Azra ou el-Azr ( ar, العذرا والعذر; also spelled or simply ''Azra'') is a municipality located in the

Keserwan District Keserwan District ( ar, قضاء كسروان, transliteration: ''Qaḍā' Kisrawān'') is a district ('' qadaa'') in Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, Lebanon, to the northeast of Lebanon's capital Beirut. The capital, Jounieh, is overwhelmingly Maro ...

of the

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 B ...

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 Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

.
The municipality, which consists of the villages of Azra and el-Azr, is about north 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 ...

. It has an average elevation of 750 meters above sea level, a total land area of 113

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 ...

s and is bordered by the villages of Zaaitreh, Zeitoun, Mradiyeh,

Jouret Bedran Jouret Bedran ( ar, جورة بدران; also spelled ''Jurat Badran'') is a village and municipality located in the Keserwan District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate in Lebanon. The village is north of Beirut. It has an average elevation of ...

and

Ghbaleh Ghbaleh ( ar, غبالة, also spelled ''Ghebaleh'') is a village and municipality in the Keserwan District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate in central Lebanon. It is located 42 kilometers northeast of Beirut. Its average elevation is 890 meter ...

Feasts and festivals

Each summer, the monastery of the village organizes a four-day festival preceding the

feast of Saints Peter and Paul The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul or Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul is a liturgical feast in honor, of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June. The celebration is of ancient Christ ...

on June 29. In addition,

Saint Charbel Charbel Makhlouf, O.L.M. ( ar, شربل مخلوف, May 8, 1828 – December 24, 1898), born Youssef Antoun Makhlouf and venerated as Saint Charbel, was a Maronite monk and priest from Lebanon. During his life, he obtained a wide reputation for ...

is celebrated on the third Sunday of July, Saint Elias on July 20,

Saint Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

on August 2 and Saint Dometius on August 7.

Notable people

* Elie Chaker Kamel, first lawyer in the region * Maurice Elias Imad, first surgeon in the region * Youssef Imad, prominent historian * Maurice Kamel, writer, journalist and art critic, author of ''The Legend of the Mountain''

Etymology

The etymology of the name can be interpreted in several ways. On the one hand, some assume that the village bears the name of the Virgin, "عذراء" in Arabic, while others claim that it is named after the tree of "Ezr", once abundant in the village and its region. On the other hand, it may be of Aramaic origin, "Ezr" meaning the support, the column, or even a herd of sheep or goats.

Places of worship

The village has five places of worship at its disposal: * Monastery of Sts. Peter and Paul (inaugurated in 1854) * St. Elijah Church * St. Stephen Church * St. Dometius Church * Chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes

Activities

The infrastructure of the village is very modern and the communications are very animated. Many believers and pilgrims head to the village monastery to pray and relax spiritually.
The monastery carries out a large number of activities. School and teaching, exhibitions and concerts, conferences, prayers, social activities ... The superior of the monastery animates through his activities the whole region.
The village has a sports stadium, a football team and a basketball team, both participating in local and regional tournaments.

Demography

The village population is around 550 electors. The majority of this population is settled in Jounieh and its suburbs and treat the village as a summer destination to get away from the heat and bustle of the city.
The inhabitants of Aazra are mainly followers of the

Maronite Church The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic ''sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. Th ...

Families

The major surname in Aazra is Kamel. The majority of those who bear this name are generally from the village. There are also inhabitants from the Imad, Ghanem, Korkmaz, Hosri and Zouein families.
The Ghanem family and the Hosri family occupy the lower district of el-Azr, while the rest live in the upper part of the village.

References

Populated places in Keserwan District Maronite Christian communities in Lebanon {{lebanon-geo-stub