Niha ( ar, نيحا ) is a town 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 ...

which belongs to

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 ...

of Lebanon. The town is 44 miles 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 ...

and it has about 3,750 hectares; there are 6,500 inhabitants of

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...

and

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. However, there are only two public schools in the city. It is famous because of its olive groves and its grapes, apples, plums and almonds production. Its tourist attractions are The church of

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...

, El Qa'ah Spring, The prophet

Job Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...

tomb and Niha's Castle. Like all Lebanon's corners, Niha owns a cultural or historical richness that dwells in the heritage of the country. Lebanese singer

Wadih El Safi Wadih El Safi ( ar, وديع الصافي, born Wadih Francis; November 1, 1921 – October 11, 2013) was a Lebanese singer, songwriter, composer and actor. He was a Lebanese icon and the forefather of the country's musical culture. He was the ...

was born in Niha. The population speaks

Lebanese Arabic Lebanese Arabic ( ar, عَرَبِيّ لُبْنَانِيّ ; autonym: ), or simply Lebanese ( ar, لُبْنَانِيّ ; autonym: ), is a Varieties of Arabic, variety of North Levantine Arabic, indigenous to and spoken primarily in Lebano ...

Etymology

The name Niha is used by four Lebanese cities: Niha, Zahlé; Niha,

Batroun Batroun ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرُون '; Syriac script: ܒܬܪܘܢ ') is a coastal city in northern Lebanon and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is the capital city of Batroun District. Etymology The name ''Batr ...

; Niha, Tyre and Niha,

. The word neeha is

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

and denotes to the place the character of calm, peaceful.

History

It is believed that Niha is the place where biblical prophet Job lived temporarily during the period before and through his healing miracle. Thus there is a relatively modern structure located in a hill overlooking Niha town in the

that is supposed to be the burial site of the prophet

and the site in which he performed his renowned miracle. The domed shrine of Job with arched courtyards and terraces constitutes most of the site, surrounded by a small cave and mountainous landscapes and green woods. Moreover, Niha is one of the most known destinations in the area, with many caves, both natural and man-made. One among them, a cave-fortress that was cut into a cliff during the

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...

s between 1165 and 1260, is named Niha's Castle or Shakif Tiron. According to the popular tale prince Fakhreddine El Ma'ani II hid there when hiding from 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, ...

in 1635. However, the accurate historic version links these events to prince's father Korkomaz during 1584. In 1776, Ali al-Zahir, a nephew of

Zahir al-Umar Zahir al-Umar al-Zaydani, alternatively spelled Daher al-Omar or Dahir al-Umar ( ar, ظاهر العمر الزيداني, translit=Ẓāhir al-ʿUmar az-Zaydānī, 1689/90 – 21 or 22 August 1775) was the autonomous Arab ruler of northern Ottom ...

, was expelled from his strong-hold of

Deir Hanna Deir Hanna ( ar, دير حنا, he, דֵיר חַנָּא) is a local council in the Northern District of Israel, located on the hills of the Lower Galilee, southeast of Acre. In it had a population of . Approximately 90% of Deir Hanna's inha ...

Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha or Hasan Pasha of Algiers (1713 – 19 March 1790) was an Ottoman Grand Admiral (Kapudan Pasha) (1770–90), Grand Vizier (1790), and general in the late 18th century. Primary life He is known to have been brought u ...

. After this, Ali al-Zahir took refuge in Niha. In 1838,

Eli Smith Eli Smith (born September 13, 1801, in Northford, Connecticut, to Eli and Polly (Whitney) Smith, and died January 11, 1857, in Beirut, Lebanon) was an American Protestant missionary and scholar. He graduated from Yale College in 1821 and from Andov ...

noted ''Niha'' as a village, part of ''Esh-Shuf el-Haity'', located in ''Aklim esh-Shuf'', north of

Jezzin 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 ...

.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p
189
/ref>

Tourist attractions

* Druze Prophet

shrine مقام النبي أيوب * Niha's Castle قلعة نيحا *

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

church كنيسة مار جرجس *

church كنيسة مار يوسف * Mysterious sarcophagus نواويس * El Qa'ah Spring عين القاعة

References

Bibliography

* Debenham, Frank (1972). "El Atlas de nuestro tiempo", The Reader's Digest Association Limited, London, 241 * *

External links

Page of Niha in Localiban
(in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, French and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, 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 ...

)
About Niha
(in

)
Some cities in the Chouf including Niha
(in

) {{Chouf District Populated places in Chouf District Druze communities in Lebanon Maronite Christian communities in Lebanon