Damascus is only a two-hour drive from Beirut. Don't even think about renting a car. In Biblos, stay at the Biblos Sur Mer, with its restaurant beside the sea, pool and sea- view rooms. Because of the proximity of its mountains, there is always another season out of the back door. In summer, for example, wealthy Lebanese traditionally take to the hills.
Skiing is also a big deal for the Middle East.
Qornet es Saouda, at about 3,000 metres, is the peakiest mountain in the Middle East, carpeted in thick snow for several weeks and equipped with T-bars and chair lifts. But, aside from ski nuts who want to notch up somewhere different, I can't see it catching on with British winter sporters. Explore the city, including the National Museum. Many of its exhibits during the war were embalmed in concrete to protect them from looters. Overnight in Bcharre and visit the few remaining cedars - the Phoenicians built their boats from them, and the Ancient Egyptians used their resin to embalm the pharaohs.