Bejjeh ( ar, بجه), is a 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 Leb ...

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 ...

. It is 54 kilometers 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 ...

. Bejjeh has an average elevation of 560 meters above sea level and a total land area of 502

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. There were four companies with more than five employees operating in the village as of 2008. Its inhabitants are predominantly

Maronite Catholic The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. The current head of the Mar ...

s. This village is of great historical value for the Maronite community. After centuries of exile in the Qadisha Valley, the Maronites decided to take back their land. They chose to settle in Bejjeh first, before they continue their expansion over the whole Mount-Lebanon and the current Lebanese territory. Multiple Maronite families passed through Bejjeh at some point of their History, hence the famous Lebanese saying « Bejjeh and Maad are the two thirds of the country» (بجة ومعاد ثلثين البلاد). Bejjeh is known for its seven emblematic hills and its ten beautiful churches. It has the finest olive oil and arak, and delicious figs and grapes. « The two thirds of the country » (ثلثين البلاد), « the center of the world » (نص الكون), « heart of the mountain » (قلب الجبل) are some of the most renown slogans of the village, mainly expressing the pride of its inhabitants.

References

Populated places in Byblos District Maronite Christian communities in Lebanon {{Lebanon-geo-stub