culture – WLCU Sydney

2 March 2026

From Tyre to Tripoli – a Phoenician Boat Journey

By Paul Shalhoub – VP and Chief Editor Our new signature event “From Tyre to Tripoli – a Phoenician Boat Journey” debuted on 10th October 2025. Our sold-out event with 450 guests was universally lauded as our greatest event ever – superb food, Lebanese dancing, insights into our shared Phoenician history by an archaeologist, opera by sopranist Amelia Farrugia, attendance by the WLCU World President and World Secretary General (both visiting from France), the introduction of the Phoenician God: Adonis (courtesy of…

27 February 2026

Reflecting on Dr Charles Malik Literary Awards 2025

By Marcus Khoudair You would see that even when we go far, we speak to you. We write to you. We dream in your geography. We say “back home” and mean you. We say “the village” and mean you. We say “I miss the sea” and mean the very stretch of your coastline that knows our footsteps. We say “I want to be buried there” and mean your soil, specifically yours, not just any holy ground, yours. From ‘When the Cedars Wept’ by…

27 February 2026

One-Pot Mjadrat Loubieh Recipe: Dried Beans & Rice Stew

By Mirna Fakhry Serves 8 – 10 people Ingredients 8 Onions – chopped fine 3 cups red Kidney beans 1 ½ cups rice Olive oil Water boiled, Salt Method Pre-soak the beans in water overnight or for 6 hours In a large pot place the olive oil and heat over a medium flame. Add the onions to the pot. Simmer and stir until the onion is dark brown. Sir and add boiling water until you fill 2/3 of the pot. Boil for 5…

22 February 2026

A Shepherd Among the Cedars: Pope Leo’s Visit and the Soul of Lebanon

By Malek Chalhoub “Lebanon is the place that keeps burying its dead and still refuses to bury its future.” When Pope Leo stepped onto Lebanese soil, something shifted that no headline could fully capture. It was not about protocol, nor spectacle, nor the formal language of state visits. It was about a nation that has grown used to carrying its pain quietly suddenly feeling seen again. Lebanon did not greet him with perfection. It greeted him with truth. With crowded streets,…

21 August 2025

History of the Phoenicians and Their Ports

By Dr Shane Geha The Phoenicians The Phoenicians were an ancient Semitic-speaking civilization that emerged around 3200 BCE along the eastern Mediterranean coast, primarily in what is now Lebanon, as well as parts of Syria and northern Israel. Renowned for their maritime prowess, they developed advanced shipbuilding techniques and established extensive trade networks across the Mediterranean. Their most notable contributions include the spread of the Phoenician alphabet, which influenced many modern writing systems, and the establishment of colonies, the most famous being Carthage…

20 June 2024

Hannibal Son of Carthage: A Legendary Lebanese General

By WLCU President, Shane Geha Considered one of the greatest generals of the ancient world, Hannibal Barca of Carthage, shares a common ethnic heritage with every Lebanese in the world today. Carthage was a Phoenician settlement and one of the largest cities in the ancient world. Founded at the site of present-day city of Tunis, Tunisia in 814 BC by the ancient seafaring Phoenicians originating from Tyre in Lebanon, Carthage came to dominate the entire Mediterranean basin and threatened Roman supremacy, until its…

30 October 2023

The Bsharri Association of NSW celebrates 100 years of Gibran’s The Prophet in Sydney

By Paul Shalhoub It was only fitting that the Bsharri Association of New South Wales honoured their world famous son by a wonderful evening on Friday 20 th October, followed by a weekend of activities. Kahlil Gibran was born in the stunning village of Bsharri, high in the mountains of North Lebanon at the site of the only remaining “Cedars of God”. Gibran lived the first 12 years of his life there, before emigrating to the United States with his mother and siblings…

1 July 2023

HSC Distinguished Achievers Awards Night 2023 – Class of 2022

By Alexander Ishac On the 25th of May the World Lebanese Cultural Union of Sydney hosted its annual HSC Distinguished Achievers Night at NSW Parliament House. The event is a celebration of the outstanding accolades that our Lebanese youth have achieved in their final year of high school in the form of both their HSC/IB results as well as their extracurricular undertakings. The night was a great success, opening in the Strangers Function Room at NSW Parliament House, overlooking the beautiful Domain with…

4 January 2023

Sincerest Thanks To Our 2022 Sponsors

Events like our recent Rome Comes To Lebanon Gala Event require a multitude of support. It would not be possible to host such a function without the generous donations of our corporate sponsors, raffle prize donations, and flower sponsors.
The WLCU Sydney is extremely grateful for the generosity and support of our fantastic Sponsors, and we ask that you utilise their wonderful services when possible

World Lebanese Cultural Union
of Sydney Incorporated

INGO Associated with the DPI-UN
Accredited with ECOSOC