Lebanon’s modest borders pack in a powerful mix of cultures and traditions: mountain ski resorts and bucolic valleys, Roman ruins and lslamic architecture, bikini-clad beachgoers and women in head-to-toe chadors. The years of civil war and destruction are finally over, and the Lebanese, famed for their commercial skill, great food and appreciation of a good party, are hard at worlk to regain their of the Middle East, is a bustling, cosmopolitan, cosmopolitan city intent on making a comeback.

June to mid-September-or before 1918 to experience the reign of the Ottoman Empire

Watching the sunset at Pigeon Rocks, Beirut’s most famous natural attraction Spending a day wandering around the extraordinary ruins at Baalbek Driving along the magnificent scenic route to the Biblical Cedars Wandering through the ancient ruins at Byblos Discovering Mameluk architecture and medieval markets in Tripoli Baking in the splendfour of the palace at Beiteddine

Read Willian Dalrymple’s form the Holy Mountain, a funny, thought-provoking account of the author’s journey in the footsteps of a 6 th-century monk

Listen to Fairus Chante Zaki Yassif, performed by Fairuz and composed by Zaki Yassif, the father of Lebanese folk music

Watch Le cerf-volant (The kite) by Randa Chahal Sabag, about a love affair between a Lebanese girl and an lsraeli soldier

Eat kibbeh (spiced minced lamb in a fried bulgur-wheat shell); baklava (syrupy-sweet filo pastries)

Drink jellab, a sweet drink made with raisins and pine nuts; aral on ice with a splash of water

Ahalan was sahalan (hello; literally ‘welcome and welcome’)

Dramatic landscapes; delicious food; ancient; sunny beaches; Mt Lebanon Range; crusader castles; temple complexes; picturesque port towns; olive groves and vineyards

A world-famous arts festival is held every July in Baalbek; there are amazing trekking opportunities; Lebanon is the biblical ‘land of milk and honey’

The cake shops in Lebanon look so tempting with their vast array of cookies and pastries. Most of the pastries are specialities of the region and are unfamiliar to many visitors. All of them are totally delicious and worth trying, even if you don’t have a particularly sweet tooth.