Dhour El Choueir ( ar, ضهور الشوير), sometimes Dhour Shweir, is a mountain town in Lebanon ('dhour' meaning 'summit, top f a mountain) located in the Matn District. It lies slightly north of the main

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 ...

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

highway, overlooking the city of Beirut and the Mediterranean sea, some 30 km from Beirut and 42 km from

Beirut International Airport 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 of ...

in Khalde. This mountain town is one of

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon ( ar, جَبَل لُبْنَان, ''jabal lubnān'', ; syr, ܛܘܪ ܠܒ݂ܢܢ, ', , ''ṭūr lewnōn'' french: Mont Liban) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above in elevation, with its peak at . Geography The Mount Le ...

'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

via the Matn Express Highway, also known as the M90 through

Baabdat Baabdat ( ar, بعبدات) is a town located in the Matn District of Mount Lebanon, 22 km from Beirut at an altitude ranging between 600 and 1100 meters above sea level. The lush pine forests that surround the town make it a very popular su ...

Demographics

The inhabitants of Dhour El-Choueir are predominantly Christians, with half of the population being

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

, while the other half is mostly

Melkite The term Melkite (), also written Melchite, refers to various Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in the Middle East. The term comes from the common Central Semitic Semitic root, ro ...

and

Maronite 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 larges ...

History

The

Greek Catholic The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...

monk

Abdallah Zakher Abdallah Zakher el-Shammas () (1684–1748) was a Syrian-born typographer and Catholic deacon who set up the first printing press in the Middle East. His printing press used Arabic movable type and was installed in 1733 in the motherhouse of the Ba ...

set up an

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...

using

movable type Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric characters or punctuatio ...

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. The town was on the front line during the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

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) *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 Abraham Dimitri Rihbany known as Abraham Mitrie Rihbany ( ar, أبراهام متري الرحباني; sometimes spelled ''Rahbany'') was an American theologian, philologist and historian of Greek Orthodox Lebanese people, Lebanese descent. "' ...

(1869-1944), a writer on politics and religion. *

Khalil Hawi Khalil Hawi (Arabic: خليل حاوي; Transliterated Khalīl Ḥāwī) (1919-1982) was one of the most famous Lebanese poets of the 20th century. In 1982, upon the Israeli invasion of Beirut in the midst of the Lebanese Civil War, Hawi committed ...

(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).Brennan, Timothy. ''Places of Mind: A Life of Edward Said'' (2021).

References

External links