About the ASL logo
The shape of the ASL logo is modeled after the classical shape of an ancient Lebanese (Canaanite) ship developed and used by the ancient inhabitants of modern-day Lebanon to explore the Mediterranean and export their wares and, proverbially, the first alphabet. The design is based on a bas-relief of a Canaanite ship (shown below) at the National Museum of Beirut. The video below shows the ASL logo superimposed on the image of this bas-relief.
The ship-like shape of the logo symbolizes exploration and industry, which, respectively reflect the themes of science and technology that the ASL embodies.
The decorative Arabic calligraphy on top of the logo is made of two words: "3ouloum" (Sciences) and "Loubnan" (Lebanon), written with mirror-image symmetry in the Kufic Arabic script. Kufic is the oldest of the Arabic calligraphic scripts and consists of a modified form of the old Nabatean script. It is widely believed that the first copies of the Qur'an were written in the Kufic script.The calligraphic inscription reflects Lebanon's Arabic heritage and provides a symbolic connection to the great Arab scientific tradition, many of whose treatises were decorated with calligraphy in the Kufic script.
The bottom hull of the ship-like logo is outlined with the name of the academy in French "ACADÉMIE DES SCIENCES DU LIBAN", in tribute to the ASL having its roots in the French Academy of Sciences.The Cedrus Libani in the center of the logo is, of course, the national symbol of Lebanon.
