Lebanon, officially the Lebanese Republic, is a small, largely mountainous country in the Middle East, located at the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon is bordered by Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south. The flag of Lebanon features the Lebanon Cedar in green against a white backdrop, with two horizontal red stripes on the top and bottom.
Until the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), the country enjoyed remarkable prosperity. It was considered the banking capital of the Arab world and attracted large numbers of
tourists, to the point that the capital Beirut became widely known as the "Paris of the Middle
East" and Lebanon was widely known as the "Switzerland of the Middle
East" due to its financial power.
