An Introduction to Lebanon Lebanon is a country on the Mediterranean sea, located north of Palestine and west of Syria. It is 10,000 square kilometres, almost the same size as Wales and, if you’re lucky and there’s no traffic, you can drive from the north to the south of the country in about 3 hours. The population of Lebanon is approximately 5 million people, with 470,000 Palestinian refugees and 1.5 million Syrian refugees. Lebanon as a country was established in 1943, when the French mandate in Syria ended. Until then, Lebanon was a part of Syria and had been under the rule of the Ottoman Empire for 400 years before its collapse after World War I. Lebanon has 18 official religions, but how many people belong to these groups is not known, because no official census has happened since 1932 because of the sensitive balance between the religions in Lebanon. Lebanon’s political system is complicated, because the powers are divided between the religions – the President has to be Christian, the Prime Minister has to be Sunni etc. Lebanon is a very diverse place – most of the population is bilingual, speaking both Arabic and either English or French. However, other than regional refugee crises, Lebanon does not have much immigration, and has historically mostly been a country that people emigrate from. One of the reasons for this is Lebanon’s civil war, which started in 1975 and continued for 15 years. This war killed 150,000 people and saw the emigration of approximately 1 million people. Today, Lebanon is a middle-income country, and is known for being a Middle Eastern country where democracy and free speech have survived conflict and sectarian tension. An Introduction to Syria Syria is also a country on the Mediterranean Sea, 18 times bigger than Lebanon, with a population of around 20 million people. It borders Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan. Its history is very similar to Lebanon’s, because they were a part of the same country until the French divided them in 1943 The history of Syria after 1946 is a complex story of military coups. In 1956, Syria joined Egypt to become the United Arab Republic, with the hope that more Arab countries would join them, but this union broke apart in 1961. The Baath party (the same party as Saddam Hussein), took power in a coup a few years later. The final coup happened in 1970 when Hafez al-Assad, also from the Baath party, took power. He was the president until his death in 2000, when his son, Bashar Al-Assad, a doctor, took power, at the age of 34, after the minimum age of the president was quickly changed from 40 to 34. You probably know Syria because of its civil war, which started in 2011. The regime has been accused of human rights abuses throughout its reign, which led to some civil unrest. This boiled over in 2011 when graffiti was written on the walls of a school in Dera’a, leading to the arrest of several teenage boys. This happened during what the world called the ‘Arab Spring’, when popular revolts in several Arab countries led to their leaders stepping down. The famous story is that the boys were held for weeks, tortured and beaten, and that when their parents went to ask for them, they were told to make more children. The arrest of the children led to many protests in Dera’a. The children were released, but protests against the regime continued, and the situation got worse. This was the beginning of revolts all over Syria, concentrated in certain areas, especially Homs, Aleppo, Idlib, Deir Az-Zor, and Hama. Within months, people had taken up arms and the civil war began. The civil war has led to the deaths of at least 500,000 people, displaced 6 million Syrians within their country, and made 5 million Syrians refugees outside of their country. It is now almost accepted that the rebels have lost the war, now holding only a small amount of territory in Idlib, near the Turkish border, and Bashar al-Assad is still in power. Key vocabulary located بتوقع : The population عدد سكان : Established: تأسسة Part:جزء the French mandate: الأنتداب الفرنسي under the rule: تحت حكم belong: بينتمو official census: أحصاء رسمي political system: النظام السياسي complicated: معقد very diverse place: مكان كثير متنوع emigrate: بتهاجر borders: حدود party: حزب human rights: حقوق الأنسان walls: حيطان arrest: أعتقال Arab Spring: الربيع العربي The famous story: القصة المشهورة Arms: سلاح An Introduction to Lebanon
لبنان دولة على البحر الأبيض المتوسط , بتوقع شمال فلسطين وغرب سوريا. مساحتا 10,000 كيلو متر مربع ,تقريبا نفس مساحة (والز) وأذا انت محظوظ ومافي عجقة سير فيك تسوق من شمال لجنوب البلد ب 3 ساعات, عدد سكان لبنان تقريباً 5 ملايين , مع 470 ألف لاجئ فلسطيني و 1.5 مليون لاجئ سوري , لبنان دولة تأسسة سنة 1943 لما خلص الأنتداب الفرنسي بسوريا حتى هذاك الوقت لبنان كانت جزء من سوريا , وكانت تحت حكم الدولي العثمانية ل 400 سنة قبل أنهيارا بعد الحرب العالمية الأولة , لبنان عندا 18 ديانة رسمية ,بس عدد الأشخاص يلي بينتمو لهذي المجموعات مش معروف , لأن ما صار أحصاء رسمي من سنة 1932 بسبب التوازن الحساس بين الأديان بالبنان . النظام السياسي بلبنان معقد , لأن بتنقسم السلطة بين الأديان, الرئيس لازم يكون مسيحي , رئيس الوزراء لازم يكون سني ألخ......لبنان مكان كثير متنوع - أغلب السكان بيحكو لغتين سوا عربي و أنكليزي أو فرنسي ومع هذا , عدا عن أزمة الاجئين الاقليمية , لبنان ماعندو كثير هجرة , بالتاريخ كانت دولة بتهاجر منها الناس عادتاً. واحد من الاسباب هوي الحرب الأهلية .يلي بلشت سنة 1975 وظلت 15 سنة هذي الحرب قتلت 150,000الف شخص, وهجرة حوالي مليون شخص. لبنان ليوم بلد متوسط الدخل , معروف انو بلد شرق أوسطي نجت في الديموقراطية وحرية التعبير من الخلاف والتوترالطائفي. An Introduction to Syria سوريا كمان دولة على البحر الأبيض المتوسط , 18 مرة أكبر من لبنان ,مع عدد سكان 20 مليون نسمة . حدودا مع تركيا , العراق, لبنان ,فلسطين والأردن. تاريخا كثير بيشبه تاريخ لبنان لأن كانت جزء من نفس البلد , حتى قسمن الفرنسين سنة 1943. تاريخ سوريا بعد 1946قصة معقدي من الأنقلابات العسكرية , بسنة 1956 نضمة سوريا لمصر لتصير الجمهورية العربية المتحدة ,مع أمل أنو الدول العربية تنضم ألن , بس هي الوحدة تفككت سنة 1961. حزب البعث (نفس حزب صدام حسين )أخذ السلطة في أنقلاب بعد كم سنة,أخر انقلاب صار سنة 1970 لما حافظ الأسد أخذ السلطة وكان مع حزب البعث .كان الرئيس حتى مات سنة 2000 لما أبنو الدكتور بشار الأسد أخذ السلطة بعمر 34 بعد ماتغيربسرعة العمر الأدنى للرئيس من 40 ل 34سنة يمكن بتعرف سوريا بسبب الحرب الأهلية يلي بلشت سنة 2011 , أتهمو النضام بأنتهاك حقوق الأنسان طول فترة الحكم يلي خلا يصيرشوية أضطرابات مدنية ,أختفا هذا سنة 2011 لما كتبو كتابات على حيطان مدرسة في درعا يلي أدى لأعتقال صبيان بعمر المراهقة ,هذا صار خلال متل مابيقولوا العالم "الربيع العربي"لما خلت الثورات الشعبية العربية الكثير من قادتا تترك الحكم.القصة المشهورة أنو احتجزوا الكثير من الصبيان وتعرضوا للضرب والتعذيب ,ولما أهلون راحو يسألوا عنن قالولون جيبوا أطفال غيرون.أدى حجز الأطفال في درعا للكثير من الأحتجاج وبعدا أطلقو سراحن ,بس الأحتجاجات ضد النظام كملت ,وخربة الأوضاع,وكانت هذي بداية الثورات بكل سوريا, ورتكزت ب المناطق ,خاصتاً حمص,حلب ,أدلب,دير الزور وحماه.بكم شهر حملة الناس سلاح وبلشت الحرب الأهلية . قتلت الحرب الأهلية أقل شي 500,000ألف شخص ,وتشرد 6 ملالين سوري جوات بلدن ,وخلت 5 ملايين لاجئ سوري برات بلدن ,هلق فينا نقول أنو الثوار خسرو الحرب وعندون مساحة صغيري بأدلب قريبي الحدود التركية ,وبعدو بشار الأسد بالسلطة
10 Comments
20/8/2019 11:49:38 pm
I'm so glad to be jumping on this train as it's starting off! Please continue, I am downloading all of your episodes as they come out and will follow along with the transcripts on the website.
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Madeleine
23/8/2019 09:48:20 pm
This is great! Is it possible to also post the transcript transliterated into the Latin letters (like Arabic chat alphabet)? That would be super helpful for those of us who are learning speaking before reading!
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Lukas
15/9/2019 11:51:29 pm
I just found your podcasts – they are great! Starting October I will move to Jordan, which is why your transcripts are perfect to learn Levantine!:) Thanks!
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Ilham Threet
7/1/2020 04:52:26 pm
Great resources, Please continue publishing more episodes. I am using your "Podcast" to enhance my Levanitne -Arabic teaching classes. You guys are doing an awesome job. Bravo!!!
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Johnny G.
17/1/2020 04:27:57 am
alf 3fya on this project. Keep up the great work!
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Ed
9/3/2020 01:47:36 pm
Hey Keire & Amer,
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15/6/2020 09:47:50 pm
Salam! Your podcast is incredible! I've been looking for a way to practice Levantine Arabic in a realistic way to use when traveling and talking to locals. Your Arabic is very clear to understand and the transcripts help so much! One of a kind!
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Helena
11/9/2020 06:15:42 pm
I really like your podcasts! I'm a stundent of arabic language and islamic studies at university in Germany and I agree with you: It's so hard to find good learning material online, especially when it comes to dialects. I think a podcast is a nice new source for studying these days and I'm so happy that I found your podcast. Keep going. Shukran!
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Elizabeth Khoury
14/1/2021 03:54:28 am
WoW this is the best podcast I have seen so far. It’s very well done. I am happy I found you guys. I am just starting to learn Arabic now.
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Liza
25/1/2021 01:59:44 pm
Well done! So helpful. Learning Arabic and have been looking for something like this. Used in Arabic class today and shared with all my friends. Thank you!!
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The page gives you the transcripts of the podcasts, both in English and Arabic, with difficult words highlighted and translated.
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