- 3 - Lebanon often dominates international headlines, and always for the wrong reasons: massacres and bombings, kidnappings and hijackings, financial collapse and explosions. Given everything the land of the cedars has been through over the past fifty years, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Lebanon has nine lives, like a cat. So how do we explain this paradox — a country with such a bleak image that still draws so much attention and so much affection? It's a question I've asked myself ever since I spent five intense years in Beirut, where I fell in love with the country, and above all, with its people. How did the fifteen-year civil war begin? Why does the country's political system still rest on an archaic framework of eighteen officially recognized religions? What role do the Greek Orthodox play? What is Hezbollah — and what isn't it? Who killed billionaire prime minister Rafic Hariri? What exactly is a "pleasure marriage"? Could Lebanon and Israel ever reconcile? And what's the geopolitical story behind Lebanese cuisine? -NON FICTION- Lebanon: A Unique Country Dimitris Kourkoulas Pages 160
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