Zahle History

Zahle a noble Lebanese city, anchored in the history, situated to the heart of Lebanon to mi-distance between the south and the north, the west and the east.
It is at fifty kilometers of the capital Beirut. Situated to the foot of the Mount Sannine, it overhangs the fertile plain of the Bekaa that was called a day, "the Silo to grains of Rome".

The city is built in a valley between two touchy hills of a height equals.
Crossed by the river Berdawni that takes its source of the height of Kah-El-Rim traversing its neighborhoods to divide it in two almost parallel zones:

The first one of the side Is understands the following neighborhoods: Wadi-El-Aarayesh, Al barbara, Al midan, Hawch-El-Zaraaneh, Al maalaka, Al karak, known under the name of Karak Nouh because it understands the tomb of Noe and the industrial city. Its recent neighborhood where concentrate the échoppes of craftsmen and the various industrial establishments.

The second of the side West understands the following neighborhoods: AL rassiyeh, Sayidet Al Najat known under the neighborhood name Al maalifa, Mar Antonios, Mar Youssef, Mar Gerges, Mar Mikael, Mar Elias known under the AL name daayha and Hawch Al Omara.

The important area of the city is of about 35 km2 and his built area of 5 km2. The number of its inhabitants residents is estimated to about 150 thousand persons and the origin emigrants Zahliote to about 250 thousand persons. The most live to the Brazil, to the United States, to Canada and in Australia where they exercise an important role. Some take care of the functions of representatives, ministers, governors of states, judge and doctors and enjoy sometimes of a world-wide fame.
The Zahliotes grow 2,75% in average per year and divide up themselves on 25 thousand dwelling unities.

Name Of Zahle

The origin of the name is the object of a controversy between the historians. Certain the facts to date back to Zohal: the star worshipped by the Roman ones as the God of fertility. To assert that, they base on the discovery of ruins, of Roman changes and underground galleries in the city and its surroundings.

Of others the facts to date back to Zahal: an Aramean term that means to flow itself, to collapse, slip of his location. This explanation coincides with the geological structure of the city, in particular place Tall Chiha next to the former sérail, where produce themselves, each year, slidings of a certain extent.

The Aramean one reigned on the region (of 800 years before J.C. to 650 years after J.C.) and this was the language of the Lord Jesus. It is probable that the city took his name at the time of the expansion of the Christianity to Lebanon, to the fourth century of the Christian era, to the era where blossom the Syriaque.

Of other historians put back the name of Zahlan: Arabic king eponym having probably came to Zahle, at the time of the occupation of the Békaa by the Arabs to the seventh century of the Christian era. Some support this opinion while asserting that Tallat Chiha is the place where the emir Rizk, one of the princes of Bani Hilal, burned his girl Chiha believing that she had betrayed it. The knoll always preserves the name and shelters the hospital of Zahlé, the one of the more important ones of Lebanon.

It springs of all these hypotheses that Zahle a very old city, to the passed glorious, although she lived in the shadow to certain eras.

Zahle Climate and Architecture

The approaches of the city are composed usually of an earth limestone white, propice to the fruit trees, in particular the olive tree, the apples and the cherry. It has the inconvenience to be not very productive because of his steep slope.

As for the boulders, they are not very numerous, sedimentary and prompt to crumble, doubtless, the reason the old houses of Zahle were built to the assistance of an earth torchis dried, and kept this aspect until the end last century, to the era where the emigration Zahliote began towards the west. The capitals of the emigrants then flowed, and the buildings in rock began pushing, alongside the houses in torchis, with their roofs of tiles. Zahle knew then an architectural essort of which Lebanon offers only rare examples.

The climate of Zahle is dry, his air is pure and his sky limpid. Its summer is hot but the abundance of waters tempers the heat and increases the charm of Zahle climate and the splendor of its valley, transformed by the Zahliotes in small paradise. One finds on the two shores of Berdawni of coffees, places of leisure and hotels frequented by the health amateurs and of rests of the different Arabic countries.

Information From the Ministry of Tourism

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