Laqlouq ( ar, لقلوق), also spelled ''Laklouk'' and also known as ′Arab Laqlouq ( ar, عرب القلوق) is a small mountainous village in mountainous area in the

Byblos District 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'') of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of L ...

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 ...

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 located 69 kilometers northeast 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 ...

. Laqlouq has an average elevation of 1,780 meters above sea level and a total land area of 210

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

s. Most of the inhabitants are

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...

s, in contrast to the majority of Byblos District's population, which is largely

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 ...

with a significant

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.Laqlouq
''Localiban''. Localiban. 2007-04-28.

History

Laqlouq was founded in the 18th century by

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

s who are known today as ''′Arab al-Laqlouq''. Their presence dates back to the era of Emir

Bashir Shihab II Emir Bashir Shihab II () (also spelled "Bachir Chehab II"; 2 January 1767–1850) was a Lebanese emir who ruled Ottoman Lebanon in the first half of the 19th century. Born to a branch of the Shihab family which had converted from Sunni Islam, t ...

, who granted the village residents their lands and who vacationed there in the summer months. The original residents are generally poorer than the newer arrivals who immigrated to the village from nearby areas. Laqlouq Mountain 2016

Visitors to Laqlouq in 1957 reported having a disturbed night whilst camping near the village due to gunfire and explosions as the district celebrated the release from prison of local land owner Sheikh Georges Beg Yussef. He had been sentenced to life in prison in Cairo for drug smuggling. His release was secured by local politician

Hamid Beik Frangieh Hamid Frangieh (6 August 1907 – 5 September 1981) was a Lebanese member of the Parliament of Lebanon and held numerous ministerial positions in the Lebanese government. He was one of the Maronite leaders of Lebanon. Early life Hamid was b ...

who had personally lobbied Egyptian President

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...

on Yussef's behalf. Izzard, Ralph and Molly (1959) ''Smelling the Breezes. A journey through the High Lebanon.'' The Travel Book Club ( by arrangement with Hodder and Stoughton Ltd.) p. 61 Today, most of Laqlouq's working inhabitants are employed in trade in the coastal cities of Beirut or

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

, while local livestock owners graze their herds in the coastal rural areas. The village's main economic sector is agriculture, but its harvests are seasonally dependent, namely during the summer and fall, which is why most working residents are employed outside the village during the rest of the year. The main crops are apples, plums and vegetables.

Local government

Laqlouq's municipal council consisting of nine members, headed by a chairman, who was Ahmad Khodr as of 2007. It also is administered by a village council, which has three members led by a mayor, who was Hasan Salim as of 2007. The village council of Salim was elected in 1998. With the exception of a locally funded summer school, there are no educational institutions in the village, whose municipal projects have been hindered due to a lack of revenue.

References

{{Byblos District Populated places in Byblos District Sunni Muslim communities in Lebanon Geography of Lebanon Ski areas and resorts in Lebanon Sport in Lebanon