Kfar Chleymane (), also Kfarchleiman, is a small village of the

Batroun District Batroun District () is a district (''qadaa'') located in the North Governorate, Lebanon, south of Tripoli. Its capital is the city of Batroun, which is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Its natural borders are: in t ...

in the north of

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 ...

located 16 km from

Batroun Batroun ( ';, ancient Botrys (), is a coastal city in northern Lebanon and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is the capital city of Batroun District. The main Political Party of this city is the Free patriotic ...

and 69 km from

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 ...

Etymology

According to

Anis Freiha Anis Freiha (also spelled Freyha or Feiha) was a Lebanese author who has written extensively about Lebanese traditional village life. Life He was born in the town of Ras el Matn, Mount Lebanon, and studied at the American University of Beirut A ...

's "''A Dictionary of the Names of Towns and Villages in Lebanon''", Kfar Chleymane comes from Syriac and means ''The Village of Sleiman''.

Demographics

In 2014

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

made up 100% of registered voters in Kfar Chleymane. 93.83% of the voters were

Maronite Catholics The Maronite Church (; ) is an Eastern Catholic ''sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. The head of the Maronite ...

. Kfar Chleimane's population is very small, consisting mainly of members of the Bassil family,https://lub-anan.com/المحافظات/الشمال/البترون/كفرشليمان/العائلات/ which is believed to originate from Dinniyeh region near

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

Church

The Our Lady of Naya church is the only one in Kfar Chleymane and is known for its 12th century vestige. Frescoes representing the Christ or other

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

scenes can be found in a little cave carved in the stone under the church. Parts of the frescoes were burnt by mistake before their historical importance was discovered. Moreover, the stones around the church are carved into stairs that can also be dated to the 12th century.

Legend

An ancient legend says that under the soil of the church exists a hidden convent, but nobody knows if those legends are true and no researches were ever led.

References

Populated places in Batroun District {{Lebanon-geo-stub