Dhour El Choueir

Dhour El Choueir
ضهور الشوير
City
Dhour El Choueir road - 1947
Dhour El Choueir road - 1947
Map showing the location of Dhour El Shuwayr within Lebanon
Map showing the location of Dhour El Shuwayr within Lebanon
Dhour El Choueir
Location within Lebanon
Coordinates: 33°54′43.32″N 35°42′32.54″E / 33.9120333°N 35.7090389°E / 33.9120333; 35.7090389
Country Lebanon
GovernorateMount Lebanon Governorate
DistrictMatn District
Elevation
1,200 m (3,900 ft)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Dialing code+961

Dhour El Choueir (Arabic: ضهور الشوير), sometimes Dhour Shweir, is a mountain town in Lebanon ('dhour' meaning 'summit, top [of a mountain]') located in the Matn District. It lies slightly north of the main Beirut - Damascus highway, overlooking the city of Beirut and the Mediterranean sea, some 30 km from Beirut and 42 km from Beirut International Airport in Khalde. This mountain town is one of Mount Lebanon's favored summer resorts, known for its extraordinary fresh air and is also important for its August yearly carnival, honoring Lebanon's emigrants. It is linked to Beirut via the Matn Express Highway, also known as the M90 through Baabdat.

Demographics

The inhabitants of Dhour El-Choueir are predominantly Christians, with half of the population being Eastern Orthodox, while the other half is mostly Melkite and Maronite.

History

The Greek Catholic monk Abdallah Zakher set up an Arabic language printing press using movable type at the monastery of Saint John at Choueir, the first homemade press in Lebanon. He personally cut the type molds and did the founding of the elegant typeface. He created the first true Arabic script type in the Middle East. The first book off the Zakhir press was printed in 1734; this press continued to be used until 1899.[1]

The town was on the front line during the Lebanese Civil War from 1975 to 1990.

Education

  • Dhour Shweir Public Secondary School

Notable people

  • Antun Saadeh, the founder and historical leader of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP)[2]
  • Tanios Bou-Nader Khneisser, the father of the Sword & Shield Folkloric Dance.
  • Jafet/Yafeth family (Naameh, Chedid, Benjamin Yafeth) family of local aristocracy who immigrated to Brazil towards the end of the 19th century and became business tycoons of that country.
  • Abraham Rihbany (1869-1944), a writer on politics and religion.
  • Khalil Hawi (1919-1982) was one of the most famous Lebanese poets of the 20th century.
  • Asad Rustum (4 June 1897 - 23 June 1965) a Lebanese historian, academic and writer.
  • Salwa Nassar (1913 — February 17, 1967) was a Lebanese nuclear physicist and college administrator
  • The family of Edward Said (1935-2003) regularly vacationed in the resort, and Said was married there (1962).[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Saudi Aramco World : Arabic and the Art of Printing: A Special Section". Archived from the original on 2006-12-29. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
  2. ^ "Naharnet Newsdesk - SSNP Unveils Saadeh's Sculpture 54Years after his Firing Squad Execution". www.naharnet.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27.
  3. ^ Brennan, Timothy. Places of Mind: A Life of Edward Said (2021).


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