ABSTRACT
Lebanon differs strikingly both physically and culturally from the rest of the Middle East. Dominated by the rugged and well-watered range of Mount Lebanon, its green and rainfed western slopes face the blue Mediterranean, and its brown steppes and deserts face east toward Syria. The advantages and resources of Lebanon attracted humanoids more than eight hundred thousand years ago during the Mindel glaciation, as artifacts found near Sidon and in the high intermontane Bekaa valley reveal. Two geographical facts—that Cyprus is an island and that it is located in the eastern Mediterranean—are the most important aspects of its existence. About the size of Puerto Rico, it is the third-largest Mediterranean island after Sicily and Sardinia. Cyprus has a typical Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and mild, moist winters. Cyprus and Lebanon have been the only countries in the region with no known petroleum or natural gas resources.
