Joun (also Joon, Djoun in Phoenician, ar, جون) is a Lebanese village sitting on seven hills in the

Chouf Chouf (also spelled Shouf, Shuf or Chuf, in ''Jabal ash-Shouf''; french: La Montagne du Chouf) is a historic region of Lebanon, as well as an administrative district in the governorate (muhafazat) of Mount Lebanon. Geography Located south-east ...

( ar, قضاء الشوف) district 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 ...

at a distance of 13 kilometers from the city of

Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...

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 ...

. Joun means "the corner" in Aramaic, and it is located in between

and

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 ...

, forming a corner shape. Joun is a village of approximately 7,400 inhabitants, who are mainly

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 ...

Shiite 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 ...

, 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

Joun is an old village located above the temple of the

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

n god

Eshmun Eshmun (or Eshmoun, less accurately Esmun or Esmoun; phn, 𐤀𐤔𐤌𐤍 '; akk, 𒅀𒋢𒈬𒉡 ''Yasumunu'') was a Phoenician god of healing and the tutelary god of Sidon. History This god was known at least from the Iron Age period at S ...

near the city of

. In 1887, the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

appointed the first commission of Joun. The members were: Gerges Chamy, Mitri Mousawbaa, Assaad Khoriaty, Mikhael Nab’aa, Youssef Gebran Khoury (

Greek Catholics 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 ...

); Hossein Chamseddine, Hossein Saleh (

Shiites 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 n ...

); Ibrahim Youness, Youssef Estefan (

Maronites 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 largest ...

); and Youssef Koussa (

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

). Their tasks were to take care of the land of Joun and regulate the environment and day-to-day work, such as

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

life and water, and also to supervise the local security. By 1898, the commission had its own logo, and each member had his own stamp, used it to sign official statements. In 1903, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

enacted a law which mandated that municipality members should be elected instead of recruited. Since then, Joun has had elected officials who both take care of local matters and supervise the relationship with the national authority.

Notable people

Lady Hester Stanhope Lady Hester Lucy Stanhope (12 March 1776 – 23 June 1839) was a British aristocrat, adventurer, antiquarian, and one of the most famous travellers of her age. Her archaeological excavation of Ashkelon in 1815 is considered the first to ...

, British antiquarian and explorer (1776–1839) *

Nasri Shamseddine Nasri Shamseddine ( ar, نصري شمس الدين, also spelled Nasri Chamseddine; 27 June 1927 – 18 March 1983) was a Lebanese singer and actor. Biography Shamseddine was born Nasreddine Moustapha Shamesedine () in the village of Joun, in th ...

, singer and actor * Hassan Alaa Eddin, comedy theatre actor, producer, director *

Ali Chamseddine Ali H. Chamseddine ( ar, علي شمس الدين, link=no, born 20 February 1953) is a Lebanese physicist known for his contributions to particle physics, general relativity and mathematical physics. , Chamseddine is a physics Professor at t ...

, physicist

Joun today

Joun has three churches and one mosque. It also has four schools, two public and two private. Joun is a village rich in

olive trees The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'M ...

and

grapes A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago ...

and is known for its

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...

and

soap Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are use ...

production.

Geography

Monastery Saint Savior

Monastery of the Savior ( ar, دير المخلص) of the

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 ...

Basilian Salvatorian Order , abbreviation = BS , nickname = Salvatorian Fathers , formation = , founder = Archbishop Euthymios Michael Saifi , founding_location = Saida, Lebanon , type = Monastic order of pontifical rig ...

was built in the early

18th century The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 ( MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 ( MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. During the century, slave trad ...

on a hill covered with pine and olive trees and grape vines and is located in the east side of Joun, and it constitutes a landmark in the Chouf district.

Lady Hester Lucy Stanhope site

This site is located on another hill to the north east side of Joun. The site is known as "Dahr El Sitt" ( ar, ضهر الست). Lady

Hester Stanhope Lady Hester Lucy Stanhope (12 March 1776 – 23 June 1839) was a British aristocrat, adventurer, antiquarian, and one of the most famous travellers of her age. Her archaeological excavation of Ashkelon in 1815 is considered the first to ...

settled until her death in the residence at the site, which is on the tip of one of the hills. She said in her memoirs, written by her longtime friend Doctor

Charles Lewis Meryon Charles Lewis Meryon (1783–1877) was an English physician and biographer. Life The son of Lewis Meryon of Rye, Sussex, from a Huguenot background, he was born on 27 June 1783. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, from 1796 to 1802. Obt ...

, that the residence has been called by the villagers "Dahr El Sitt" or "Dar El Sitt". He also said that her house on the top of the hill was shaped "like half orange". The house had a garden and a stable and other buildings for storage. He implied that she liked the house because of its strategic location: "...the house on the summit of a conical hill, whence comers and goers might be seen on every side...", noting that the road from Joon to the cities of Sidon, Beirut, and Deir El Qamar all go into lonely mountains full of

jackals Jackals are medium-sized canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word "jackal" has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-backed ...

and

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...

.Memoires of the Lady Hester Stanhope
1845

References

External links

middleeast.com
Joun profile
lebarmy.gov.lb

Localiban.org * {{Chouf District Populated places in Chouf District