Beirut

Beirut بيروت Beyrouth
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Beirut Location in Lebanon. The surrounding district can be seen on the map.
Coordinates: 33°53′13″N 35°30′47″E
Country	Lebanon
Governorate	Beirut, Capital City
Government
• Mayor	Bilal Hamad
Area
• City	20 km2 (8 sq mi)
• Urban	100 km2 (40 sq mi)
• Metro	200 km2 (80 sq mi)
Population
• City	361,366 (UN)
• Urban	1,900,000
• Metro	2,250,000 ~ 3,000,000
Time zone	+2
• Summer (DST)	+3 (UTC)

Beirut is the capital of Lebanon. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities of the world. It is situated on a hilly promontory on the eastern Mediterranean surrounded to the east by the snow-capped mountains of Lebanon. Before the civil war it was a cultural center of the Arab World, a major international financial, banking and media center and was called the Switzerland of the Middle East. It is called the Paris of the Middle East.

Gallery

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  Sunset in Beirut, Lebanon

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  View from bickfaya, Beirut, Lebanon

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  Beirut Downtown, Lebanon

References

• Linda Jones Hall, Roman Berytus: Beirut in Late Antiquity, 2004.
• Samir Kassir, Histoire de Beyrouth, Fayard 2003.
• Richard Talbert, Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World, (ISBN 0-691-03169-X), p. 69.

Other websites

• Official website of Beirut
• Downtown Beirut
• Discover Lebanon - Beirut photos and images, virtual tour, Allenby street, parliament, museum