Srifa

Not to be confused with it's old spelling; Serifa.
Srifa
صريفا
Village
Map showing the location of Srifa within Lebanon
Map showing the location of Srifa within Lebanon
Srifa
Location within Lebanon
Coordinates: 33°16′53″N 35°23′47″E / 33.28139°N 35.39639°E / 33.28139; 35.39639
Grid position187/298 PAL
Country Lebanon
GovernorateSouth Lebanon Governorate
DistrictTyre District
Elevation
450 m (1,480 ft)
Population
 • Total10,000
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Dialing code+961

Srifa[1] (Arabic: صريفا) is a town in Southern Lebanon, located in Tyre District, Governorate of South Lebanon. It is located 22 kilometres east of the city Tyros and 90 kilometers south of the capital Beirut. It is the birthplace of Rima Fakih, Miss USA 2010.[2]

Name

According to E. H. Palmer, the origin of the name is Sref. It has been suggested that the name means melting and purifying metals(the place of purification and smelting of metals)or it means "casting dirhams”. [3]

History

In 1875, during the late Ottoman era, Victor Guérin found here an ancient column, and a few cut stones, proving that the place was an ancient site.[4] Guérin found that the village had 150 Metawileh villagers.[5]

In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it: "A village, built of stone, containing about 200 Metawileh, it is situated on a hill, and surrounded by olives, figs, and arable land. Water from a spring; and cisterns in the village."[6]

The village was heavily bombed during the 2006 Lebanon War.[2] On July 12, the Israelis killed 4 civilians in the village,[7] while on July 19, they killed 17 Hezbollah fighters and 5 civilians.[8][9][10]

References

  1. ^ From personal name; according to Palmer, 1881, p. 32
  2. ^ a b "Miss USA from powerful Shiite family", msnbc.com, Associated Press, May 17, 2010, archived from the original on May 19, 2010, retrieved May 17, 2010
  3. ^ Daher, Al Cheick Saliman. Dictionary of Jabal Amel Village. Imam Al-Sadiq Foundation for Research in the Heritage of the Scholars of Jabal Amel. p. 408.
  4. ^ Guérin, 1880, pp. 258-259; as cited in Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. 138
  5. ^ Guérin, 1880, pp. 258-259
  6. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, pp. 93-94
  7. ^ HRW, 2007, pp. 82- 88
  8. ^ Srifa was a bustling hillside village. Then yesterday the Israeli jets came, Clancy Chassay, 20 July 2006, The Guardian
  9. ^ HRW, 2007, pp. 103-104
  10. ^ Human Rights Watch (HRW), September 2007, "Why They Died", Civilian Casualties in Lebanon during the 2006 War

Bibliography