South Governorate ( ar, الجنوب;

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...

: al-Janub) is one of the governorates of Lebanon. South Lebanon has a population of 500,000 inhabitants and an area of 929.6 km². The capital is

Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...

. The lowest elevation is sea-level; the highest is 1,000 meters. The local population is religiously diverse and includes

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...

and Sunni Muslims, Druze,

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

, Maronite,

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

, and Greek Catholic Christians. Temperatures can drop to 4 °C during winter with much rain and snow on the higher ground. In the humid summer, temperatures can rise to 30 °C in the coastal areas. The governorate has several rivers: the Litani, Deir El Zahrani,

Naqoura Naqoura (, ''Enn Nâqoura, Naqoura, An Nāqūrah'') is a small city in southern Lebanon. Since March 23, 1978, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been headquartered in Naqoura. Name According to E. H. Palmer (1881), the nam ...

, Awali, Qasmiye, and Hasbani. The area is famous for its citrus and banana farms. Its main cities are

, Tyre and Jezzine.

Local attractions and events

The area offers a great number of attractions, including pristine white sandy beaches south of Tyre, and the opportunity to snorkel or dive among submerged Phoenician and Roman ruins near the ancient cities of

and Tyre. Culture-lovers will enjoy the bustling Ottoman-era Pazars, and one can relax after a long day at a seafood restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean.

Southern Lebanon Southern Lebanon () is the area of Lebanon comprising the South Governorate and the Nabatiye Governorate. The two entities were divided from the same province in the early 1990s. The Rashaya and Western Beqaa Districts, the southernmost distri ...

also hosts the Tyre festival, which attracts thousands of tourists each year.

Religion in the South Governorate

Shias make up the majority of the governorate and are the main residents of the Zahrani Tyre districts. Sunnis are the main residents of Saida the capital of the governorate and the third largest city in Lebanon after Beirut and Tripoli. Christians are mainly residents of the Jezzine district and form a small community in the city of Tyre, which is the fourth-most-populous city in Lebanon. Jezzine 1

Districts

* Jezzine *

* Tyre

Cities

* Jezzine *

or Saida * Tyre *

Ghazieh Ghazieh ( ar, الغازية) is a town in South Lebanon, 4 kilometres south of Saida, (Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. ...

References

Governorates of Lebanon {{Lebanon-geo-stub

Local attractions and events

Religion in the South Governorate

Districts

Cities

See also

References