Lebanon Land Quote by Louis Farshee
““Unlike Syria, Mount Lebanon was not a land with a diverse topography, but mostly mountainous. Fawwaz Traboulsi wrote that the amount of cultivable land in Mount Lebanon was four percent of the total surface, or approximately forty-nine square miles. Of this area, about twenty-two square miles, or nearly half, was cultivated with toot shami, the Damascus mulberry tree.12 One variety of this tree produces a large, edible white berry, the other a black berry. The primary produce obtained from this tree was not the berries for human consumption, but its leaves on which silkworms fed.13 Traboulsi’s study indicates that the maximum land area available for food crop cultivation in Mount Lebanon was twenty-seven square miles,””
About This Quote
Mount Lebanon’s terrain limited agricultural space, making sericulture the dominant economic activity due to the mulberry trees that fed silkworms.
In simple terms: Geography shaped Lebanon’s historic economy.
Key Takeaway
Mount Lebanon relied on mulberry cultivation for silk production.
Themes
Geography
Economy
Agriculture
History
Resource Utilization
Mood
Analytical
Reflective
Type
Historical
Descriptive
When to use this quote
- Historical analysis of Lebanese economy
- Comparative study of mountainous regions
- Discussion of land use constraints
- Educational material on silk trade
Key Concepts
Limited arable land
Sericulture
Mulberry varieties
Silkworm feeding
Practical Applications
- Assessing historical economic strategies
- Designing sustainable agriculture in similar terrains
Questions to Reflect On
- How did geography dictate economic choices in Mount Lebanon?
- What alternatives existed for food production given the limited arable land?
