Scientists, philosophers, thinkers, poets, and writers are the elite of any society since they are minerates who guide their people to safety and peace.They are the conscience of nations that foresees the future and creates a suitable fertile atmosphere to the coming generations who are really in need to leadership.
Lebanon has had lots of these great people who led the torch of culture in the Arab World during the Ottoman Period.Baalbeck has had its share of these figures . He is one of the poets who contributed to the revival of the Arabic Literature after the "dark age" that the Arab World was going through tough times, hunger, illiteracy and underdevelopment. He took part in establishing the Literary Association which was led by Gibran Khalil Gibran, Micha'eel Naimeh, Ammen Rihani and other great Lebanese names. He was a lover of freedom and he used his pen as a means to resist oppression and tyranny. He was born in Baalbeck in 1871 to a middle-class family. He studied at schools in Zahle and Beirut where he learned French language. After that, he bagan writing poetry against the Ottoman authorities. One night in 1890, the poet came back to his room to find that his bed was shot by the spies of Ottoman Sultan thinking that he was in his bed. As a result of this, he left Lebanon and travelled to Paris where he met the members of Association of Young Turks which was working against the Sultan Abedel Hameed .After that, he travelled to Chili where he learned Spanish. In 1900, he went to Cairo and established the Egyptian Magazine that was so popular in Egypt. In 1904, he quit jounalism and gave all his time to literature and writing poetry. The Scientist Ghassan Qanso
Another genius that Baalbeck is proud of Dr. Ghassan Qanso who left his fingerprints on many scientific domains mainly chemistry.
This scientist was born in Baalbeck in 1935. He was the first in all the stages of his life; at school and university. In 1957, he travelled to Yogslavia where he had a BS in Petroleum Engineering, a PhD in Industrial Engineering Chemistry in 1965, PhD in Economic Science and in Chemical Sciences. It is worthy to mention that Dr. Ghassan finished these degrees in only eleven years which other students need twenty-eight years.
He got many medals, prizes and awards in his life in Lebanon, Yugoslavia, Russia, Britain and The Arab League. The main ones were from the Lebanese President, Yugoslavian president and Cambridge University.
Dr. Ghassan Qanso spoke six languages.
