Hazmieh (also

Romanize In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...

d as Hazmiyé, Hazmie, Hazmiyeh, Hasmiyeh, Al Ḩāzimīyah, and El Hâzmîyé) is a city in

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 ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, and a suburb of

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 ...

, part of

Greater Beirut Greater Beirut () is the urban agglomeration comprising the city of Beirut (Beirut Governorate) and the adjacent municipalities over the Mount Lebanon Governorate. It does not constitute a single administrative unit. Greater Beirut geographicall ...

Geography

Hazmieh covers an area of 2.73 square kilometers directly southeast of Beirut, at an elevation of between 50–200 meters above sea level. Its borders are defined by the Beirut River and Sin El Fil Boulevard to the north, Camille Chamoun Boulevard to the west, by El Sayad Roundabout and Rihaniyya Junction to the south, and a military school to the east.

History

Hazmieh, along with other suburbs to the east of Beirut, has historically been a predominantly Christian area. For eighty-six years Hazmieh was the location of the Ashfuriyyeh mental hospital. Founded in 1896 by

Theophilus Waldmeier Theophilus Waldmeier (1832 in Basel – 1915) was a Swiss Calvinist missionary who later became a Quaker. Waldmeier was born in the Canton of Aargau and was brought up by his mother and grandmother, strict Roman Catholics, who insisted on th ...

, Ashfuriyeh was the first hospital in the Near East dedicated to the treatment of mentally ill patients. Waldmeier was influenced by the thinking of Daniel Tuke and the example of

The Retreat The Retreat, commonly known as the York Retreat, is a place in England for the treatment of people with mental health needs. Located in Lamel Hill in York, it operates as a not for profit charitable organisation. Opened in 1796, it is famous ...

hospital in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. In 2002, warlord

Elie Hobeika Elie Hobeika (also transliterated as Hubayqa; ; 22 September 1956 – 24 January 2002) was a Lebanese militia commander in the Lebanese Forces militia during the Lebanese Civil War and one of Bachir Gemayel's close confidants. He became infa ...

was assassinated along with three bodyguards in an explosion in Hazmieh. Hobeika had commanded troops in the Sabra and Shatila massacre in 1982. Another bombing in 2008 killed a Lebanese intelligence official who had been investigating militant groups in the country.

Name

According to Anis Fraiha in his book ''Names of Lebanese Cities and Villages'', the name Hazmieh comes from two Aramaic words: "haza" which translates as "watch," "monitor," or "observe"; and "mayya," which translates to "water" - he speculates the name refers to a guardian of water. Less credited resources attributed the name to other sources: * The words Hazmieh may come from the Arabic root "Hazm" (), which means "corral," because it was a meeting point for caravans heading into the mountains. * It refers to an unknown prince named Hazem () * It has Syriac roots from two words: "Haza," meaning deep; and "Mayya," meaning water, since there are springs in the vicinity.

Notable people

Élias Sarkis Élias Sarkis (; 20 July 1924 – 27 June 1985) was a Lebanese lawyer and politician who served as the 6th president of Lebanon from 1976 to 1982. Early life and education Élias Sarkis was born in Chebanieh, a mixed Christian-Druze mountain vil ...

, former Lebanese president Aline Asmar d'Amman, leading architect in France and Lebanon, was born here in 1975.

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

, singer and actress Samira Tewfik, singer

Wadih El Safi Wadih El Safi (, born Wadih Francis; November 1, 1921 – October 11, 2013) was a Lebanese singer and composer. Born in Niha, Lebanon, Wadih El Safi started his artistic journey at the age of sixteen when he took part in a singing contest hel ...

, singer and actor

Walid Toufic Walid Toutounji (), also known as Walid Toufic, born April 8, 1954, is a Lebanese singer and actor. Biography Walid Toufic, born Walid Toutounji, grew up with his Sunni family in Tripoli, Lebanon. He later relocated to western Beirut and lived ...

, singer

References

External links

Hazmiyeh (Baabda)
{{Baabda District Populated places in Baabda District Greater Beirut