Qantara (قنطرة ) is a village in the

Marjeyoun District The Marjeyoun District is a district in the Nabatieh Governorate of Lebanon. The capital of the district is Marjeyoun. Marjeyoun Marjayoun ( ar, مرج عيون: Lebanese pronunciation), also Marj 'Ayoun, Marjuyun or Marjeyoun (lit. "meadow o ...

in southern

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 ...

Name

According to

E. H. Palmer Edward Henry Palmer (7 August 184010 August 1882), known as E. H. Palmer, was an England, English oriental studies, orientalist and explorer. Biography Youth and education Palmer was born in Green Street, Cambridge the son of a private schoo ...

, the name ''El Kantarah'' means "the arch", ''qantara'' ( ar, قنطرة) also being used in Arabic to denote a bridge built of stone or masonry, an aqueduct or a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

, and a high building.

History

In 1875

Victor Guérin Victor Guérin (15 September 1821 – 21 Septembe 1890) was a French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included Greece, Asia Mino ...

found that the village had 150

Metawileh Lebanese Shia Muslims ( ar, المسلمون الشيعة اللبنانيين), historically known as ''matāwila'' ( ar, متاولة, plural of ''mutawālin'' ebanese pronounced as ''metouali'' refers to Lebanese people who are adherents ...

inhabitants. He further remarked: "The mosque is built of hewn stones of apparent antiquity. Its door is surmounted by a

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...

belonging to an ancient Christian church, in the midst of which can be made out a cross with equal branches enclosed in a circle." In 1881, the PEF's ''Survey of Western Palestine'' (SWP) described it: "A village, built of stone, containing about 250 .

, situated on an isolated and conspicuous hill, and surrounded by gardens, olives, and figs. There are two perennial springs a little to the south of the village." On 24 August 1994 two members of

Hizbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's paramili ...

were killed in Qantara in clashes with the

South Lebanon Army The South Lebanon Army or South Lebanese Army (SLA; ar, جيش لبنان الجنوبي, Jayš Lubnān al-Janūbiyy), also known as the Lahad Army ( ar, جيش لحد, label=none) and referred to as the De Facto Forces (DFF) by the United Nat ...

.Middle East International No 484, 23 September 1994, Publishers Lord Mayhew, Dennis Walters MP; August chronology p.14

References

Bibliography

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External links

Qantara (Marjaayoun)
Localiban *Survey of Western Palestine, Map 2
IAAWikimedia commons
{{Marjeyoun District Populated places in Marjeyoun District Shia Muslim communities in Lebanon