Lebanon

Coordinates: 33°50′N 35°50′E / 33.833°N 35.833°E / 33.833; 35.833

Lebanon (ⁱ/ˈlɛbənɒn/ or /ˈlɛbənən/; Arabic: لبنان‎ Libnān or Lubnān; Lebanese Arabic: [lɪbˈneːn]; Aramaic: לבנאן‎; French: Liban), officially the Lebanese Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية اللبنانية‎ al-Jumhūrīyah al-Lubnānīyah; Lebanese Arabic: [elˈʒʊmhuːɾɪjje l.ˈlɪbneːnɪjje]; French: République libanaise), is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south. Lebanon's location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland facilitated its rich history and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity.

The earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than seven thousand years, predating recorded history. Lebanon was the home of the Canaanites/Phoenicians and their kingdom, a maritime culture that flourished for over a thousand years (c. 1550–539 BC). In 64 BC, the region came under the rule of the Roman Empire, and eventually became one of the Empire's leading centers of Christianity. In the Mount Lebanon range a monastic tradition known as the Maronite Church was established. As the Arab Muslims conquered the region, the Maronites held onto their religion and identity. However, a new religious group, the Druze, established themselves in Mount Lebanon as well, generating a religious divide that has lasted for centuries. During the Crusades, the Maronites re-established contact with the Roman Catholic Church and asserted their communion with Rome. The ties they established with the Latins have influenced the region into the modern era.

The Lebanon (song)

"The Lebanon" is a song by the British synthpop group The Human League, released as a single in April 1984. Written jointly by lead singer Philip Oakey and keyboard player Jo Callis, it was the first single from the band's fourth album Hysteria, and was recorded at AIR Studios between 1983-1984.

Background

The song was conceived, written and recorded at a time when the band was under considerable pressure to follow up the enormous international success of their previous album, Dare. The band had taken up residence in the £1000 a day AIR Studios; they were there a full year and were agonizing (and arguing) over every note of every track.

With its heavy use of bass and rock guitars, "The Lebanon" was a radical departure from the established synthpop sound of the Human League. Though the song does employ some keyboards, the use of guitars by the band was not lost on music critics who brought up the "no guitars rule" that the band had publicly adopted in 1981.

Lebanon (painting)

Lebanon is a mural size painting by Nabil Kanso depicting the Lebanese Civil War in a scene invoking the spirit and character of the people in the midst of horror and violence gripping the country. Amid the scene of chaos and devastation, two central figures reach across toward each other symbolically to represent the appeal for unity in defiance of the forces of division, destruction, and terror.

Description

Painted in oil on linen and completed in 1983, the painting Lebanon measures 28 feet (8.5 meters) long by 10 feet (3meters) tall. Its composition delineates three sections. At the center, two leaping female figures reach toward each other, almost touching. They are within grasp of a tiny pearl of white green light at the center of the canvas. In the foreground plane forming the base of the two converging figures, an appealing mother carrying a child appears bursting out from a torched pyramidal structure serving to balance and heighten the overall impact of the central scene.

Lebanon (Dunn, North Carolina)

Lebanon is a historic plantation house located near Dunn, Harnett County, North Carolina. It was built about 1824, and is a two-story, three bay, Greek Revival style frame dwelling with a one-story wing. It is sheathed in weatherboard and rests on a brick foundation. The front facade features a three bay, two-tier porch. During the American Civil War, the Battle of Averasboro (March 16, 1865) occurred in the immediate vicinity of plantation house and it was used as a hospital.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

References

Amanda Abizaid

Amanda Jo Abizaid is an American Lebanese singer/songwriter best known for her vocal performance on the theme song of the US TV series The 4400.

Early years

Abizaid was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to an American mother and a Mexican/Lebanese father. She traveled the Middle East and Europe with her family before the age of ten, when she moved with her mother and brother to the United States. Along with her four sisters, she formed a band and developed a talent for harmonies. Her first exposure to music was Middle Eastern music combined with the late 1970s American influences of Alice Cooper, Elton John, Crosby, Stills and Nash, and The Beatles.

After moving to the US, she lived in Poughkeepsie, NY until moving to Great Falls, Virginia for high school. She later attended the Corcoran School of Art in Georgetown and then transferred to The Catholic University of America to study drama and music, while pursuing a career in hairstyling. She dropped out of college to work as a runway model with designers such as Jacques Fath, Nina Ricci, Oscar de la Renta, Alberta Ferretti, Badgley Mischka, Chloe and Bill Blass. She traveled to Paris and Germany and modeled for London designer Zandra Rhodes in the UK. Afterward, she returned to the US to live in Miami, Florida. In Miami, she met musician/songwriter Shane Soloski in the late 90's and decided to move to Los Angeles to form a band with him.