Beirut
Beirut (Bayrut) Capital and chief port of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast at the foot of the Lebanon Mountains. The city was taken by the Arabs in ad 635. In 1110 it was captured by Christian crusaders, and it remained part of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem until 1291. In 1516, under Druse control, Beirut became part of the Ottoman Empire. During the 19th century, it was the centre of Muhammad Ali's revolt against the Ottoman Empire. In 1830 Beirut was captured by Egyptians, but in 1840 British and French forces restored Ottoman control. In 1920 it became capital of Lebanon under French mandate. With the creation of Israel, thousands of Arabs sought refuge in Beirut. During the 1950s and 1960s, Beirut was a popular tourist destination. In 1976, civil war broke out and Beirut rapidly fractured along religious lines. In 1982, Israel devastated West Beirut in the war against the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Three years later, Israel began a phased withdrawal. In 1987, Syrian troops entered Beirut as part of an Arab peacekeeping force. In 1990, Syrian troops dismantled the ‘Green Line’ separating Muslim West from Christian East Beirut, and reopened the Beirut-Damascus highway. By 1991, all militias withdrew from the city and restoration work began. The infrastructure, economy, and culture of Beirut suffered terribly during the civil war and only small-scale industries remain. Pop. (2002 est.) 1,147,800.
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Beirut