The small country of Lebanon offers amazing ancient Phoenician, Greek, Roman, early Christian and the Crusaders' monuments, the natural beauty of soaring, snow-dusted mountains and sparkling green valleys, great food and wines, and friendly, forward-looking people. During the tour, we'll journey back in time, as we visit the incredible Roman complex of Baalbek, admire the Phoenician towns of Byblos and Tyre, explore the Umayyad town of Anjar with its leading archeologist, and we'll kick back in the cosmopolitan Beirut. We'll relax at the beautiful beaches, cruise on a private catamara along the coast, explore complex karst caves by boat, tour Christian monasteries set in the famous Lebanon cedar forest, and indulge in fine food and excellent local wines.
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| Baalbek
Baalbek, known in antiquity as Heliopolis ("Sun City"), is home to some of the best-preserved Roman ruins in Lebanon, many of the structures rivaling those that remain in Rome today. The city was once the center of the solar cult that worshipped the sun as both a natural entity and living god, and temples were also built to the Roman gods Jupiter, Venus, and Bacchus, mirrors of the Canaanite deities Hadad and Atargatis. The temple complex underwent several religious shifts, a testament to Lebanon's diverse yet tumultuous... 
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| Lebanese Cedars
It's no wonder that the cedar is the national emblem of Lebanon, displayed right in the center of the country's flag - prized by the Egyptians for building ships and the Ottomans for building railways, the Lebanese cedar's renown is so influential that it is mentioned throughout texts from the Epic of Gilgamesh to the Holy Bible. The cedars once flourished in thick forests stretching across Mount Lebanon, not least of which is the Forest of the Cedars of God near the town of Bsharri.
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| Kahlil Gibran
Few writers are as widely circulated or universally beloved as the Lebanese writer and artist Kahlil Gibran, known primarily for his influential 1923 book The Prophet, and the third best-selling poet of all time. Born in 1883 in Bsharri, then a part of the Ottoman Empire, Gibran emigrated to the United States as a child but never forgot his Lebanese roots - upon his death at just 48 years old, the future American royalties from his books were willed entirely to his hometown, and he was buried in Lebanon according to his wishes.
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| Phoenician Alphabet
The world's first alphabet was invented by the Phoenicians, ancient inhabitants of modern-day Lebanon. Consisting of 22 letters, all consonants, the Phoenician alphabet was derived from Egyptian hieroglyphs and became one of the most widely used writing systems, spread by Phoenician merchants across the Mediterranean world, where it evolved and was assimilated by many other cultures. The Paleo-Hebrew alphabet is a local variant of the Phoenician alphabetical script. The Aramaic alphabet is another descendant of Phoenician, widely adopted as Aramaic...
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| Lebanese Wine
History tells us that from ancient times, the Lebanese have been masters of wine. At least two thousand years before Alexander the Great, wine was being produced in the region to certain acclaim - the Israelite prophet Hosea urged his followers to return to God so that "they will blossom as the vine, their fragrance will be like the wine of Lebanon." Genesis 14:18 notes that the Phoenician King Melchizedek gave bread and wine to Abraham, and Hosea adds that "his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon."
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| Lebanese Cuisine
Lebanese cuisine follows the Mediterranean tradition of an abundance of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, starches, fresh fish and seafood, with sparing use of animal fats. Red meat often takes a backseat to poultry, and comes more readily in the form of lamb or goat. Olive oil, herbs, garlic and lemon are typical flavors found in the Lebanese diet. Well known savory dishes include Baba ghanouj, a dip made of char-grilled eggplant; Falafel, small deep-fried patties made of highly spiced ground chickpeas; and Shawarma, a sandwich with marinated meat...
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