BBC: Lebanon's history dates back to Noah - the first winemaker mentioned in the Bible - and the winemaking tradition has defied many conflicts over the centuries.
One day not so long ago, I was driving from Damascus in Syria to Beirut.
After the border, the road winds down the Anti-Lebanon mountains. Ahead is the Bekaa Valley, laid out down below like a giant's play-mat.
On that morning, the road through the Bekaa was jammed.
The Lebanese army was rounding up some suspects and had put up a roadblock.
Dozens of soldiers with automatic weapons were outside a building and on the roofs opposite, while some of their colleagues pulled bearded, handcuffed men towards an army lorry.
The mood in the traffic jam was philosophical.
Military roadblocks and checkpoints are part of the scenery in Lebanon. So are contrasts that the Lebanese accept but which might surprise some foreigners. Almost Provence >>> Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East editor | Wednesday, January 12, 2011
