The train to Damascus at Samakh station, at the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee, early 1920s. Photo: LoC Matson Collection
Can the age of Middle East train travel return?

It was once possible to take trains from the Mediterranean to modern-day Saudi Arabia

June 17, 2022, 6:00 PM
Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi, cespeaks during a press conference about Sunday's parliamentary elections, at the interior ministry in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, May 16, 2022.  Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group and its allies suffered losses in this weekend's parliamentary elections, with preliminary results Monday showing some of their most vocal opponents picking up more seats and several of their traditional partners routed out of the legislature.  (AP Photo / Hassan Ammar)
Lebanon's Interior Minister announces partial results of elections

Lebanon's Interior Minister Bassam Al Mawlawi has announced partial results of Lebanon's parliamentary elections

May 16, 2022, 4:45 PM
An election worker shows a ballot to parliamentary candidates representatives, after the close of a polling station, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, May 15, 2022.  Lebanese voted for a new parliament Sunday against the backdrop of an economic meltdown that is transforming the country and low expectations that the election would significantly alter the political landscape.  (AP Photo / Hussein Malla)
Polls close and vote counting begins in Lebanon's elections

Election officials began to count votes in Lebanon's parliamentary elections after voting closed.

May 15, 2022, 6:15 PM
Beirut voters split on change in Lebanon
Beirut voters split on change in Lebanon

Some want wholesale change of political class, while others remain loyal to established parties

May 15, 2022, 1:20 PM
Lama Ramadan poses in front of a building in Beirut. (Finbar Anderson / The National)
Why one Lebanese woman will vote for the first time in her life

Lama Ramadan plans to vote for the first time in her life in Sunday's parliamentary elections in Lebanon. She's fed up, primarily with the lack of accountability enjoyed by the political classes.

May 14, 2022, 6:00 AM
Explainer: How to vote in Lebanon's parliamentary elections
Explainer: How to vote in Lebanon's parliamentary elections

Nissrine Chahine takes The National through the necessary steps to register a vote in Lebanon's parliamentary elections.

May 13, 2022, 11:42 AM
Glasses of jallab, which are often served during Ramadan.
Postcard from Lebanon: why jallab is still the Ramadan drink of choice

Nostalgia surrounds beverage made from syrup of rose water and date molasses

April 22, 2022, 6:00 PM
Asmae El-Moudir on set with a colleague.
Five female Arab filmmakers receive Netflix grant, helping bring their work to life

Netflix offers a one-time grant to five women producers and directors in the Arab world - from Tunisia, Lebanon and Morocco - to bring their fiction and non-fiction projects to life

April 21, 2022, 4:54 PM
Ramadan means booming business for Beirut juice shop
Ramadan means booming business for Beirut juice shop

Times are tough in Lebanon, but Ramadan is always busy for this Beirut juice shop.

April 20, 2022, 9:43 AM
Isolated community celebrates Easter at ancient mountain monastery in Lebanon
Isolated community celebrates Easter at ancient mountain monastery in Lebanon

Nestled in the Qadisha Valley, the Deir Qannoubine monastery has for centuries been a refuge for Christians fleeing persecution

April 15, 2022, 4:24 PM
Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid bin Abdullah Bukhari leaves after meeting with the Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, in Beirut, Lebanon April 11, 2022.  REUTERS / Mohamed Azakir
Saudi ambassador visits Lebanon's president

Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Lebanon visited President Michel Aoun, in a sign of thawing relations between the two countries.

April 14, 2022, 4:58 AM
New candidates enter turbulent world of Lebanese politics
New candidates enter turbulent world of Lebanese politics

New candidates and political campaigners enter the rough-and-tumble world of Lebanese politics.

April 11, 2022, 3:24 AM
Col Khalil inspects his troops from a distance.  Photo: Finbar Anderson / The National
Lebanon's skiing army commander confident mountain base will survive long winter

'The National' visits the snow-covered Youssef Rahme Barracks in the peaks above Bcharre

April 06, 2022, 3:00 AM
Behind the scenes at Lebanon's historic army ski school
Behind the scenes at Lebanon's historic army ski school

Take a look inside the Lebanese army's mountain ski academy.

April 05, 2022, 9:52 AM