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 A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...

'') of the

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 B ...

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 Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

. It is located to the northeast of Lebanon's capital

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 capital is

Byblos Byblos ( ; gr, Βύβλος), also known as Jbeil or Jubayl ( ar, جُبَيْل, Jubayl, locally ; phn, 𐤂𐤁𐤋, , probably ), is a city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. It is believed to have been first occupied between 8 ...

. The rivers of al-Madfoun and Nahr Ibrahim form the district's natural northern and southern borders respectively, with the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

bordering it from the west and Mount Lebanon from the east, separating it from the adjacent district of Baalbek in the Beqaa Valley. Afka From qartaba, Lebanon

Demographics

The district's population is 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 ...

, followed by 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 community. The largest towns of the district are predominantly inhabited by Maronites; they are

, Qartaba, Aqoura and

Amsheet Amsheet (, '; also spelled Amchit) is a seaside town and municipality in the Byblos District of Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, Lebanon, about 40 km north of Beirut. The town's average elevation is 140 meters above sea level and its total land ...

. Most Shia Muslims live in the valley of the Ibrahim River, particularly in the villages of Almat, Ras Osta,

Hjoula Hjoula ( ar, حجولا) is a municipality in the Byblos District of Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, Lebanon. It is 70 kilometers north of Beirut. Hjoula has an elevation of between 920 and 1,100 meters above sea level. Hjoula has a total land area o ...

, Bichtlida, Lassa, and Mazraat es-Siyad. A

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

minority forms part of the population and is spread among several villages know locally as ''qornet el-roum'' (the corner of the Greek Orthodox). The villages that make up ''qournet el-roum'' are Mounsef, Jeddayel, Helwe, Berbara, Gharzouz, Rihanneh and Chikhane. Byblos District has three seats allocated to it in the Lebanese Parliament. Two of these seats are allocated to Maronite Catholics, while the other seat is allocated to Shia Muslims. As of 2009, the religious make-up of the Byblos District's 75,584 voters were roughly 80% Maronite Catholic, 5% Shia Muslim and 5%

Landmarks and sights

The Byblos District rises from 0 to 2,300 meters above sea level in the north. "Jabal el-Mnaitra" is also in the district, and said to have an altitude of 2,911/2,807 meters above sea level, but this isn't confirmed. Moreover, The District hosts a number of significant sites. The capital

is an important historical and archaeological site boasting Phoenician, Roman, and Crusader ruins. The mountain village of Aannaya hosts the Saint Maroun-Aannaya monastery and the Catholic shrine of

Saint Charbel Charbel Makhlouf, O.L.M. ( ar, شربل مخلوف, May 8, 1828 – December 24, 1898), born Youssef Antoun Makhlouf and venerated as Saint Charbel, was a Maronite monk and priest from Lebanon. During his life, he obtained a wide reputation for ...

(1828-1898), the first Lebanese saint (officially canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1977), both significant religious Maronite Christian holy sites. The village of Laqlouq, which has an altitude of 1,750 meters to 2,000 meters, is a ski resort. The village of

Afqa Afqa ( ar, افقا; also spelled ''Afka'') is a village and municipality located in the Byblos District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, northeast of Beirut in Lebanon. It has an average elevation of 1,200 meters above sea level and a total ...

contains the Afqa grotto, which is the source of the Nahr Ibrahim, also known as the Adonis River. The village of Bentaël (also spelled Bintaael) contains the first protected area in Lebanon, established in 1981. The village of Jaj hosts surviving

cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

trees from the ancient cedar forests from which cedar wood was exported to Egypt and later to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. The village Chikhane is considered the birthplace of the first Russian school in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

, believed to have been established during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The village of Hjoula is among the very rare villages in Lebanon to contain fossilized sea animals in it, along the village of Haqel. Byblos District also has a notable beach life with many public and private resorts existing along the seaside.

Towns and villages

* Aabaydat * Almat el-Chmaliyeh * Almat el-Jnoubiyeh *

* Annaya * Aqoura * Adonis *

* Ain ed-Delbeh * Ain el-Ghouaybeh * Ain Jrain * Ain Kfaa * Bazyoun * Bchilleh * Beer el-Hit * Behdidat * Bejjeh * Bekhaaz * Berbara * Beithabbak * Bichtlida * Bentaël * Birket Hjoula * Blat * Boulhos * Brayj *

* Chatine * Chikhane * Chmout * Edde * Ehmej * Fatreh * Ferhet * Fghal * Fidar *

Ghabat Ghabat (or Al-Ghabat) is a village in Lebanon located in the Jurd area of the district of Byblos in the Mount Lebanon region, about 74 kilometres northeast of Beirut. Its inhabitants are predominantly Maronite Catholics. Al Ghabat has a dry-summe ...

* Ghalboun * Gharzouz * Ghorfine * Habil * Halat * Haqel * Hay el-Arabeh * Hbaline * Hboub * Hdayneh *

* Hosrayel * Hsarat * Hsoun * Jaj * Janneh * Jeddayel * Jenjol * Jlisseh * Jouret El Qattine * Kafr * Kfar Baal * Kfar Hitta * Kfar Kiddeh * Kfar Masshoun * Kfar Qouas * Kfoun * Laqlouq * Lassa * Lehfed * Maad * Majdel * Marj * Mastita * Mayfouq * Mazarib * Mazraat es-Siyad *

Mechane A mechane (; el, μηχανή, ''mēkhanḗ'') or machine was a crane used in Greek theatre, especially in the 5th and 4th centuries BC. Made of wooden beams and pulley systems, the device was used to lift an actor into the air, usually represen ...

* Mghayreh * Mish Mish * Mounsef * Nahr Ibrahim * Qahmez * Qartaba * Qartaboun * Qorqraiya * Ram * Ramout * Ras Osta * Rihaneh * Seraaita * Souaneh * Tartej * Tourzaiya * Yanouh * Zebdine

References

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