, about 1,000 m up where Mount Lebanon meets the valley, along the Berdawni river. It is known as the city of wine and poetry.
- Riverside restaurants
- Arak and Beqaa wine
Baalbek
Baalbek-Hermel
A town in the north of the Beqaa Valley, once the Roman city of Heliopolis. It is famous for one of the largest Roman temple complexes ever built.
- The Roman temples of Jupiter and Bacchus
- The Baalbeck International Festival
Deir el Qamar
Mount Lebanon
A mountain village of honey-coloured stone in the Chouf, the seat of the emirs of Mount Lebanon from the 16th to the 18th century. Its name means Monastery of the Moon.
- The Fakhreddine Mosque
- Old palaces around the main square
Sidon
South
Lebanon's third city, called Saida in Arabic, about 40 km south of Beirut. It was one of the great Phoenician cities.
- The Crusader Sea Castle
- Its old souk and soap museum
Tyre
South
An ancient Phoenician port near the southern border, called Sour in Arabic. It was once an island, and its ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Roman ruins and a huge hippodrome
- Its old fishing harbour
Landmarks
Places everyone should see once
Baalbek
The Roman temples of Baalbek
Huge Roman temples built over more than two centuries of Roman rule. Six columns of the Temple of Jupiter still stand about 20 m high, and the Temple of Bacchus is one of the best preserved Roman temples anywhere. Nearby quarries hold some of the largest stone blocks ever cut in ancient times.
UNESCO World Heritage
Byblos
Byblos castle and ruins
Beside the old harbour, a Crusader castle stands over ruins that go back thousands of years, including temples, royal tombs and a Roman theatre. The whole site is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
UNESCO World Heritage
Tyre
The ruins of Tyre
Colonnaded streets, Roman baths, an arch and one of the largest Roman hippodromes, where about 20,000 spectators watched chariot races.
UNESCO World Heritage
Near Zahlé
The Umayyad city of Anjar
A walled town from the early 700s, built by the Umayyad caliphs with a grid of streets, palaces, baths and shops. It is a rare example of a planned city from that time.
UNESCO World Heritage
Near Bsharri
The Cedars of God
A grove of ancient cedar trees high above the Kadisha Valley, a remnant of the great forests that once covered Mount Lebanon. The cedar is Lebanon's national emblem and appears on its flag.
UNESCO World Heritage
Near Jounieh
Jeita Grotto
Two linked limestone caves about 18 km north of Beirut. Visitors walk through the upper cave among giant stalactites, and take a boat on the underground river in the lower cave.
Near Jounieh
Our Lady of Lebanon, Harissa
A bronze statue of the Virgin Mary, about 8.5 m tall, stands on a hilltop above the Bay of Jounieh with her arms stretched towards Beirut. Christians and Muslims both come to visit.
Near Deir el Qamar
Beiteddine Palace
A palace of courtyards, fountains and painted wooden ceilings built by the emir Bashir II between 1788 and 1818. It hosts a summer festival.
Sidon
The Sea Castle of Sidon
A Crusader fortress from 1228 on a small island, joined to the shore by a stone causeway about 80 m long. From its roof there is a view over the old city and fishing harbour.
Beirut
Pigeons' Rock
Two great limestone rocks rising from the sea off the Raouché district of Beirut. The seafront promenade above them is a favourite place for an evening walk.
Fun facts
Things you might not know
- 01
The name Lebanon comes from an old Semitic root, 'lbn', meaning white, probably because of the snow on its mountains.
- 02
The green cedar on the Lebanese flag is the cedar of Lebanon. The flag was first raised in November 1943, during the struggle for independence, and was written into the constitution on 7 December 1943.
- 03
The Greeks called the town of Byblos after the papyrus that passed through its port, and 'byblos' came to mean papyrus in Greek. The English word Bible comes from the same name.
- 04
The stone coffin of King Ahiram of Byblos, now in the National Museum of Beirut, carries what is considered the earliest known example of the fully developed Phoenician alphabet.
- 05
Lebanon officially recognises 18 religious communities, Christian, Muslim, Druze and Jewish. By the unwritten National Pact of 1943, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament a Shia Muslim.
- 06
As of September 2026, Lebanon has seven sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List. The newest, the Mount Amel Castles, was added in 2026.
- 07
Kahlil Gibran, born in Bsharri in 1883, wrote 'The Prophet', published in 1923. It has been translated into more than 100 languages.
- 08
The singer Fairuz, often called 'the Voice of Lebanon', first sang at the Baalbeck International Festival in 1957.
- 09
The upper cave of Jeita Grotto holds a stalactite about 8.2 m long, often described as the longest known stalactite in the world.
- 10
In 2014 archaeologists found a stone block in the Roman quarry at Baalbek estimated to weigh about 1,650 tonnes, suggested to be the largest ancient stone block ever found.
- 11
The Litani is the longest river that flows entirely within Lebanon. In ancient times it was called the Leontes, the 'lion river'.
- 12
Qurnat as Sawda', at about 3,088 m, is the highest point in Lebanon and in the whole Levant.
- 13
Lebanese and other Levantine emigrants took sfiha to Brazil, where the esfiha is now a popular snack, and fatayer to Argentina, where they are sold as empanadas árabes.
- 14
The national anthem, adopted in 1927, begins with the words "All for the country, for glory and the flag".
Lebanese Arabic words
20 words to start with
Lebanese Arabic is the everyday spoken form of Arabic in Lebanon, while newspapers and the news use Modern Standard Arabic. Arabic is written from right to left; the Latin spellings here are simple guides. Many Lebanese mix in French and English words, so 'merci' and 'bonjour' are heard everywhere. Pronunciation is written the way it sounds; the capital letters show where the stress goes. Audio is coming soon.
Greetings
- marhaba (مرحبا)MAR-ha-bahello
- ahlan (أهلا)AH-lanhi, welcome
Basics
- eh (إيه)EHyes
- la' (لأ)LAHno
- shukran (شكرا)SHOOK-ranthank you
- yalla (يلا)YAL-lacome on, let's go
- mnih (منيح)m-NEEHgood, fine
- kbir (كبير)k-BEERbig
- zghir (زغير)z-GHEERsmall
People
- habibi (حبيبي)ha-BEE-beemy dear (to a man; to a woman: habibti)
Food
- khebez (خبز)KHE-bezbread
- may (مي)MAYwater
- ahweh (قهوة)AH-wehcoffee
- za'atar (زعتر)ZAH-tarwild thyme, and the herb mix made from it
- laban (لبن)LAH-banyogurt
Nature
- arz (أرز)ARZcedar
- bahr (بحر)BAHRsea
- jabal (جبل)JA-balmountain
Places
- beit (بيت)BAYThouse, home
- souk (سوق)SOOKmarket
Say it like a local
Useful phrases
Some phrases change with the person you speak to: 'kifak' is for a man and 'kifik' for a woman. The apostrophe marks a short catch in the throat.
Marhaba (مرحبا)
MAR-ha-ba
Hello
Greeting anyone, at any time of day
Sabah el-kheir (صباح الخير)
sa-BAH el-KHAYR
Good morning
Greeting someone in the morning; the reply is sabah el-nour, morning of light
Masa el-kheir (مسا الخير)
MA-sa el-KHAYR
Good evening
Greeting someone from late afternoon on
Kifak? / Kifik? (كيفك)
KEE-fak / KEE-fik
How are you? (to a man / to a woman)
Asking after someone, usually right after hello
Mnih, l-hamdella (منيح، الحمد لله)
m-NEEH, el-HAM-del-la
Fine, thank God
Answering "How are you?"
Ahla w sahla (أهلا وسهلا)
AH-la wa SAH-la
Welcome
What a host says when you arrive; you can answer "ahla fik"
Shukran / Yislamo (شكرا / يسلمو)
SHOOK-ran / yis-LA-mo
Thank you
Thanking anyone; yislamo is warm and very Lebanese
Tikram (تكرم)
TIK-ram
You are welcome
Answering thanks, to a man; to a woman say tikrameh
Law samaht (لو سمحت)
law sa-MAHT
Please, excuse me
Asking politely or getting attention, to a man; to a woman say law samahti
Addeish hayda? (قديش هيدا)
ad-DAYSH HAY-da
How much is this?
Asking a price in a shop or market
L-hsab, iza bitrid (الحساب إذا بتريد)
el-HSAB, IZ-za bit-REED
The bill, please
Asking for the bill in a restaurant
Sahtein (صحتين)
sah-TAYN
Enjoy your meal (to your health)
Said before or during a meal
Ma baheke arabe mnih (ما بحكي عربي منيح)
ma BAH-ki A-ra-bi m-NEEH
I don't speak Arabic well
When a conversation goes too fast
Btehke inglize? (بتحكي إنكليزي)
bteh-KEE ing-LEE-zi
Do you speak English?
Asking for help in English
Ma fhemet (ما فهمت)
ma FHEM-et
I didn't understand
Asking someone to say something again
Wein el-hammam? (وين الحمام)
WAYN el-ham-MAM
Where is the toilet?
In a restaurant or café
Inshallah (إن شاء الله)
in-SHAL-lah
God willing, hopefully
Talking about plans for the future
Ma'a salameh (مع السلامة)
MA-a sa-LA-meh
Goodbye (go in peace)
Saying goodbye; many Lebanese simply say "bye"
Local tips
Before you go
Check official travel warnings first
As of September 2026, the UK and other governments advise against all travel to large parts of Lebanon, including the South and Nabatieh governorates, parts of the Beqaa and Baalbek-Hermel, the southern suburbs of Beirut, the far north of Akkar and the Palestinian refugee camps. The situation can change quickly, so read your own government's advice before planning any trip and follow local news while there.
Bring cash
Since the economic crisis that began in 2019, many shops and restaurants do not accept cards and cash machines can be unreliable. As of 2026, US dollars in cash are the main currency for visitors, and change is often given in Lebanese pounds.
Expect power cuts
The national grid supplies only limited electricity, and many buildings rely on generators for part of the day. Keep a torch and a charged phone with you, as streets can be dark at night.
Passport stamps matter
Travellers whose passports show a visit to Israel may be refused entry to Lebanon. Check the entry rules with the Lebanese embassy before you go.
Don't photograph soldiers or checkpoints
Taking photos of military sites, checkpoints or soldiers can lead to arrest. Take pictures only at tourist sites, and never fly a drone without permission.
Use registered taxis
As of 2026, the UK government advises against shared 'service' taxis and taxis hailed on the street, and recommends taxis from recognised companies, for example booked through your hotel. Public transport vehicles have red number plates. Always agree the price before you get in.
Mix your languages
Lebanese people often switch between Arabic, French and English in one sentence, as in "Hi, kifak, ça va?". A greeting in Arabic is always welcome, but French or English will get you far in cities.
Emergency numbers
Police 112, ambulance (Lebanese Red Cross) 140 and fire brigade 175, as of 2026.
Sources (81)
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- Litani River (Wikipedia)
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- Ahiram sarcophagus (Wikipedia)
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- Sfiha (Wikipedia)
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- Shish taouk (Wikipedia)
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