Srifa ( ar, صريفا) is a town in
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 ...
, located in
Tyre District
The Tyre District is a district in the South Governorate of Lebanon.
History Ancient history
Founded at the start of the third millennium BC, Tyre originally consisted of a mainland settlement and a modest island city that lay a short distance o ...
,
Governorate of South Lebanon. It is located 22 kilometres east of the city
Tyros
Tyre (; ar, صور, translit=Ṣūr; phn, 𐤑𐤓, translit=Ṣūr, Greek ''Tyros'', Τύρος) is a city in Lebanon, one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, though in medieval times for some centuries by just a tiny pop ...
and 90 kilometers south of the capital
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
. It is the birthplace of
Rima Fakih
Rima Fakih Slaiby ( ar, ريما فقيه; born September 22, 1985) is a Lebanese American model, philanthropist, former professional wrestler and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 2010. Having previously been crowned Miss Mic ...
,
Miss USA
Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020, ...
2010.
Name
According to
E. H. Palmer, the origin of the name is Sref. It has been suggested that the name means melting and purifying metals(the place of purification and smelting of metals)or it means "casting dirhams”.
History
In 1875, during the late
Ottoman era,
Victor Guérin
Victor Guérin (15 September 1821 – 21 Septembe 1890) was a French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included Greece, Asia Min ...
found here an ancient
column, and a few cut stones, proving that the place was an ancient site. Guérin found that the village had 150
Metawileh
Lebanese Shia Muslims ( ar, المسلمون الشيعة اللبنانيين), historically known as ''matāwila'' ( ar, متاولة, plural of ''mutawālin'' ebanese pronounced as ''metouali'' refers to Lebanese people who are adherents ...
villagers.
In 1881, the
PEF's
''Survey of Western Palestine'' (SWP) described it: "A village, built of stone, containing about 200
Metawileh
Lebanese Shia Muslims ( ar, المسلمون الشيعة اللبنانيين), historically known as ''matāwila'' ( ar, متاولة, plural of ''mutawālin'' ebanese pronounced as ''metouali'' refers to Lebanese people who are adherents ...
, it is situated on a hill, and surrounded by olives, figs, and arable land. Water from a spring; and
cisterns in the village."
The village was heavily bombed during the
2006 Lebanon War.
[
On July 12, the Israelis killed 4 civilians in the village, while on July 19, they killed 17 Hezbollah fighters and 5 civilians.][Human Rights Watch (HRW), September 2007]
''"Why They Died"''
Civilian Casualties in Lebanon during the 2006 War
References
Bibliography
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External links
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 2:
IAAWikimedia commons
Localiban
{{Tyre District
Populated places in Tyre District
Shia Muslim communities in Lebanon