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Al-Qantara, Marjayoun
Al-Qantara (القنطرة) is a municipality in the Marjayoun District in southern Lebanon. Etymology According to E. H. Palmer, the name ''El Kantarah'' means "the arch", ''qantara'' () also being used in Arabic to denote a bridge built of stone or masonry, an aqueduct or a dam, and a high building. History In 1875 Victor Guérin found that the village had 150 Metawileh inhabitants. He further remarked: "The mosque is built of hewn stones of apparent antiquity. Its door is surmounted by a lintel belonging to an ancient Christian church, in the midst of which can be made out a cross with equal branches enclosed in a circle." In 1881, the PEF's ''Survey of Western Palestine'' (SWP) described it: "A village, built of stone, containing about 250 .Metawileh, situated on an isolated and conspicuous hill, and surrounded by gardens, olives, and figs. There are two perennial springs a little to the south of the village." On 24 August 1994 two members of Hizbollah were killed in Q ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palestine Grid
The Palestine grid was the geographic coordinate system used by the Survey Department of Palestine. The system was chosen by the Survey Department of the Government of Palestine in 1922. The projection used was the Cassini projection, Cassini-Soldner projection. The central Meridian (geography), meridian (the line of longitude along which there is no local distortion) was chosen as that passing through a marker on the hill of Mar Elias Monastery south of Jerusalem. The false origin (zero point) of the grid was placed 100 km to the south and west of the Ali el-Muntar hill that overlooks Gaza City, Gaza city. The unit length for the grid was the kilometre; the British units were not even considered. At the time the grid was established, there was no intention of mapping the lower reaches of the Negev Desert, but this did not remain true. Those southern regions having a negative Easting and northing, northing coordinate then became a source of confusion, which was solved by ad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metawileh
Lebanese Shia Muslims (), communally and historically known as ''matāwila'' (, plural of ''mutawālin''; pronounced as ''metouéle'' in Lebanese Arabic), are Lebanese people who are adherents of Shia Islam in Lebanon, which plays a major role alongside Lebanon's main Sunni, Maronite and Druze sects. The vast majority of Shiite Muslims in Lebanon adhere to Twelver Shi'ism.Riad Yazbeck. Return of the Pink Panthers?'. Mideast Monitor. Vol. 3, No. 2, August 2008 Today, Shiite Muslims constitute around 31% of the Lebanese population. although most of Palestine was reportedly Sunni. In 1047, Persian traveler Nasir Khusraw noted that both Tyre and Tripoli had a predominantly Shiite population, and remarked that Shiites were also present surrounding Tiberias. According to Ibn al-Arabi of Seville (1092–1095), the Palestinian littoral cities were home to sizable Shiite communities. During his ten-year residence in Tyre, Ibn Asakir (1106–1175), noted strong opposition to his views ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Islam In Lebanon
Islam has a long, continuous history in Lebanon. A substantial portion of the Lebanese population is Muslim, probably representing a majority of the population, although the precise percentage is difficult to ascertain. The Lebanese constitution officially guarantees freedom of religion for government-registered religions, including five denominations of Islam, although a blasphemy law and restrictions on religious groups that "disturb the public order" exist as well. Under the Taif Agreement, Muslims are allocated proportional representation across multiple governmental positions. The Lebanese Druze community are sometimes counted as a branch of Islam within Lebanon, though most Druze followers do not consider themselves Muslim and do not follow the Five Pillars of Islam. History Demographics It is difficult to obtain precise demographic information within Lebanon, as the country has not had an official census since 1932. In that census, Muslims amounted to 42% of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dennis Walters
Sir Dennis Murray Walters (28 November 1928 – 1 October 2021) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Westbury from 1964 to 1992. Early life The son of Douglas L. Walters and Clara Walters (''née'' Pomello), Walters was of English and Italian descent and born in Italy. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic. At the outbreak of the Second World War he was in Italy and was interned, but after the Armistice of 1943 he was released and served for eleven months with the Italian Resistance. He then returned to England and was educated at Downside School and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he read Modern Languages as an Exhibitioner and completed an MA. Career In the late 1950s, Walters was employed as personal assistant to the Conservative peer Lord Hailsham throughout his chairmanship of the Conservative Party. At the 1959 general election, Walters contested Blyth for the Conservatives, fighting the seat again th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Mayhew
Christopher Paget Mayhew, Baron Mayhew (12 June 1915 – 7 January 1997) was a British politician who was a Labour Member of Parliament (MP) from 1945 to 1950 and from 1951 to 1974, when he left the Labour Party to join the Liberals. In 1981 Mayhew received a life peerage and was raised to the House of Lords as Baron Mayhew. He is most known for his central role in founding the Information Research Department (IRD), a secret wing of the Foreign Office dedicated to Cold War propaganda. Early life Christopher Paget Mayhew was born in London, the son of Sir Basil Mayhew of Felthorpe Hall, Norwich. He attended Haileybury and Christ Church, Oxford, as an exhibitioner. In 1934 he holidayed in Moscow. While he was at Oxford, he became President of the Oxford Union. He was commissioned into the Intelligence Corps in 1940, rising to the rank of Major. Political career Mayhew was elected to Parliament for the constituency of South Norfolk in the general election of 1945. In 1945 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle East International
''Middle East International'' was a bimonthly magazine published in London from 1971 until 2005, reaching a total of 761 issues. It was established by Christopher Mayhew and a group of senior British politicians and diplomats. The original publisher was Claud Morris, a newspaper magnate, who withdrew after a boycott by advertisers and an arson attack on his printing works. Mayhew was to remain the director until his death in 1997. It has been described as having been "one of the best-informed journals of current Middle East affairs". Its aim was to "provide intelligent, authoritative, and independent news and analysis on the Middle East". Origins In 1969 the Lebanese Ambassador to London, Nadim Dimechkie, invited recently retired Ambassador to Egypt, Harold Beeley, to a meal with Christopher Mayhew.Middle East International No 543, 7 February 1997; Harold Beeley p.3 In the discussion over how to present the Arab point of view in Britain, Mayhew put forward a proposal for the cre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Lebanon Army
The South Lebanon Army or South Lebanese Army (SLA; , ), also known as the Lahad Army () or as the De Facto Forces (DFF), was a Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-dominated militia in Lebanon. It was founded by Lebanese military officer Saad Haddad in 1977, amidst the Lebanese Civil War, and evolved to operate as a quasi-military during the South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000), South Lebanon conflict, basing itself in Haddad's unrecognized Free Lebanon State, State of Free Lebanon. Initially, it was known as the "Free Lebanon Army" after it broke away from the Army of Free Lebanon, another Christian-dominated militia. After 1979, the SLA's activity was almost exclusively confined to southernmost Lebanon. Under the aegis of Israel, the militia was bolstered by the 1982 Lebanon War. It came under increasing Israeli supervision following the collapse of the State of Free Lebanon in 1984 and subsequent establishment of the South Lebanon security belt administration. As the most pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hizbollah
Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. Its armed strength was assessed to be equivalent to that of a medium-sized army in 2016. Hezbollah was founded in 1982 by Lebanese clerics in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Inspired by the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's model of Islamic governance, Hezbollah established strong ties with Iran. The group was initially supported by 1,500 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) instructors, who helped unify various Lebanese Shia factions under Hezbollah's leadership. Hezbollah's 1985 manifesto outlined its key objectives, which include expelling Western influence from the region, destroying Israel, pledging allegiance to Iran's supreme leader, and establishing an Islamic government influenced by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PEF Survey Of Palestine
The PEF Survey of Palestine was a series of surveys carried out by the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) between 1872 and 1877 for the completed Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) and in 1880 for the soon abandoned Survey of Eastern Palestine. The survey was carried out after the success of the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem by the newly-founded PEF, with support from the War Office. Twenty-six sheets were produced for "Western Palestine" and one sheet for "Eastern Palestine". It was the first fully scientific Cartography of Palestine, mapping of Palestine. Besides being a geographic survey the group collected thousands of place names with the objective of identifying Biblical, Talmudic, early Christian and Crusading locations. The survey resulted in the publication of a map of Palestine consisting of 26 sheets, at a scale of 1:63,360, the most detailed and accurate map of Palestine published in the 19th century. The PEF survey represented the peak of the cartographic work in Palestin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palestine Exploration Fund
The Palestine Exploration Fund is a British society based in London. It was founded in 1865, shortly after the completion of the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem by Royal Engineers of the War Department. The Fund is the oldest known organization in the world created specifically for the study of the Levant region, also known as Palestine (region), Palestine. Often simply known as the PEF, its initial objective was to carry out surveys of the topography and ethnography of History of Palestine#Ottoman period, Ottoman Palestine – producing the PEF Survey of Palestine. Its remit was considered to fall between an expeditionary survey and military intelligence gathering. There was also strong religious interest from Christians; William Thomson (Archbishop of York), William Thomson, Archbishop of York, was the first president of the PEF. As a result, the PEF had a complex relationship with Corps of Royal Engineers of the War Department. The PEF members sent back reports to the UK on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lintel
A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented/structural item. In the case of windows, the bottom span is referred to as a sill, but, unlike a lintel, does not serve to bear a load to ensure the integrity of the wall. Modern-day lintels may be made using prestressed concrete and are also referred to as beams in beam-and-block slabs or as ribs in rib-and-block slabs. These prestressed concrete lintels and blocks can serve as components that are packed together and propped to form a suspended-floor concrete slab. An arch functions as a curved lintel. Structural uses In worldwide architecture of different eras and many cultures, a lintel has been an element of post and lintel construction. Many different building materials have been used for lintels. In classical Western architecture and construction methods ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
