Haret Hreik ( ar, حارة حريك) is a mixed

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

and

Maronite Christian Lebanese Maronite Christians ( ar, المسيحية المارونية في لبنان; syc, ܡܫܝܚܝ̈ܐ ܡܪ̈ܘܢܝܐ ܕܠܒܢܢ) are adherents of the Maronite Church in Lebanon, which is the largest Christian denomination in the country ...

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, in the

Dahieh Dahieh ( ar, الضاحية الجنوبية, lit=the southern suburb, french: Banlieue Sud de Beyrouth, Dâhiye de Beyrouth) is a predominantly Shia Muslim suburb, located south of Beirut, in the Baabda District of Lebanon. It is composed of sev ...

suburbs, south 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 ...

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 part of the

Baabda District Baabda District ( ar, قضاء بعبدا, transliteration: ''Qada' Baabda''), sometimes spelled ''B'abda'', is a district (''qadaa'') of Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon, to the south and east of the Lebanon's capital Beirut. The region is als ...

. Once an agricultural village, Haret Hreik lost its rural identity due to the wave of refugees from

Southern Lebanon Southern Lebanon () is the area of Lebanon comprising the South Governorate and the Nabatiye Governorate. The two entities were divided from the same province in the early 1990s. The Rashaya and Western Beqaa Districts, the southernmost distric ...

who settled in the town and made it another urban neighborhood of Dahieh. On 3 September 1985, during the

War of the Camps The War of the Camps ( ar, حرب المخيمات, ''Harb al-mukhayimat''), was a subconflict within the 1984–1990 phase of the Lebanese Civil War, in which the Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut were besieged by the Shia Amal militia. ...

, gunmen from

Amal Amal may refer to: * Amal (given name) * Åmål, a small town in Sweden * Amal Movement, a Lebanese political party ** Amal Militia, Amal Movement's defunct militia * Amal language of Papua New Guinea * Amal (film), ''Amal'' (film), 2007, directed ...

killed thirteen Palestinian civilians in Haret Hreikh. Haret Hreik is located northeast of the

Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport (Arabic: مطار رفيق الحريري الدولي بيروت, (previously known as Beirut International Airport) () is the only operational commercial airport in Lebanon, which is located in the ...

and north of the towns of Laylake and

Bourj el-Barajneh Bourj el-Barajneh ( ar, برج البراجنة, lit=Tower of Towers) is a municipality located in the southern suburbs of Beirut, in Lebanon. The municipality lies between Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport and the town of Haret Hreik ...

, west of

Hadath Al-Ḥadath al-Ḥamrā' (Arabic for "Hadath the Red") or Adata ( el, ) was a town and fortress near the Taurus Mountains (modern southeastern Turkey), which played an important role in the Byzantine–Arab Wars. Location The town was located ...

and south of

Chyah Chiyah () is situated in the west region of the Lebanese capital of Beirut and is part of Greater Beirut. Location Chiyah is located in the southwest suburbs of the capital Beirut, bordered by Haret Hreik, Ghobeiry, Hadath, Hazmiyeh, Furn-el- ...

. The town is the headquarters of the

group

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

. Israeli warplanes destroyed the headquarters and civilian homes in July 2006.

2006 Lebanon War

The area was largely destroyed during the

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

. It was estimated that close to 200 buildings were destroyed in the town during the first week of Israel's attack on Lebanon in 2006, with a total of more than 700 structures destroyed or damaged by the end of the war and thousands of civilians injured or dead, while the international community stood still. The town has since undergone significant reconstruction, replacing destroyed and damaged buildings, with minimal help from the international community, and with maximum help from Iran.

Culture and education

Haret Hreik houses Umam Documentation & Research, an organization handling extensive archive related to Lebanon's history. Umam also runs The Hangar, a contemporary arts space featuring regular events and exhibitions. The town also hosts three main libraries with millions of books. The libraries are always crowded with students, readers and researchers from different ages and backgrounds. In addition to that, two main hospitals operate in the area (Sahel General Hospital and Bahman hospital), providing services to thousands of residents. The area hosts many cultural activities on regular basis, including shopping carnivals, art contests and cultural talks.

Sport

Shabab Al Sahel FC Shabab Al Sahel Football Club ( ar, نادي شباب الساحل الرياضي, lit=Youth of Sahel Sporting Club), known as Shabab Sahel or simply Sahel, is a football club based in Haret Hreik, a district in Beirut, Lebanon, that competes i ...

, a football club playing in the , is based in Haret Hreik.

Notable people

Michel Aoun Michel Naim Aoun ( ar, ميشال نعيم عون ; born 30 September 1933) is a Lebanese politician and former military general who served as the President of Lebanon from 31 October 2016 until 30 October 2022. Born in Haret Hreik to a Mar ...

(born 1935), President of Lebanon *

Lokman Slim Lokman Mohsen Slim (; 17 July 1962 – 4 February 2021) was a Lebanese Shiite publisher, political activist and commentator, who promoted a Culture of Remembrance to cope with the many past and present conflicts of Lebanon and the whole region. ...

(1962-2021), publisher *

Samira Awad Samira Mohamad Awad ( ar, سميرة محمد عوض; born 30 June 2000) is a Lebanese footballer who plays as a winger for Lebanese club Safa. Club career Awad joined Safa in 2019; she scored 13 goals and made 11 assists in 14 games in the ...

(born 2000), footballer

References

External links

Haret Hreik
localiban
Google map of Hurat Hurayk neighborhood, Beirut, Lebanon
— Satellite photograph of the Haret Hreik neighborhood [

district],

, ''before'' the

2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

High resolution DigitalGlobe photograph of Hurat Hurayk neighborhood, Beirut, Lebanon
— Satellite photograph of the Haret Hreik neighborhood [