Jernaya () is a municipality located in

South 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 ...

, on the border between the districts of

Jezzine Jezzine ( ''Jizzīn'') is a town in Lebanon, located from Sidon and south of Beirut. It is the capital of Jezzine District. Surrounded by mountain peaks, pine forests (like the Bkassine Pine Forest), and at an average altitude of 950 m (3 ...

and

Nabatiyeh Nabatieh ( ar, النبطية, links=no, ', ), or Nabatîyé (), is the city of the Nabatieh Governorate, in southern Lebanon. The population is not accurately known as no census has been taken in Lebanon since the 1930s; estimates range from ...

. Its inhabitants are primarily

Maronite Catholics 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 ...

Etymology

The name "Jernaya" is a Syriac phrase directly translated as "from the gurnaye". Gurnaye is the plural of gurna: the bark, mortar, and plunge pits in rock.. Its demonym(), transliterated as Jernaoui.

Geography

Jernaya is located 17 km from

Saida Saida may refer to: Places * Saïda, Algeria, a city in Algeria * Saïda Province, a province of Algeria * Saida, Lebanon, the Arabic name for Sidon, a city in Lebanon * Saida, a village in Helan, Mandi Bahauddin, Punjab province, Pakistan * Sai ...

, 22 km from

jezzine Jezzine ( ''Jizzīn'') is a town in Lebanon, located from Sidon and south of Beirut. It is the capital of Jezzine District. Surrounded by mountain peaks, pine forests (like the Bkassine Pine Forest), and at an average altitude of 950 m (3 ...

, and 57 km from

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 ...

. It is administratively part of the

caza Caza (), the pseudonym of Philippe Cazaumayou (; born 14 November 1941), is a French comics artist. Biography At 18, Cazaumayou started a career in advertising which lasted for ten years, but in 1970 he entered the field of bandes dessinées, ...

(Arabic: qada) of

. It is separated by a valley to the South from the governorate of

Nabatiye Nabatieh ( ar, النبطية, links=no, ', ), or Nabatîyé (), is the city of the Nabatieh Governorate, in southern Lebanon. The population is not accurately known as no census has been taken in Lebanon since the 1930s; estimates range from ...

. It has a surface area of 231 hectares. Jernaya is completely surrounded by Muslim Shia villages, except for the Maronite town of Kfar Chelal. It borders the villages of

Kfar Beit Kfar Beit (also known as كفر بيت, Kfar Beït, Kafr Bayt or Kfarbeet) is a Lebanese village in the south of Lebanon. It is close to the city of Saida. Kfar Beit has an average elevation of 374 meters or 1,227 feet. The closest airport is th ...

Kfar Melki Kfar Melki ( ar, كفر ملكي), also known as Kafrmelki or Kfarmilki, is a town in the Sidon District, South Governorate, Lebanon. It is situated 11 kilometres east of Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as S ...

, Sarba and

Kfar Fila Kfar Fila ( ar, كفرفيلا), is a town in the Nabatieh Governorate, ( ar, links=no, النبطية) al-Nabatiya, or Nabatiye southern Lebanon. It is one of the 243 towns of Nabatieh Governorate, situated at the northern region of this distric ...

. Being 460 m above sea level, Jernaya has a mild Mediterranean mountainous climate (slightly cooler than Saida). On rare occasions, snowfall can occur between the months of December to February, however it usually melts within 24 hours.

Demographics

Jernaya's inhabitants are almost exclusively

, with a

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 ...

minority. Most villagers only live in Jernaya during the summer, and have jobs in neighboring Saida or Beirut. As the Lebanese government has not conducted a census since 1932, there is no official data on the population of any Lebanese city. According to the 2017 electoral roll (which only include people aged 21+), there are 1,390 voters: * 1,358 Maronite Catholics * 32 Greek Catholics Families include: Habib, Abi Najm, Al Hayek, Awad, Al khoury, Abboud, Antoun, and more

Government

Jernaya is a municipality as defined by the Lebanese Ministry of Interior and Municipalities. The government consists of a

mukhtar A mukhtar ( ar, مختار, mukhtār, chosen one; el, μουχτάρης) is a village chief in the Levant: "an old institution that goes back to the time of the Ottoman rule". According to Amir S. Cheshin, Bill Hutman and Avi Melamed, the muk ...

and a municipal council made up of 12 members. Following the 2016 municipal elections, its members are: Jean Aboud (president), Joe Antoun, Johnny Khoury, Joseph Azar, Elias Abi-Nahm, Jean Smaan, Charbel Hayek, Jean Saouaya, Nemr Hayek, Claude Hayek, George Jabbour, and Marie Najm. Following a petition by the citizens of Jernaya, the Ministry of Agriculture published a decree stating that goats and livestock from neighboring villages are forbidden from entering the territory of the municipality (decree No. 11 on 14 March 1996). There are two voter circumscriptions in Jernaya: Public School Room No. 1 and Public School Room No. 2. They have 640 and 618 members on their electoral rolls, respectively.

2016 municipal election

Two competing lists, each made up of 12 candidates, ran for the 12 seats of the municipal council. All members of List 1 were elected. * List 1's leader: Jean Abboud (475 votes) * List 2's leader: Fady Hayek (231 votes)

Attractions

Jernaya has a full-size

basketball court In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with -high rims on each basket. Outdoor sur ...

on the Southeastern side (directly below the cemetery), and a community recreation center located on the ground floor of the municipality located downtown. There are two churches: Notre-Dame-de-Sainte-Marie (Our Lady of Saint Mary) and St. Elie chapel. The cathedral Notre-Dame-de-Jernaya (Our Lady of Jernaya) is currently under construction on the Eastern side of the village. The hotel Erzel-Jernaya () is located in the lush valley on the southern border of the village. The valley, which separates the

and South-Lebanon governorates with a river running through its trough, is completely vegetated as construction is forbidden to preserve its character. It is an ideal spot for

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

, and

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

. The municipal cemetery (of Maronite confession) is located on the Eastern side of Jernaya. It contains a

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

for the deceased, numerous tomb vaults, and the

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

of General Elie Hayek. Saint-Elie chapel is located directly at the entrance of the cemetery. A

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

and

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be u ...

complex is currently being built at the municipality's eastern border. Our lady of Jernaya, an old stone church built in 1847, located near the town square.

References

External links

Jernaya
Localiban {{Jezzine District Populated places in Jezzine District Maronite Christian communities in Lebanon