Amsheet (, '; also spelled Amchit) is a seaside town and municipality in the
Byblos District
Byblos District ( ar, قضاء جبيل; transliteration: ''Qadaa' Jbeil''), also called the Jbeil District (''Jbeil'' is Lebanese Arabic for "Byblos"; standard Arabic ''Jubail''), is a district ('' qadaa'') of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of L ...
of
Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate
Keserwan-Jbeil ( ar, كسروان - جبيل) is the most recently created governorate of Lebanon. It consists of the districts of Jbeil and Keserwan. Keserwan-Jbeil covers an area of and is bounded by the North Governorate to the north, the ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
, about 40 km north of
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
. The town's average elevation is 140 meters above sea level and its total land area is 595
hectare
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...
s.
Its inhabitants are predominantly
Maronites
The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the largest ...
, although there is a
Shia Muslim
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...
minority.
There are many old churches in Amsheet (more than a hundred and some old synagogues.) Amsheet is found in Phoenician papyrus and parchment, where it is repeatedly referred to as the "promised land" or capital of the known world.
Sitt Samira - Samira El Khoury Aouad - a mother of 3 and a house wife, widowed in 2002, and a Scrabble aficionada, became a Net zero trendsetter in a 40.000 populated village in Amchit Lebanon, by shifting her life style from a heavy Smoker at the age of 80, to caring for the environment not just by quitting smoking overnight but by being the first to install a photovoltaic system relieving her from burning diesel fuel for power generation! During her interview on November 23rd 2022, she highlighted her freedom of breathing but also her freedom from all these undesirable power bills her neighbors and other family members are understatingly bearing.
At the age of 86 she said: “it is not too late to shift to green energy for a smarter living”
Demographics
Amsheet's population is around 25,000. The majority of the inhabitants are
Maronite Christians
The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the largest ...
. However, there is a significant
Shia Muslim
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...
minority, who largely moved to Amsheet from predominantly Shia villages in the nearby mountains. Most Shia in Amsheet live in the Kfar Saleh neighborhood.
Economy
There are 29 companies in Amsheet that employ at least five people. With the largest one being IPT Group.
Amsheet is known for its baskets and mats woven from palm leaves. Olive and citrus fruits are the main agricultural products of the town.
Education
There are two public schools with a total of 966 students in 2006 and three private schools with a total of 1,099 students in Amsheet.
Schools in the town include:
*
Lycee Amchit
Lycee Amchit is a private school that provides kindergarten, primary, complementary and secondary teaching. The main campus is located in the town of Amsheet, Lebanon. It covers an area of 10,000 square metres.
History
The School was founded ...
, a private school that provides kindergarten through to secondary education, that was established in 1977.
Landmarks
The house of Zakhia family where
Ernest Renan
Joseph Ernest Renan (; 27 February 18232 October 1892) was a French Orientalist and Semitic scholar, expert of Semitic languages and civilizations, historian of religion, philologist, philosopher, biblical scholar, and critic. He wrote influe ...
stayed, the French philosopher who lived in Amsheet for a long period in the 19th century, can be visited, as can the tomb of his sister who was buried at St. Marie Church in the Zakhia family Cemetery.Also the house of Raphael Lahoud built in 1838, Gabriel Lahoud and Michel Lahoud.The oldest school in Lebanon of Adib Lahoud.
The Church of Saint George was built on an ancient temple and the altar has both Greek and Arabic inscriptions.
Tourism @ Lebanon.com
/ref>
The adjoining churches of Saint Sophie and Saint Stephen retain their ancient vaulted porches and wall paintings. The churches were built on the remains of a Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
temple.
The Church of Saint Nicholas (Mar Zakhia) has medieval wall paintings and was built in the 5th century.
Tourism
The town is home to Lebanon's only organized coastal campsite, "Camping Les Colombes", a place with a history since its beginning in the 1950s. Amchit is also known for its delicious seafood restaurants located on all the coast. The most popular ones are Faras El Baher, Chez Zakhia, Mhanna Sur Mer, Le Cap, Babel Bahr.
Environmental issues
See Oil pollution from ships in Amchit.
Notable residents
*Michel Suleiman
Michel Suleiman ( ar, ميشال سليمان ; born 21 November 1948) is a Lebanese Maronite Christian politician who served as President of Lebanon from 2008 to 2014. Before becoming president, he served as commander of the Lebanese Armed Forc ...
- Former President of the Lebanese Republic
*Charbel Rouhana
Charbel Rouhana ( ar, شربل روحانا) is a Lebanese oud player. Born in 1965 in Amsheet, a town north of Beirut, Charbel pursued his music education at the Université Saint-Esprit de Kaslik, obtaining his diploma in oud instrumentation i ...
- singer, composer
*Marcel Khalife
Marcel Khalifé ( ar, مرسيل خليفة; born 10 June 1950 in Amchit) is a Palestinian- Lebanese musical composer, singer, and oud player.
Biography
In 1983, Paredon Records (later acquired by Smithsonian Folkways) released ''Promises ...
- singer, composer
* Aline Lahoud - singer and actress
*Elsa Zgheib
Elsa Zgheib ( ar, إلسا زغيب) is a Lebanese actress, born on February 1, 1981, in Amsheet, Lebanon.
Early life
Elsa studied and graduated high school at Saint Coeur, Byblos, in 1998, and then studied theater in the Lebanese University and ...
- Actress
* Salwa Al Katrib - stage actress and singer
*Marwan Khoury
Marwan Khoury ( ar, مروان خوري; born February 3, 1968) is a Lebanese singer, writer, composer and music arranger. He has composed hits for artists such as Majida El Roumi, Saber Rebaï, Nawal Al Zoghbi, Assala Nasri, Najwa Karam, Fa ...
- Singer and composer
* 'Afifa Karam - Novelist and journalist
*Sabah Khoury
Sabah Khoury (born November 10, 1982) is a former Lebanese basketball player who plays as a shooting guard for Sagesse Club in the Lebanese Basketball League (LBL). He formerly played for Champville Club, Amchit Club and Al Mouttahed Tripoli ...
- Basketball player
*Tony Issa
Antoine "Tony" Issa OAM (born 14 August 1955 in Lebanon), an Australian politician, was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Granville for the Liberal Party from 2011 until the 2015 election when he lost the sea ...
- Actor
* Lama Saker- Princess,
* Michel Matta - Writer and journalist
References
{{Byblos District
Populated places in Byblos District
Maronite Christian communities in Lebanon
Shia Muslim communities in Lebanon
Christian cities in Lebanon
Tourist attractions in Lebanon