Halba () is the capital of

Akkar Governorate Akkar Governorate () is the northernmost governorate of Lebanon. It comprises the single district of Akkar, which in turn is subdivided into 121 municipalities. The capital is at Halba. It covers an area of and is bounded by the Mediterranean ...

in northern Lebanon, close to the border with

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. It is located at around . Its population is divided between

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

, Greek Orthodox Christians,

Maronites Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally resided near Mount ...

, and followers of other religions.

History

In 1838,

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

noted the village, whose inhabitants were

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

, located west of

esh-Sheikh Mohammed Cheikh Mohammad () is a village situated in Akkar Governorate, Lebanon. Situated 400 metres above sea level, in between two mountains, it overlooks the Akkar plains and sea. It is made up of approximately 450 houses, with 99% of the population b ...

. In 1856 it was named ''Halba'' on Kiepert's map of Palestine/Lebanon published that year. Halba is home t
Sada Akkar
Newspaper, the only privately owned news agency in

Akkar District Akkar District () is the only district in Akkar Governorate, Lebanon. It is coextensive with the governorate and covers an area of . The UNHCR estimated the population of the district to be 389,899 in 2015, including 106,935 registered refugees of ...

. Halba is also home to a Lebanese

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

First Aid Center. Today, the town has expanded from a village and has a majority

population.

Demographics

In 2014,

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

made up 61.49% and

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

made up 38.27% of registered voters in Halba. 60.76% of the voters were

Sunni Muslims Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

, 26.46% were

and 8.50% were Maronite Catholics.https://lub-anan.com/المحافظات/الشمال/عكار/حلبا/المذاهب/

References

Bibliography

External links

Halba
, Localiban *Halba news section o
Sada Akkar
newspaper {{Authority control Populated places in Akkar District Sunni Muslim communities in Lebanon Eastern Orthodox Christian communities in Lebanon