Background right|thumb|Baskinta, next to the village of Machrah where Maalouf's father came from. Maalouf was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and grew up in the Badaro cosmopolitan neighbourhood,Battah, Habib. 11 November 2012. "Amin Maalouf: a writer’s bedroom." Beirut Report. the second of four children. His parents had different cultural backgrounds. His father was a Melkite Catholic of the village of Machrah, near Baskinta in Ain el Qabou. His mother, Odette Ghossein, is Lebanese from the Metn Village of Ain el Kabou, and of Turkish descent. She was born in Egypt and lived there for many years before coming back to Lebanon; she lived in France until her passing in 2021 at the age of 100 years.
Background right|thumb|Baskinta, next to the village of Machrah where Maalouf's father came from. Maalouf was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and grew up in the Badaro cosmopolitan neighbourhood,Battah, Habib 11 November 2012. "Amin Maalouf: a writer’s bedroom." Beirut Report. the second of four children. His parents had different cultural backgrounds. His father was a Melkite Catholic of the village of Machrah, near Baskinta in Ain el Qabou. His mother, Odette Ghossein, is Lebanese from the Metn Village of Ain el Kabou and of Turkish descent. She was born in Egypt and lived there for many years before coming back to Lebanon; she lived in France until her passing in 2021 at the age of 100 years.