Niha ( ar, نيحا ) is a town in the Chouf 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 was born in Niha. The population speaks Lebanese Arabic.

Etymology

The name Niha is used by four Lebanese cities:

Niha, Zahlé Niha ( ar, نيحا ) is a village in the Bekaa Valley about 1 north of Zahlé. It is famous for its Roman archeological ruins in the outskirts, and in particular two lower Roman temples that date back to the 1st century AD. Etymology The name N ...

; Niha, Batroun; Niha, Tyre and Niha, Chouf. The word neeha is Syriac 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 Chouf 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 The Fortress of Niha (also called ''Cave of Tyron'' in Frankish sources and ''Chquif Tayroun'' in Arabic sources) is an ancient fortress in Lebanon, which has been first mentioned in 975 AD. It is located in the municipality of Niha Chouf in Leba ...

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, was expelled from his strong-hold of Deir Hanna by Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha. 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 *

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 French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

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