Lebanon Tourist Information

Lebanon Tourist Information

Location	[url=http://www.atlastours.net/lebanon/info.html#Business Hours]Business Hours[/url]	[url=http://www.atlastours.net/lebanon/info.html#Entry Requirements]Entry Requirements[/url]
[url=http://www.atlastours.net/lebanon/info.html#Currency & Exchange Facilities]Currency & Exchange Facilities[/url]	Climate	Holidays
[url=http://www.atlastours.net/lebanon/info.html#Tourist Information Offices]Tourist Information Offices[/url]	[url=http://www.atlastours.net/lebanon/info.html#Emergency Phone Numbers]Emergency Phone Numbers[/url]	Tipping

See Useful Arabic Words & Phrases

General Information

Lebanon is a liberal democracy with a constitution agreed upon in 1926 but amended many times since then (last time was in 1990). The Lebanese Republic achieved independence in 1943.

Area	10,452 km²
Population	3,562,699 (2002)
Capital	Beirut
Capital population	1,452,112 (2002)

The political system was then adapted to satisfy the deep sociological and historical needs created by the presence of eighteen religious communities within the country.
Despite the resent years of war during the period 1975 to 1990, Lebanon nowadays resembles an extremely active building site.

President	Michel Sleiman
Principal Cities	Beirut, Tripoli, and Sidon

Location

Southwestern Asia, bordering eastern coast of the Mediterranean sea, bounded on the north and east by Syria, on the south by Isreal, and on the west by the Mediterranean sea. See map in Map & Sites page.

Official language	Arabic	Second language	French & English
Religions	Muslims 75% - Christians 24%	Measures	Metric
Time	GMT +02:00 - US EST +7	Electricity	110/220 V, 50 AC
Currency	Lebanese Pound ([url=http://www.atlastours.net/lebanon/info.html#Currency & Exchange Facilities]see below[/url])	Int'l Dialing Code	00961

Business Hours
Government Offices	8:00 to 14:00 (Mon to Sat)
Banks	8:00 to 12:30 - to 12:00 Saturday
Shops & Malls	9:00 to 18:00 - to 17:00 in Summer
Private Sector	8:00 to 17:00 - with one or two hours lunch break
Note: during the holy month of Ramadan working hours are usually reduced.

Entry Requirements

A valid passport and a visa are required to enter Lebanon. Visas are delivered by Lebanese diplomatic missions abroad
Lebanon has always known the freedom of money transfer, permitting any person to bring in or take out any capital of his/her choice at any time without restriction.
Note: No Israeli stamp or any crossing point with Israel stamp should be on your passport this includes Araba border, Sheikh Hussein border, Rafah border, and Taba border.

Currency & Exchange Facilities

The currency of Lebanon is Lebanese Pound (called Lira) - 1 US Dollar equals LL 1513.750 (1 May 2001).
Coin denominations are: 50, 100, 250, and 500 liras.
Paper denominations are: 500, 1000, 5000, 10.000, 20.000, 50.000, and 100.000 liras.
After the drastic devaluation of the Lebanese currency in the late eighties, the whole economy is dollarized. Though today many transactions are quoted in the Lebanese currency, large purchases and real estate deals are conducted in US dollars.
Major credit cards, such as Visa, Master Card, Diners Club, and American Express, are accepted in large establishments throughout the country. ATMs are becoming more numerous and many are located outside bank branches and in the business areas of major cities.

Climate

Lebanon enjoys an essential Mediterranean climate with rainy winters and long warm summers with an average of 300 sunny days a year.
The winter is mild on the coast and snowy in the mountains. Annual rainfall ranges from 700 to 1200mm.
The summer is hot on the coast and mild in the mountains. In some spring months, one can ski in the mountains and swim on the coast, both in the same day.

Average temperature in Centigrade for Beirut (coastal) and Zahle (Bekaa)

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Beirut	13	14	16	18	22	25	27	28	26	24	19	16
Zahle	7	9	10	13	20	24	24	25	23	19	11	8

Holidays
New Year	1st January	St. Maroun's Day	9th February
Good Friday	1 Day	Easter Monday	1 Day
Labor Day	1st May	Martyr's Day	6th May
Ascention	15th August	All Saints Day	1st November
Independence Day	22nd November	Christmas Day	25th Dec & 6th Jan
Islamic holidays based on Hijri/Lunar calendar
Eid Al-Fiter		3 days marking end of Ramadan (fasting month)
Eid Al-Adha		3 days at the end of Hajj
Islamic New Year		1st of Moharram
Ashoura		10th of Moharram
Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) Birthday		12th Rabe'a El-Awwal
Al-Isra' Wal Mi'raj		27th Rajab

Tourist Information Offices
Ministry of Tourism - Tourist Information	+961 (1) 340940
Middle East Airlines (MEA)	+961 (1) 629125 - 822780
Airport Information	+961 (1) 628000

Emergency Phone Numbers
Nationwide Emergency	112	Police Operation	160
Tourist Police	350901/343504	Beirut Information	427714/5
Jounieh Information	900000/9301111	Sidon Information	721221/725811/2
Tripoli Information	200400/1	Zahle Information	800169

Tipping

Tipping is a way of showing your satisfaction with a service rendered. Tips to your driver, guide and the hotel personnel are not included and left to your discretion.

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