I think that you probably need to go to war with the Ottoman's and obtain a high enough war score for them to cede it to you in the peace. That said, I have yet to fight any of the major countries as yet but did kick Mexico around (as France) a few years ago (in the 1850GC).
Wars can be messy things, probably not to be entered into lightly so weigh the possible prestige gained vs. the potential downside should things not proceed as planned. They often don't.
Wilsh8517 wrote:I'm France doing the 1880 campaign what would be the best way to get Beirut off the Turks with out war ?? Cause no colonial decisions work.
I'm in a war with Turkey at the moment & I can demand (in theory) Lebanon et al in a peace deal (with a war score > 220) but can't play colonial cards there, so I think this is one you would need a war for. A long hard war, that will tie down most of your army ...