Beirut city (state capital), introduction - - Pictures
Beirut, capital and largest city of Lebanon, located on the Mediterranean Sea. Situated on a peninsula that projects slightly westward into the Mediterranean, Beirut is contained by the Lebanon Mountains that rise to the east. The Mediterranean climate of the city brings hot summers and mild winters, with high humidity in the summer. The area of the city is roughly 67 sq km (26 sq mi); some sites located outside the municipal boundary are commonly associated with the city. Once a famous port, and as recently as the 1970s a banking and cultural center for the Middle East, Beirut was devastated by civil war and successive occupation by Syria and Israel between 1975 and 1991. The Arabic name Beirut came from the Canaanite word for “wells”; the city was so named because of the underground water supply in the area.
