The untold story of the last 12 months

ENAR

Lebanon is not a country by any easy definition. Whatever your preference in terminology, when talking about a community of people in terms of country or nation there are classic denominators involved that are either geographic, or social and cultural, but always framed as coherent and continuous. But Lebanon? Territorially, linguistically, historically, religiously, ethnically, even in terms of plant-life and climate – this assembly of ancient, sea-hugging, city-states, mystical valleys, hillside villages and once-forested mountain tops – is certainly not one thing: congruous. The Lebanese idea nonetheless, for more than a century, has had such staying power that foreign visitors and locals alike have latched onto it. Even in today’s hyper-fragile context, people often reference Lebanon’s inherent contradiction between its paradise- like environment and profound social assets with its many struggles – joking that the abundance of diverse human talent and real natural treasures had to be compensated by the