Greek settlers were the first to found a city here. They were followed by the Romans, who built the city of Salona, which they intended as the seat of the province of Dalmatia. This was the birthplace of Diocletian, whose palace, built 1700 years ago, would provide shelter for the residents of nearby villages from invaders in later times. Raids by the Avars were followed by attacks by the Tatars, the Venetians and the Turks. With the refugees who fled from these invasions, the city's population grew. The Venetian Republic was overthrown by Napoleon, and after his fall the region became part of Austria.BEIRUT
Over the centuries its capital city, Beirut, this metropolis on the Mediterranean Sea, has been home to many visitors and conquerors, curious travelers and scientist. It was governed by the Canaanites of the Holy Land for thirteen centuries. It was here that the Phoenicians lived, a noble and learned Mesopotamian people from whom modern writing originates. They, in turn, were followed by the Greeks and the Romans. It was also an outpost used by the Crusaders on their way to liberate the Holy Land. After the Crusaders came the Arabic conquest in 1500 AD, and the region was also subject to waves of invasion by the Ottoman Turks. The Turks did not leave the territory until the French Mandate, which was eventually followed by Lebanon’s independence, declared in 1947.
The city, which in the 1970s was known as the "Paris of the East" - and the country as a whole, which at one time was referred to as the "Switzerland of the East" - may appear to the contemporary traveler as one enormous construction site. The recent, sixteen-year-long civil war ravaged Beirut, as well as settlements lying in the fertile Al-Biqa' Valley. However, Beirut's once devastated, bomb-damaged and depopulated city centre is now thriving once again: It is taking on an entirely new appearance based on ambitious, daring and modern architectural plans, which answer the challenges of the new millennium in every respect. Luxury hotels, American-style business centres and bank complexes are springing up on every side, while the houses and churches of the historical old town are being restored to look exactly as they have throughout the centuries. Alongside the exciting architectural innovations and the city's bustling trade activities, the Near Eastern mentality, so characteristic of the Lebanese, has also been preserved, and is evident everywhere in the form of hospitality, an amicable, peaceful lifestyle, and strong family ties. More and more of the Lebanese who fled abroad during the civil war are now returning home to their old houses, bringing with them the knowledge they have acquired in the meantime, as well as the money they have earned.
The Polish Acropolis
Czartoryski and Tatanka