Amioun
This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(May 2018) |
Amioun
أميون | |
---|---|
City | |
Coordinates:34°18′0″N35°48′0″E/ 34.30000°N 35.80000°E | |
Country | Lebanon |
Governorate | North Lebanon Governorate |
District | Koura District |
Founded by | Phoenicians |
Government | |
• Type | Municipality |
• Mayor | Malek Fares |
Area | |
• Total | 11.4 km2(4.4 sq mi) |
along the "Cedars' way" | |
Highest elevation | 330 m (1,080 ft) |
Lowest elevation | 298 m (978 ft) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 10,658[1] |
• Religion | 99.5%Eastern Orthodox |
Time zone | UTC+2(EET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+3(EEST) |
Dialing code | +961 6 |
Website | http:// amioun.org |
Amioun(Arabic:أميون,romanized:Amyūn;Greek:Αμιούν) is the capital of the predominantlyGreek OrthodoxKoura District(i.e. χώρα, "country" in Greek) inNorth Lebanon.[2]
Etymology[edit]
The town of Amioun derives its name from theAramaic language,meaning "'am Yawan" "place of the Greeks", with a possible alternative rootfortified townwith roman temples. Amioun is located on the top of an ancient hill dating back to before the 2nd millennium B.C., and the town was called "Amia" during this period.[3]The wordAmiawas cited in the letters ofTell el Amarna,which were sent in the 14th century B.C. by local governors to their overlords, thepharaohsofEgypt.In his etymological study of the names of Lebanon's towns and villages, historianAnis Freihaasserted thatAmiais in turn derived from the Semitic wordemun,meaning "invincible fort".
Demographics[edit]
Amioun had a population of 2,673 in 1953.[4]Amioun has a population of 10,658.[1]Almost all the residents are followers of theGreek Orthodox Church of Antioch.Amioun is the largestGreek Orthodoxtown inLebanon,and 4th-largest in all of theLevantafterMhardeh,Al-SuqaylabiyahandKafr Buhum(all inSyria).
Religion[edit]
Amioun has elevenGreek Orthodoxchurches: The Dormition of the Theotokos (Al Sayydeh), St. George el Dahleez, St. John al Sheer, St. Sergios and Bacchus, St. Barbara, St. Domitios, St. Marina, St. Phocas, St. Simon the Stylite, St. George Al-Kafr and Our Lady of Breastfeeding (Mar-Gala).
Education[edit]
There are three public and two private schools. TheUniversity of Balamandis located nearby, 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) north. There is a public library and a private hospital.
Geography[edit]
Located in the heart ofNorthern Lebanon,Amioun is the administrative center ofKoura District.Amioun is about 370 meters (1,210 feet) above sea level and approximately 78 kilometers away (48.5 miles) north-northeast ofBeirut.It is about 42 kilometers (26 miles) away from theCedars of Godand 18 kilometers (11 miles) away fromTripoli,capital of theNorth Governorate.
Situated between the sea and the mountains, on a chain of beautiful hills that stretch from east to west, Amioun has a distinctive location and a scenic view. Surrounding the hills on which Amioun is situated are olive fields in the north and vineyards, almond orchards, and olive trees in the south. Paved roads, including the Beirut-Cedars main highway, run through those hills. Long ago, when the houses that stretched on those hills were few, Amioun was called “the town of beautiful hills”. Amioun can be reached via the highway that passes throughByblos,Batroun,Chekka,andKfarhazir.It can also be reached from Tripoli by way ofBohssas,Dahr-al-Ain,Aaba,andBishmizzine.
Amioun is also known for its olive trees, which are possibly the oldest in the world,[5]and high grade olive oil.
History[edit]
Amioun is a very old settlement whose history can be traced back to thePaleolithicperiod. This is supported by the number of small caves built in the old city's rocks. In the past years, a number of French and German orientalists – foremost of whom was the FrenchmanErnest Renan– visited it, studied its archaeological sites and wrote about them. The ancientSemitic peoplesare thought to have arrived in the region around 4000 B.C.
In his book“The Monuments of Lebanon”,Father Lamensmentions a number of towns, one of which is “Amia” (p. 76). If this connection is correct, Amioun may be considered as the oldest town in the interior ofLebanon.
Amioun's past has left its mark on different historical periods, whether ancient, medieval, or modern. Some of its monuments can be traced back to a period when different pagan religions prevailed. With the advent ofChristianity,the roman pagan temples in Amioun were eventually transformed intochurches.
The town -when grew in huge importance during the centuries of theRoman Phoenicia- used to be the site of a Roman temple, which was later converted into a church, dedicated to Saint George (The remains of the temple platform are still visible under a medieval monastery).
Landmarks[edit]
- Saint George Cathedral:erected over a former roman temple at the highest populated spot of the town, as mentioned in a circular written by an instructor of history in the official Lebanese schools Choukrallah Al-Nabbout. (Fig. 1)
- Saint John "al-sheer" church:Elevated on a rocky cliff over a number of vaults in the southeastern facade of the cliff. A Triple scene of a Crusaders church (1099–1100) panoramic over the 28 man-made crypts in the facade whose carbon-dating suggests 15,000–24,000 years of age.
- The town of Amioun, is known being a site for theBattle of Amiounin 694 A.D. between theByzantinetroops, under the leadership of Murik and Murikian, and some followers of theMonothelitedoctrine, as mentioned in the article below byChedid Al-Azar.[6]
During the 20th century, major changes touched local population, which was based on agriculture, mainly olive, olive oil and soap production, and modify it into the highest educated society in Lebanon[citation needed].This resulted in a huge percentage, almost 30%, of highly educated people, mainly in the medical domain.[citation needed]
Notable people[edit]
- Nassim Nicholas Taleb(Famous essayist, scholar, statistician, former trader, and risk analyst)
- Alex AzarU.S. Secretary of Health.[7]
- George N. Atiyeh
- Salim Saadeh(ex-Member of the Lebanese Parliament)
- Salim El Badawi (first entrepreneur in Al-Koura district)
- Caren Chammas
- Jacques Nasser(former CEO ofFord Motor Company)
- Jacobo Majluta Azar[citation needed](formerPresident of the Dominican Republic)
- Dr Naim N. Atiyeh (Educator, psychologist, international consultant, professor, dean of the School of Education, UNESCO)
- Ammianus Marcellinus,Roman Author
Location[edit]
The modern town of Amioun lies on an important archaeological tell. Of major interest are the churches of Mar Jurius (St. George), built on the cellar of a Roman temple, and Mar Fauqa, or St. Phocas, built by local architects during the Crusader period. The entire interior of St. Phocas is covered with Byzantine-style wall paintings of the 12th and 13th centuries. A third church is the modern red-roofed Mar Youhanna (St. John) perched on a rocky cliff with tomb openings on its southeastern facade.[8] Near the old town government building, or "Serail," is the Chapel of Marina, an ancient burial vault converted into a chapel.[8]
Churches and monasteries[edit]
There are 13 places of Christian worship in Amioun, including churches and monasteries and shrines.
Cathedrals
- Cathedral ofSaint George el Dahleez(Greek Orthodox)
Churches
- Church ofSaint John al Sheer(Greek Orthodox)
- Church ofAl Sayydeh(Our Lady) (Greek Orthodox)
- Church ofSaint Sergios(Greek Orthodox)
- Church ofSaint Barbara(Greek Orthodox)
- Church ofSaint Domitios(Greek Orthodox)
- Church ofSaint Margaret of Antioch|Saint Marina(Greek Orthodox)
- Church ofSaint Phocas(Greek Orthodox)
- Church ofSaint Gala(Our Lady) (Greek Orthodox)
- Church ofSimon the Zealot(Greek Orthodox)
Monasteries
- Monastery ofSaint George Al-Kafer(Greek Orthodox), built over former roman temple
Shrines Cave of Saint Marina (Greek Orthodox) Sacred place of Saint George (Demolished Greek Orthodox Church)
Twin towns and sister cities[edit]
Amioun istwinnedwith:
Additional information[edit]
Koura Villages | |||
---|---|---|---|
1.Aaba | 2.Afsdik | 3.Ain Akrine | 4.Ali-al-Mouran |
5. Amioun | 6.Anfeh | 7.Badebhoun | 8.Barghoun |
9.Barsa | 10.Bdebba | 11.Batroumine | 12.Bishmizzine |
13.Bhabouch | 14.Bishriyata | 15.Bkomra | 16.Bneyel |
17.Bohssas | 18.Btourram | 19.Btouratige | 20.Bkeftine |
21.Bnehran | 22.Bsarma | 23.Btaaboura | 24.Bziza |
25.Charlita | 26.Chira | 27.Dahr-al-Ain | 28.Darbechtar |
29.Darchmezzine | 30.Deddeh | 31.Fih | 32.Ijdebrine |
33.Kaftoun | 34.Kifraya | 35.Kelbata | 36.Kelhat |
37.Kfaraakka | 38.Kfarhata | 39.Kfarhazir | 40.Kaferkahel |
41.Kfarsaroun | 42.Kousba | 43.Maziriit Toula | 44.Mitrit |
45.Mijdel | 46.Nakhleh | 47.Rachedbine | 48.Ras Maska |
49.Ras Osta | 50.Wata Fares | 51.Zakroun | 52.Zakzouk |
See also[edit]
- List of cities in Lebanon
- Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Lebanon
- Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch
- University of Balamand
References[edit]
- ^abAmioun.baldati
- ^"Municipal and ikhtiyariah elections in Northern Lebanon"(PDF).The Monthly. March 2010. pp. 22–23. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2016-06-03.Retrieved29 October2016.
- ^North Lebanon.Lebanon-tourism.gov.lb. Retrieved on 2016-04-29.
- ^"Household Income And Expenditure In al-Kura, Lebanon"(PDF).2023-03-24. Archived from the original on 2023-03-24.Retrieved2023-03-24.
{{cite web}}
:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^Drinkwater, Carol (2006).The Olive Route.Weidenfeld & Nicolson.ISBN978-0-297-84789-2.
- ^"History of the Maronites".2006-11-03. Archived fromthe originalon 3 November 2006.Retrieved2022-04-09.
- ^Remarks to the American task force for Lebanon
- ^abAmyounArchived2011-05-21 at theWayback Machine.Ikamalebanon. Retrieved on 2016-04-29.
External links[edit]
Additional pictures:
Additional references:
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Additional geographical information: