Zahlé

Zahlé
Zahlé Location in Lebanon
Coordinates:
Country	Lebanon
Governorate	Beqaa Governorate
Government
• Mayor	Marwan Ghaleb EL Chidiac
Area
• City	8 km2 (3 sq mi)
• Metro	90 km2 (30 sq mi)
Highest elevation	1,150 m (3,780 ft)
Lowest elevation	900 m (2,953 ft)
Population
• City	40,000
• Metro	200,000
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postcode	1801
Area code(s)	8

Zahlé (also transliterated Zahleh; Lebanese Arabic: زحلة  pronounced [ˈzaħle]; Armenian: Զահլէ) is the capital and largest city of Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon. With around 50,000 inhabitants, it is the fourth largest city in Lebanon (by city proper population) after Beirut, Tripoli and Baalbek, and the fifth largest taking the whole urban area (Jounieh urban area being larger). It is situated 55 km (34 mi) east of the capital Beirut, close to the Beirut-Damascus road, and lies at the junction of the Lebanon mountains and the Beqaa plateau, at a mean elevation of 1000m. Zahlé is known as the "Bride of the Beqaa" and "the Neighbor of the Gorge" due to its geographical location and attractiveness, but also as "the City of Wine and Poetry" It is famous throughout Lebanon and the region for its pleasant climate, numerous riverside restaurants and quality arak. Its inhabitants are predominantly Greek Catholic and known as Zahlawis.

Origin of name

Zahlé in the 19th century

History

The name Zahlé is derived from the Syriac word "Zaḥlé", which refers to "moving places". The occasional landslides which take place on deforested hills around the town are probably at the origin of this name.

Zahlé was founded in the early 18th century, in an area whose past reaches back some five millennia. It enjoyed a brief period as the region’s first independent state in the 19th century, when it had its own flag and anthem.

Due to its relative geographic isolation from the local centers of power in Mount Lebanon and Syria, the town did not have any significant allies in the region to fall back on in case of conflicts or attacks. This led its inhabitants to develop a defensive attitude, which can still be felt today.

Zahlé was burned in 1777 and 1791. At the time of the civil war of 1860 Zahlé had a population to 10,000 with its prosperity based on wheat, sheep and silk. In June of that year the town came under siege from a mixed Kurd, Arab and Druze force, numbering 8,000, which approached from the Beqaa valley. The Druze contingent was led by Ismail el Atrash and they were reported to have killed 700 Christians in Rashaiyat el Wady. On 14 June the defenders launched an attack with 200 horsemen and 600 men on foot. They were defeated and 70 killed. A similar sortie was launched the following day with the same result. The local Ottoman Kaimakam offered the population protection if they surrendered their weapons. This offer was rejected. On 18 June the attackers launched a diversionary attack which drew most of the towns 4,000 defenders into the open upon which a force of 1,200 Druze attacked the town from the surrounding hillsides quickly occupying the town centre. The defenders abandoned the town and retreated into the mountains rising 3,000 feet to the Northwest. All the buildings including "The Lady of Refuge" Church were burnt to the ground. The Maronite leadership, with 15,000 armed men less than six hours away, were accused of not doing anything to assist the town. Zahlé was one of the first towns to be re-built with its citizens returning in the autumn, and much of their wealth having escaped the looting.
Quoting a contemporary Christian historian of the siege of Zahlé in the year 1841:The Harfushes did not credit Zahlé only, but also all Christians in Lebanon. The Christians would have been humiliated if they had lost their battle (Zahlé) against the Duruze, who had (the Duruze) earlier won the battle in Deir Al Qamar ( The Harfushes stood behind the Christians and defeated the Duruze in the battle field of Zahlé).
The construction of the railroad line between Beirut and Damascus in 1885 brought prosperity to Zahlé, which became a freight hub on the trade route between Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, while continuing to serve as a regional agricultural center. The town then grew slowly, but steadily, over the following century.
Tradition holds that many Christians quit the Baalbek region in the eighteenth century for the newer, more secure town of Zahlé on account of the Harfushes' oppression and rapacity, but more critical studies have questioned this interpretation, pointing out that the Harfushes were closely allied to the Orthodox Ma‘luf family of Zahlé (where indeed Mustafa Harfush took refuge some years later) and showing that depredations from various quarters as well as Zahlé’s growing commercial attractiveness accounted for Baalbek’s decline in the eighteenth century.What repression there was did not always target the Christian community per se. The Shiite ‘Usayran family, for example, is also said to have left Baalbek in this period to avoid expropriation by the Harfushes, establishing itself as one of the premier commercial households of Sidon and later even serving as consuls of Iran.

The Lebanese Civil War from 1975 to 1990 brought upheaval to the region. Overall, Zahlé was not affected by the war as much as other regions in the country, and many people from those regions chose to take refuge there because it was considered safe. The city's geo-strategic position, however, sparked the initial setbacks of the Battle of Zahleh. At the beginning of the war in 1975, the Syrian army briefly deployed in the town. On December 21, 1980, Syria wanted to deploy its troops in Zahlé again and take over it, but those were intercepted by Zahle's citizens, who received some aid throughout the fights from Christian parties (such as the Lebanese Forces). After the killing of five Syrian soldiers, the Syrian army retaliated by continuously bombarding Zahlé. These attacks during Christmas produced a great reaction in the West, especially in France, who described the Syrians' actions as barbaric.

A similar incident occurred six month later: on April 1, 1981, a fire exchange between a Zahlawi position and a Syrian emplacement developed into a full scale Syrian onslaught. Syria proceeded to shell Zahlé for eight days, cutting all routes and preventing any type of aid from reaching the town. Syrian troops tried to enter the town many times but failed repeatedly, making little headway with the Lebanese resistance, and losing several armed vehicles. Syria's actions towards Lebanon created an outrage in the international community. Following the plea of Lebanese communities all over the world, foreign countries, France in particular, pressured Syria to stop their onslaught on Zahlé.

The town has enjoyed much calm ever since the end of the war. However, a bomb detonated inside the local Syriac Orthodox church on March 27, 2011. This incident was possibly connected to the abduction of seven Estonian cyclists not far from Zahlé earlier that month. Fortunately, there was no one inside the church when the bombing occurred, and the next morning, parishioners attended the Sunday mass which was held in the frontyard.

Geography and climate

View of Zahlé from the Wadi Al Aarayesh neighborhood.

Zahlé is built upon a series of foothills of the Lebanon mountains, at the Western edge of the Beqaa plateau, with Mount Sannine (2,628 metres (8,622 feet)) towering above it. The hills form a narrow valley, which itself is an extension of a ravine to the Northwest ("Wadi el Aarayesh", meaning "Gorge of Vines") Due to this particular topography, most of Zahlé's neighborhoods spread vertically on steep hill slopes, and the town features an elevation difference of 200 metres (656 feet) in a narrow geographical area. The municipality also extends onto the Beqaa plateau, until the Litani River.

The town is bisected by the Berdawni River, which flows out of the ravine towards the plateau, and joins the Litani after a course of 15 km (9 mi). The Berdawni was at a time Zahlé's sole source of drinking water and its most prized natural emblem, but has become polluted with sewage and solid waste in the last decades, and partially covered up to create parking lots.

Climate

Like the rest of Lebanon, Zahlé enjoys a typically Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification (Csa)), characterized by hot and dry summers, and mild to cool winters where most of the precipitation is concentrated (spring and autumn being pleasantly warm transitional seasons). However, due to the town's altitude and inland location, in the rain shadow of the Lebanon mountains, its climate features some continental characteristics: summers are usually hotter than in coastal areas, with peaks of over 40 °C (104 °F) occurring on a few days each summer, but humidity is low, and temperatures usually fall below 22 °C (72 °F) at night, which makes summer particularly pleasant compared to coastal cities.

On the other hand, winters are cooler than on the coast, but the wind chill index is usually low, because the hills surrounding the town shelter it from the Northern winds that sweep through the Beqaa plateau. Precipitation is also less abundant than in coastal areas (around 600 mm (24 in) per year, compared to 900 mm (35 in) in Beirut). Snowfall occurs a few times per year, during cold fronts coming from Turkey or Eastern Europe, and heavy snow accumulation is possible, although becoming a rarer occurrence. In spring, weather is sometimes affected by the notorious Khamsin winds, whose typical effects include a rise in temperature, characteristic yellow/orange skies and muddy rain.

Climate data for Zahlé
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	23.4 (74.1)	25 (77.0)	32 (89.6)	35 (95.0)	38.7 (101.7)	40.2 (104.4)	43.4 (110.1)	42 (107.6)	40.7 (105.3)	36.8 (98.2)	29.6 (85.3)	30 (86.0)	43.4 (110.1)
Average high °C (°F)	11.8 (53.2)	13 (55.4)	16.2 (61.2)	21.2 (70.2)	27.3 (81.1)	31.4 (88.5)	33.7 (92.7)	34.1 (93.4)	31.7 (89.1)	26.5 (79.7)	19.6 (67.3)	14.3 (57.7)	23.4 (74.13)
Average low °C (°F)	2.1 (35.8)	3 (37.4)	5.2 (41.4)	8.9 (48.0)	12.4 (54.3)	15.7 (60.3)	18.4 (65.1)	18.1 (64.6)	16 (60.8)	12.4 (54.3)	7.3 (45.1)	3.8 (38.8)	10.27 (50.49)
Record low °C (°F)	−6.8 (19.8)	−6.4 (20.5)	−3.2 (26.2)	−0.6 (30.9)	3.4 (38.1)	8.9 (48.0)	12.9 (55.2)	12.9 (55.2)	10.4 (50.7)	1.8 (35.2)	−2.5 (27.5)	−7.8 (18.0)	−7.8 (18)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	126.5 (4.98)	124.5 (4.902)	76.8 (3.024)	33.0 (1.299)	8.2 (0.323)	0.1 (0.004)	0.5 (0.02)	0.3 (0.012)	12.3 (0.484)	27.9 (1.098)	73.2 (2.882)	106.2 (4.181)	589.5 (23.209)
Average rainy days	15	13	10	6	3	0	0	0	1	4	7	12	71
Average snowy days	2	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	7
Source: Meoweather

Population

Brazil Street in Zahlé

At the end of the 18th century, Zahlé had one thousand inhabitants and two hundred houses. By the late 1850s, the population had grown to between seven and ten thousand people. The current population is not accurately known, since no census has been conducted in Lebanon since 1932, but a sensible estimate gives 60,000 people in the town proper, making it the country's fourth largest (the locals tend to give figures of 200,000 or 300,000 inhabitants, which however are misleading and completely unrealistic) The urban area includes the neighboring towns of Saadnayel, Taalabaya, Chtaura and Jdita to the Southwest, which have come to form a single urban entity since the late 1990s due to anarchic growth, and is home to about 100,000 people. The metropolitan area extends over much of the Zahlé District, and additionally comprises:

• the town of Kab Elias to the Southwest
• the town of Bar Elias to the South
• the villages of Furzol, Ablah and Niha to the Northeast
• and the towns of Riyaq, Haoush Hala and Ali en Nahri to the East

with a total population close to 200,000.

Zahlé is the largest predominantly Christian town in Lebanon and the Middle East (with Christians forming around 90% of its total population) and the one with the largest number of Catholics. While several Middle Eastern cities (Damascus, Cairo, Jerusalem...) have larger Christian communities, these do not constitute a majority. In Lebanon, Beirut also has a larger Christian population than Zahlé (in the city proper), most of which however belongs to the Orthodox confession.

The Christian population of Zahlé has the following approximate composition:

• 65% of Greek Catholic
• 15% percent of Maronite
• 10% percent of Greek Orthodox
• 10% belonging to various minorities, most notably Syriac Christianity)

Only two Muslim families remained inside Zahlé during the civil war: Hindi and Zrein. Zahlé's Muslim minority (around 10% of the population) is concentrated in the districts of Karak Nuh (where Noah's tomb is allegedly located) and Haoush el Oumara, on the Northeastern and Southwestern edge of town respectively. 70% of it belongs to the Shia confession, while the remaining 30% are Sunnis. In the past, the town also had a Druze minority and even a small Jewish population, most of which however emigrated during the Lebanese Civil War.

Zahlé has been a land of emigration since the early 19th century, with most people emigrating to the United States, Australia, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. During the Civil War in the 1970s and 1980s, a new flow of migrants left the town for the United States, Canada, Australia, and Brazil. In recent years, emigration has continued, with Canada and the United Arab Emirates being the main destinations. Today, an estimated 250,000 people of local descent live abroad, most of them in Brazil.

Economy

Zahle grapes

Being the main town of the Beqaa valley, Lebanon's most important agricultural region, the economy of Zahlé has long been built on agriculture. Grapes are the area's chief product, with vineyards forming a prominent feature of the surrounding landscape. Vines are also individually grown on lattice, on many of the older houses' terraces. A sizable part of the local produce supplies the three wineries present in and around the town, and the numerous distilleries producing arak, the local liquor which Zahlé is famous for.

In addition to vineyards, the hillsides around Zahlé are covered with cherry, pomegranate, plum and mulberry orchards, while potatoes and leafy vegetables are cultivated on the plateau to the East. Livestock is also an important resource, with trout fisheries on the upper course of the Berdawni river, and poultry farms on the surrounding hills. The Civil War struck a blow to local agriculture, when the Syrian army closed off many vineyards, transforming them into military areas, and the town's siege cut it off from potential markets, but the sector has since recovered.

Zahlé saw at a time a prosperous commercial activity due to its location midway between Beirut and Damascus. Paradoxically, it regained some of that activity during the Civil War, when the growing instability in Beirut led to a decentralization of economy. Furthermore, taxation was nonexistent due to the collapse of State authority, which Zahlé took advantage of to expand its industrial and commercial sectors. The town's main industrial area lies to the Southeast, with the chief sectors being paper mills, chemicals, plastics, canning and food processing.

A number of companies and state bodies have their headquarters for the Beqaa region in Zahlé, including the Central Bank of Lebanon and the Lebanese Chamber of Commerce.

Education

Zahlé is evolving into a regional center of higher education, after many universities have opened branches there in recent years. Institutes of higher education currently represented in the town include:

• The State-owned Lebanese University
• The Saint Joseph University
• The Holy Spirit University of Kaslik
• The Lebanese International University (in the nearby town of Riyaq)
• The American University of Science and Technology
• The Antonine University (in the nearby town of Ablah)
• The National Technical Institute

Transportation

Zahlé is connected to Beirut (55 km (34 mi) to the West), and from there to all coastal cities, through the Beirut-Damascus road, which passes to the Southwest of the urban area. The journey can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the traffic. Damascus, Syria, is 73 km (45 mi) to the Southeast, and is normally reached within 1:30 hour, excluding the waiting time at the border. Despite continuously undergoing works and repairs, the Beirut-Damascus road remains in poor condition, and is due to be replaced by a new, multimillion-dollar highway as the main international route, however the completion date is still unclear.

Zahlé is also connected to Baalbek (36 km (22 mi) to the Northeast) by the trans-Beqaa road, which continues further North towards Homs, Syria. The section stretching along the Zahlé urban area (from Chtaura to Karak Nuh) was recently upgraded.

Due to widespread car ownership, public transportation remains underdeveloped. There is a single bus line, which runs on the central avenue at rather irregular times. Interurban transportation is done by minivans, which stop on the Manara roundabout at the town's entrance. Zahlé's railway station was located in Muallaqa, but was abandoned after all rail transport in Lebanon stopped during the Civil War.

There were plans to convert the nearby Rayak Air Base (located 10 km (6 mi) to the East of Zahlé), into a civil airport serving the town and the whole valley. A regional airport could prove vital when the road to Beirut is closed because of heavy snowfall. However, the project froze in the early 2000s, after the runway extension had been initiated.

Main sights

Berdawni Promenade

Cafes along the Berdawni River

The banks of the Berdawni River have long been a place where people of Zahlé and other parts of Lebanon come to socialize. The town's most popular attraction is a 300 m (984 ft) promenade along the river, referred to as "Al Wadi" ("the valley"). Sheltered between the ravine's limestone cliffs, it is lined up with large outdoor restaurants, cafes and playrooms, and shaded by trees. These restaurants specialize in traditional Lebanese meze served with arak. The promenade is closed during late fall and winter, when cold winds from the mountain sweep through the ravine.

Casino-arabi

Our Lady of Zahlé and Bekaa

Our Lady of Zahlé and Bekaa. Taken in the 1970s

Located on a hilltop to the Southwest of Zahlé, this is a 54 m (177 ft) high concrete tower, entirely clad in white marble, and topped with a 10 m (33 ft) high bronze statue of the Virgin Mary, the work of an Italian artist. It is by far Zahlé's most prominent structure, and is visible from practically every spot in town, as well as from several miles around in the central Bekaa Valley. At its base is a chapel that can seat a little over of a hundred people. The top of the tower features sweeping views over Zahlé and the Bekaa valley.

Town Hall (Old Serail)

The Old Serail, turned into the prison of Zahlé in 1991, serves today as the town hall

This Ottoman building was constructed in 1850 to serve as the town's Serail. Located just downhill from Our Lady of Zahlé and Bekaa, it is a mix of local and Ottoman architecture, and features an atrium occupied by an inner garden and surrounded by arcades. Though still known as "the Old Serail", it currently serves as the Town Hall. In the past, the ground floor used to house the local prison, which suffered of severe overcrowding and substandard conditions. The prison was transferred in 2009 to a new location in Muallaqa, with room for about 800 inmates and much more adequate infrastructure.

Souq al Blatt

The Souq al Blatt ("Tiled Market"), as its name implies, used to be a narrow tiled street, which during Ottoman times housed a street market and a number of khans, visited by traders from Syria, Iraq and Palestine. During the 20th century, it became the main craftsmen area in town, and the khans and market gave way to dozens of workshops. Today, the Souq has changed again: it is no longer tiled, and the only remaining shops are grocery stores. Only the stone slabs lining the pavement give some idea of its former appearance. There have been talks to renovate the Souk al Blatt, which however still haven't materialized.

The Catholic Cathedral (Our Lady of Salvation)

This grandiose complex dates back to 1720, and consists of a series of stone-clad buildings around a large inner courtyard: the church itself (which is the oldest part), the seat of the Archbishop (a converted former monastery), and a small chapel housing an icon, which is said to be a reproduction of a portrait of the Virgin Mary by Saint Lucas. It also features a monumental entrance, an underground cemetery, and a 40 m (131 ft) high bell tower, atop of which a large marble clock was mounted in 1993. Part of the complex was destroyed by a bomb attack in April 1987, and rebuilt ever since.

Grand Hotel Kadri

the grand Hotel la Kadri is a prime example of the traditional stone architecture of Zahlé, both in and out. It has long been used by most officials and dignitaries visiting the town, as its largest and most luxurious hotel. The Ottomans converted it to a hospital during World War I. During the Lebanese Civil War, it was occupied by Syrian troops and sustained enormous damage. An ambitious restoration project in the mid 90s was able to bring it back to its former glory. The hotel closed in February 2011 due to a conflict between its direction and the Catholic Church (its effective owner since 1999) and reopened later in 2013.

Memshieh Park

Situated across the street from Grand Hotel Kadri, Memshieh is Zahlé's oldest and shadiest park (newly opened J.T.Skaff Park is larger, but contains considerably fewer trees). The park houses a collection of marble tables with mosaic depictions of several sites in Lebanon, a small pond with waterlilies, a semi-circular marble tholos, and several sculptures representing famous locals. In 2003, the municipality covered a 25 m (82 ft) fir (the park's tallest) with thousands of lights, in an attempt to break the world record for the largest natural Christmas tree.

Archaeological sites

Zahlé in itself offers little archaeological interest, however the Château Ksara winery is worth a visit for its maze of vaults which dates back to Roman times. The suburb of Karak Nuh also features a curiosity: a 40 m (131 ft) long stone structure inside the local mosque, which local tradition believes to be the Tomb of Noah (but is probably a section of a Roman aqueduct)

Furthermore, there are several ancient sites of interest in nearby locations:

• In Qabb Ilyas (12 km (7 mi) to the Southwest): rock sculptures of three deities that seem to be of Roman origin
• In Anjar (18 km (11 mi) to the South): the unique ruins of an Umayyad palace built following a Roman layout, using recycled Hellenistic and Roman material. The palace is classified as a World Heritage Site. A Roman temple also stands on a hilltop above nearby Majdel Anjar.
• Above the village of Furzol (8 km (5 mi) to the Northwest): a series of rock-cut Roman tombs in the limestone cliffs
• In Niha (11 km (7 mi) to the Northwest): two exquisite Roman temples bearing Phoenician architectural elements (just outside the village), and two others in need of restoration (higher up, in the area referred to as "the Fortress").

Two more sites worth visiting are a more distant trip away:

• Kamed al Lawz (32 km (20 mi) to the South) is the most important Bronze Age settlement in Lebanon, with finds from the Phoenician, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods having been uncovered as well
• The world-famous Roman archaeological complex of Baalbeck (another World Heritage Site) is located 36 km (22 mi) to the Northwest.

Culture

Zahlé's culture has long revolved around its signature crop, the grape, and its products, wine and arak. Arak, in particular, has traditionally been served in cafés at virtually any time of the day. Together with the town's gorgeous natural settings, it might have provided with inspiration many of the fifty poets and writers who were born Zahlé over the past century, leading to its designation as "the City of Wine and Poetry". A graceful personification of this nickname stands at the town's entrance: a statue of Erato, the Muse of love poetry, holding a bunch of grapes.

Zahlé's most important cultural event is the "Festival of the Vine", traditionally held each September, during which concerts, plays, poetry evenings and artistic exhibitions are organized daily over the course of two or three weeks. The final Saturday evening features the crowning of the "Maid of the Vine", the local beauty queen, and the next afternoon, the festival closes with arguably its most popular event: a parade of floats held on the town's main avenue. The floats are entirely decorated with flowers according to a central theme.

The other central aspect of the local culture is religious devotion. Zahlé is still a very Catholic and conservative town, and many of its inhabitants display a pride with their religious identity which comes close to fanaticism. Church attendance is high, although it often constitutes a form of social, rather than religious, gathering. In particular, it is customary to pay visit to 7 churches on Good Friday. Holidays also endorse a very social character, being a time to visit friends and relatives.

Prophet Elias (Elijah) is the town's patron saint, whose feast on July 20 is traditionally celebrated with fireworks. Another notable holiday is Corpus-Christi, celebrated on the first Thursday of June with a large-scale procession, with a torch-lit parade being held on the previous evening. The Corpus Christi celebration dates back to 1825, when the town was spared the ravages of bubonic plague.

Notable natives

• Nicolas Youakim, poet, musician and philosopher
• Said Akl, poet, philosopher and politician
• Nicolas Alouf, Professor in sciences
• Fouad El Turk, poet, former Lebanese ambassador to the United Nations and head of the Forum of Lebanese Ambassadors
• Issa Iskandar Maalouf, writer and historian
• Shafik Maalouf, poet
• Fawzi Maalouf, poet
• Riad Maalouf, poet
• Najib Hankash, poet, comedian
• Elias Habshi, poet
• Charles Elachi (from nearby Riyaq), director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in NASA
• Elias Hrawi, president of Lebanon 1989-1998
• Moussa Nammour, former depute and minister
• Shebl Dammous, former depute
• Colombian pop-star Shakira is also of local descent through her father William Mebarak Chadid.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Lebanon

Zahlé is twinned with:

• Rosario, Argentina
• Belo Horizonte, Brazil
• Zabrze, Poland

References

• View From Zahle: Security And Economic Conditions In The Central Bekaa 1980-1985
• [1]
• on Lebanon and the Peace Process, "Bashir Gemeyel and Syria Fight Over Zahle"
• Conflict and Consensus, "Zahlé and Dayr Al-Qamar, two market towns during the civil war of the 1860s."
• "Zahlé and Forzol"
• "Dictionary of the Names of Towns and Villages in Lebanon", Anis Freiha, 1976

External links

• mideast.com/zahle
• tourism