Kfaraakka (), also spelled Kfarakka, is a village in the

Koura District Koura District (, from ) is a district in the North Governorate, Lebanon. Koura is one of the 26 districts of Lebanon, particularly known for its olive tree cultivation and olive oil production. It comprises a total of 52 villages, and its ca ...

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 ...

. It covers an area of 5.6 million square meters with an estimated population of 3,500. It had a population of 1,196 in 1953. Kfaraakka produces and exports the most

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

in Lebanon. It is about 350 meters above sea level, It has two hills: Mar Youhanna Hill, and Mar Nohra Hill. It is 17 kilometres from the coastal city of

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 ...

and 11 kilometres from

Chekka Chekka is a coastal town located in North Lebanon. It is located north of Râs ach-Chaq’a’ and Herri beaches, or Theoprosopon of classical times and south of the ancient Phoenician port of Enfeh and the city of Tripoli. The origin of the wor ...

Etymology

The village of Kfaraakka derives its name from the

Aramaic language Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient Syria (region), region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai Peninsula, Sinai, Southeastern Anatolia Regi ...

, composed of two words: Kafar and Aka. “Kafar” means village and "Aka" means sorrow, so the meaning of Kfaraakka is the village of sadness, gloom and distress.

Religion

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 98.65% of registered voters in Kfaraakka. 88.97% of the voters were

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 ...

Churches

* Anastasis Cathedral – Greek Orthodox. * St. Georges – Greek Orthodox. * St. Nohra – Greek Orthodox. * St. Mary – Greek Orthodox. * St. John The Baptist - Greek Orthodox. * St. Simeon monastery - Greek Orthodox. * St. Lucas - Greek Orthodox. * St. Georges – Maronite.

Education

There are two official complementary schools in Kfaraakka, one for males and one for females, a mixed public high school, a private professional institute (Freddy Atallah - IFA) and a branch of the American University for Culture and Education (AUCE).

Street names

As of 2017, Kfaraakka has 10 named streets *Al Biyad *Al Seha *Al Matriyeh *Al Ramieh *Dahr Al Mazraa *Fouk Al Bir *Mar Nohra *Mar Youhanna *Tahta *Talaa

History

Ottoman Era

In 1519, at the beginning of the Ottoman Era in Lebanon, the village was home to 67 adult Christian males and 4 adult Muslim ones. By 1571, the population had increased to 95 adult Christian males, though with only 3 adult Muslim males by this point.

French Occupation

The relationship with the French army was unstable. Many problems occurred between Kfarakka Citizens and the Algerians, Senegalese and Moroccans inductees in the French army. General

de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

has visited Kfarakka several times, especially the area of “Al Bader”, to meet the French soldiers.

1976-1978

Between 1976 and 1978, Kfarakka was under the control of the

Lebanese Front The Lebanese Front was a coalition of mainly right-wing Lebanese Nationalist parties formed in 1976 by majority Christian groups during the Lebanese Civil War. It was intended to act as a reaction force to the Lebanese National Movement (LNM) ...

1978-2005

From 1978 until the withdrawal of the Syrian army, Kafaraka was part of the Syrian-controlled areas in Lebanon. On 11 July 1984, pro-Syrian Marada Militia ousted

SSNP The Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP; ) is a Syrian nationalist party operating in Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. It advocates the establishment of a Greater Syrian nation state spanning the Fertile Crescent, including present-day Syria, Leban ...

and took control of Kfarakka until the end of the civil war in 1990.

Notable people

* Massad Boulos *

Michael Boulos Michael Boulos (born ) is a Lebanese-American business executive. He is a son-in-law of the 45th and 47th U.S. president Donald Trump through his marriage to Tiffany Trump. His father is Massad Boulos. Early life and education Born in Housto ...

Philippe Najib Boulos Philippe Najib Boulos (; 1902–1979) was a lawyer and an active figure of Lebanon's politics in the 20th century. He worked as a lawyer and involved in Politics of Lebanon, Lebanon's politics from 1941 until his death. During that period, he wa ...

References

External links

Kfar Aaqqa
, Localiban *The municipality of Kafarak

{{coord, 34.3030, N, 35.8370, E, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:LB, display=title Eastern Orthodox Christian communities in Lebanon Populated places in Koura District Maronite Christian communities in Lebanon