Local traditions and culture in Lebanon

This is a drink made from grape molasses and raisens mixed together and topped with pine nuts.
a drink is favored specially on a Ramadan breakfast.
Here is a picture of my glass of Jillab drink,but blended with ice.
usually it`s a darker colour when it`s not mixed with ice ;-)
enjoy~!

Lebanon's traditional culinary art combined with the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables make eating out an adventure. Restaurants specializing in Lebanese food are found everywhere and in all of them you will be invited to try the famous hors-d'oeuvres known as mezze. A good mezze has 30 or 40 dishes, but feasts with as many as 100 dishes have been recorded. It's wise to dedicate an entire afternoon to the authentic Lebanese lunch. Some delicacies are always present in a mezze, including the internationally known tabboule salad. You will also find hommos-a chickpea purée with sesame paste and babaganouj -a dip made of roasted eggplant, sesame paste, lemon and garlic.Kibbeh Nayeh - fresh raw lamb pounded with ground wheat and seasoned with onion, mint, pepper and salt is also a favorite.

The mezze is usually served without cutlery, for the traditional flat round Arab bread is both fork and spoon. This substantial appetizer course is often accompanied by arak but Lebanon also produces some excellent beers and wines that go just as well.

For the main course one can try farrouj meshwi - chicken broiled over charcoal and served with a garlic sauce, kafta meshwiyye, minced lamb mixed with finely chopped onion and parsley and broiled on skewers over charcoal or shawarma - slices of highly seasoned lamb cooked on a slow revolving spit. Mehshi - vegetables such as small squash, cabbage leaves, grape leaves, and peppers stuffed with chopped meat, rice and pine nuts is another favorite.

By the seashore you can get excellent grilled fish, while cool riverside restaurants in the mountains often specialize in fresh trout.

Pastries in Lebanon are flavored with honey, butter, pistachio nuts or almonds

The Lebanese National Anthem was adopted in 1927 and is written by Rachid Nakhlé (lyrics) and Wadih Sabra (music).

Koullouna Lilouatann Lil'oula Lil'a Lam,
Milo'ay Nizzaman Sayfouna Oual Kalam,
Shlouna Oualjabal Manbi Tonn Lirrijal,
Kaoulouna Oual' Amal Fisa bilil Kamal.
Koullouna Lilouatann Lil' Oula Lil 'Alam,
Koullouna Lilouatann.

Chaykhouna Oualfata Indasaoutil Oua Tann
Ousdou gha Bin Mata Saouarat Nalfitann
Charkouna Kalbouhou Aba Dann Loubnane
Sanahou Rab Bouhou Limadal Azmane.
Koullouna Lilouatann Lil' Oula Lil 'Alam,
Koullouna Lilouatann.

Bahrouhou Barrouhou Dourratouchchar Kain
Rildouhou Birrouhou Malioul Koutbain
Ismouhou 'Izzouhou Moun Zou Kanal Joudoude
Majdouhu Arzouhou Ramzouhou Lilkhouloude
Koullouna Lilouatann Lil' Oula Lil 'Alam,
Koullouna Lilouatann.

All of us! For our Country, for our Flag and Glory!
Our valour and our writings are the envy of the ages.
Our mountains and our valleys, they bring forth stalwart men.
And to Perfection all our efforts we devote.
All of us! For our Country, for our Flag and Glory!

Our Elders and our children, they await our Country's call:
And on the Day of Crisis they are as Lions of the Jungle.
The heart of our East is ever Lebanon:
May God preserve her until end of time.
All of us! For our Country, for our Flag and Glory!

The Gems of the East are her land and sea.
Throughout the world her good deeds flow from pole to pole.
And her name is her glory since time began.
Immortality's Symbol- the Cedar- is her Pride. All of us! For our Country, for our Flag and Glory!

Don't carry your bread in your hands... carry it on your wrist, as if it were a bracelet. As soon as I saw this piece of bread I fell in love with it: round and with a large hole in the middle - suits even the bigger wrists. It's called ka`ik, it's sold by street vendors about everywhere, it costs very little and... it's delicious!

The most common car in Lebanon should be the Mercedes. At least almost all taxises are Mercedes cars. This car is standing on a street in Manara, western Beirut.
People living in the house behind have put big sheets over the windows for protection from the sun.

The Lebanese have also made an art of out meeting and greeting.

It's a lengthy process with a lot of polite conversation before the actual point of talking to that person gets discussed... the problem is, sometimes the niceties go on for so long by the time you get around to talking about what you intended to, you cannot remember what it was you were supposed to be talking about.

It's always polite to say hello (aallou) if you catch someone's eye in passing. But if speaking to someone that you've met before or even a friend of a friend... or a friend of a friend of a friend's cousins uncles newphew twice removed... always start the conversation by asking how they are, how's their family? are they in good health... a compliment never goes amiss... and talk about what they've been doing etc... how's work...

this even applies in business... if you are just calling someone to ask about something business related... YOU MUST! go through the process first otherwise the other person will think "who is this rude person"

Money money money, looks so funny... in an arab world...

in lebanon you can use both US dollars and lebanese lira (pounds) which are held at the exchange rate of 1500LL to 1 USD. It sounds complicated right? well at first you may get a little confused but eventually it becomes second nature to work out...

Try and work out your change before you get it so if they give you LL or USD you know how much you should be getting, what will really get you though is when they give you a mixture of the two!

Many of the Prices and Bills for restaurants will come with both LL and USD on them and so you can pay in either without having to work it out.

Some Lebanese might get offended when you refer their local coffee to the Turkish coffee,(my mom is one of them)
To me it`s the same,,only naming is different.,however the Lebanese insist that it`s called Lebanese coffee....

But anyways this is a must have drink and some people believe if you finish your coffee the flip the cup upside down on the saucer you can have somebody read your fortune:-S

You will be offered Lebanese coffee almost everywhere you go,it`s considerd the national drink,locals will offer this drink when you visit them at home.

To me it tastes a bit like esspresso only thicker in texture,Lebanese boil few times before serving it,to add some bitterness to the taste.