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Aabey, also spelled Abey (), is a
village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
located in Mount Lebanon, in Aley District of
Mount Lebanon Governorate Mount Lebanon Governorate () is one of the nine governorates of Lebanon, of which it is the most populous. Its capital is Baabda. Other notable towns and cities include Aley, Bikfaya, and Beit Mery. This governorate is named after the mount ...
. It is located from Beirut and has an altitude of 800 m (2,600 feet). It is bordered by Kfarmatta (South), Al Bennay (East), Damour (West), and Ain Ksour (North). It overlooks Damour and the capital
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
and the sea can be seen from virtually any point in the village. Aabey contains the Dawdye college, Aabey Vocational School (Mihanye) etc.


Etymology

The name Aabey () comes from the
Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...
word meaning “abundant."


History

During the Fatimid and the Mamluk periods, Tanukh settled in Aabey. The Tanukh emirs ( Buhturids) were cavalry officers in a special regiment of the
Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...
army that conquered
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
in 1291, led by Sultan al-Ashraf Khalil. The emirs established their summer residence in Aabey, where the remains of several buildings can still be seen today. Among the monuments left by this feudal dynasty is the Fountain of Emirs, the residence of Emir Qa'an At-Tannoukhi (17th-18th centuries), the residence of Sheikh Riad Amine Eddine, and the restored Druze tomb ( Maqam) of the revered Druze theologian Sayid Abdallah at-Tannukhi (died 1479), who is credited with uniting the Druze of the
Chouf Chouf (also spelled Shouf, Shuf or Chuf; ) is a historic region of Lebanon, as well as an administrative district in the governorate ( muhafazat) of Mount Lebanon. Geography Located south-east of Beirut, the region comprises a narrow coastal stri ...
mountains. Notable churches include the Church of as-Saydeh, Church of Mar Sarkis and Bakhos, Church of Mar Maroun, and the Evangelical Church founded by European missionaries in the 17th century. During the early 19th century, American
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
missionaries began arriving in Beirut. The Druze, unlike their
Maronite Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally re ...
and
Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...
contemporaries, welcomed the establishment of schools in their villages. In 1839 the missionaries established a medical centre in Aabey. in 1843 W.M. Thomson and Cornelius Van Alen Van Dyck came to live in the village and set up a boys seminary. In his ''The Land and the Book,'' Thomson gives a vivid account of the village being overrun by an invasion of
locusts Locusts (derived from the Latin ''locusta'', locust or lobster) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a Swarm behaviour, swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circu ...
which lasted four days. In 1838, Eli Smith noted the village, called Abeih '', located in ''El-Ghurb el-Fokany'', upper ''el-Ghurb''.


Notables

Melkite Archbishop
Grégoire Haddad Grégoire Haddad (; 25 September 1924 – 23 December 2015) was Archeparch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Beirut and Byblos from 1968 to 1975. He was known as the "Red Bishop of Beirut" promoting a secular "social movement" and a pla ...
, later known as the "Red Bishop of Beirut", was born in Aabey. Surgeon Sami Ibrahim Haddad (born in
Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...
, Palestine) was originally from Aabey; he returned and founded the Orient Hospital which was later run by his sons Dr Farid Haddad and Dr Fuad Haddad who were both born in the village. Gregory IV of Antioch (born Ghantus Haddad)
patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...
of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, was born in Aabey in 1859. Presbyterian missionary Layyah Barakat was born in Aabey, and returned in 1922 to open an orphanage for girls there. Aabey is the seat of the house of Al Nakadi, a Druze feudal family in Mount Lebanon. Ιn 1845 part of the Nakadi family, namely sheikh Qasim and his brothers Salim and Said, left Deir al-Qamar and relocated to Aabey. Aabey is the birthplace of Fuad Hamza who served as the personal adviser of King Abdulaziz, the founder of
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
. He was granted Saudi nationality and was appointed as a Saudi ambassador to
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, as well as Saudi deputy minister for foreign affairs. One of his famous books is "Al-Bilad Al-Arabia Al-Saudia".


Families of Aabey

The main families in Aabey are: Hamza, Halabi, Haddad, Hassan, Abdel Wili, Amaneldine, Ataya, Faraj, Jamal, Jaber, Nakadi, Nasr, Kuntar, Ghrayeb, Khoury, Kanaan, Raydan, Shreety, Timani and Wehbe.


References


Bibliography

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External links


Aabey – Ain Drafil
Localiban
Aabey Municipality Official BlogAabey Facebook Page Aabey Heritage Association
{{Aley District Populated places in Aley District