Following a particularly long winter that included snowfalls as late as mid-April, Lebanon has truly come alive this spring. The lush greenery dotted with colorful wildflowers, the swarm of bright butterflies, and the gushing rivers and serene lakes all make visitors to these areas pop out their phone cameras far too frequently in an attempt…
Developing year-long tourism in Lebanon
The tourism industry has long been touted as a main contributor to GDP in Lebanon’s services-oriented economy, but it endured an almost four-year long downturn following the onset of the war in Syria in 2012 and the Arab Gulf countries’ travel advisories against Lebanon that have been issued on and off since mid-that year. The…
The nightclub business in Lebanon
When The Axis of Evil comedy tour performed in early 2008, Lebanon—for the first time in its history—did not have a president, and was in the midst of a politically unstable and tense period that culminated with the Doha Accord later that year. Despite the situation, Maz Jobrani, one of the group’s stand-up comedians, humorously…
E-banking lands in Mar Mikhael
A walk in Mar Mikhael reveals that it has become the hub of hospitality for millennials in Lebanon; during the day, its appealing restaurants and quick snacks attract those who work in the area, while in the evening, it’s a destination for gatherings with friends over drinks or bistro dinners. As such, Banque Libano-Française (BLF)…
All in a day’s work
To paraphrase a popular saying: You cannot truly understand someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes. Even with all the research and theorizing on the plight of working moms, fully grasping the experience of raising children while maintaining a career requires actually living it, or the next best thing—truly listening to those…
Caught between home and the office
A typical week-day in the life of a woman with a career and children looks something like this: She gets out of bed at 6 a.m. to get her children ready for their day, then goes to work for at least nine hours (often working through her lunch break) before picking up her children from…
Time for a change
In most Arab countries, Mother’s Day is celebrated on March 21. On this day, a woman’s role as a mother, the giver of life and the nurturer, is suitably enough recognized on the first day of spring, the season which marks nature’s rebirth. This is a widely celebrated day in Lebanon, with queues forming outside…
The juniper way
It was only a matter of time before the Lebanese got into gin production; as unexpected as that sounds, it actually makes perfect sense. The world is witnessing a “gin boom” especially in the premium and craft gin category, and, according to a report produced by just-drinks.com and the IWSR (International Wine and Spirits Registry),…
(Not) drowning their sorrows
Although it is commonly believed that in hard times people turn to alcohol to ease or forget their problems, this does not seem to have been the case this past year in Lebanon. Despite all the issues the country has faced, 2018 did not translate into greatly increased sales for the country’s spirit distributors. In…
Wine producers discuss domestic consumption
Sipping on a glass of Lebanese wine has value beyond the drinker’s enjoyment. As Edouard Kosremelli, general manager of Château Kefraya, puts it, drinking Lebanese wine supports the economy since thousands of people are either directly or indirectly employed by the wine sector. Lebanese wine encompasses three industries (agriculture, industry, and hospitality and tourism), and…