중동부유럽

One surveying the Lebanese landscape today could be excused for momentarily forgetting that for four centuries, the Ottoman sultan was either the sovereign or the suzerain of the territories that on September 1, 1920 came to form the modern Lebanese republic. True, in the three main port cities of the Ottoman era (Sidon, Tripoli, and Beirut), vestiges of the empire`s public works, traces of its "urban planning," and the familiar totems of state architecture are still to be met with. So, too, are the "Pashas" tombs" south of Beirut, in the cemetery where Ottoman grandees are buried. But considering the longevity of Ottoman rule, reminders of the sultan`s writ are relatively few in the country`s landscape. Lebanese vernacular architecture escaped Ottoman influence almost entirely, and besides a handful of place names (e.g., Kaslik, Karahbache), few Turkish toponyms appear on the map of Lebanon.