evidence: Recently, Lebanese were reintroduced to Qasr via the talk about smuggling to Syria, as though it were a new phenomenon. In reality, smuggling has been one of the most important sources of income in the area since the two countries separated. Qasr is one of the areas along the border line extending from Dabousieh and Arida in North Lebanon to Deir el-Aachayer in western Beqaa, passing through Hawsh al-Sayyid Ali, Mushrifah, Aarsal, Ham, Maarboun, Masnaa, and other areas. In these areas, border commerce – as their people prefer to call smuggling – has been active ever since the Sykes–-Picot Agreement drew the current border between the two countries.