Khenchara (Arabic: الخنشارة) is a village in
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 is situated in the
Metn
Matn (, '), sometimes spelled Metn (or preceded by the article El, as in El Matn), is a district (''qadaa'') in the Mount Lebanon Governorate of Lebanon, east of the Lebanon's capital Beirut. The district capital is Jdeideh (followed to Jdeideh, ...
district (or
qadaa
A kaza (, "judgment" or "jurisdiction") was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. It is also discussed in English under the names district, subdistrict, and juridical district. Kazas continued to be used by some of the empire's succe ...
) (
Caza). It is located between
Ghabet Bologna (غابة بولونيا),
Bteghrine
Bteghrine (, also spelled Bteghrin and Btighrin) is a municipality in the Matn District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate of Lebanon.
Etymology
The exact origin of the town name ''Bteghrine'' is unknown, but possibilities include ''Place of Warr ...
(بتغرين) and
Dhour El Choueir - Ain el Sendianeh (ضهور الشوير - عين السنديانة).
The village is 30 kilometres (18.6 mi) north east of Beirut. The altitude of the village ranges from 1070 m to 1200 m.
Covering an area of about 328 hectares (1.26 sq mi), this attractive village is known for its traditional red-roofed brick houses and its skilled stonemasons.
Khenchara and
Jouar
Jouar El-Matn is a village in Lebanon. It is located between Chrine, Chouweir and Khenchara, on the main road to Bteghrine Baskinta, and is north east of Beirut. Covering an area of about , this village is known for its traditional red-roofe ...
are under the same municipality. The estimated population number is 3543.
The most common families installed in the village are : Samaha, Riachy, Kanaan, Kassouf, Kfoury, Korban, Kouzy, Moawad, Henoud, Akl, Maalouf, Bejjeni, Barakat, Aboud and Abou Chawareb. The majority of the population is
Melkites with some
Maronites
Maronites (; ) are a 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 resided near Mount ...
and
Greek Orthodox Christians.
Khenchara is the home of the Melchite Catholics, the Monastery of St. John of Chouweir or Deir et-Tabcheh, the motherhouse of the
Basilian Chouerite Order, founded 1696–97. The oldest of its three churches is dedicated to St. John the Baptist and dates to the 12th century. There is also the 18th century church of Saint Nicolas, with its beautiful iconostatis of wood.
In addition to its notable collection of icons and library, the monastery is also known as the site of the Middle East's first Arabic Printing Press
Arabic language
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
printing press
A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...
, whose first original publication appeared in 1734. A five-room museum displays the old presses and some 450 related objects and pieces of equipment.
The founder of the press,
Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to:
* The Catholic Church in Greece
* The Eastern Catholic Churches
The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...
monk,
Abdallah Zakher
Abdallah Zakher (; ) (1684–1748) was a Syrian-born (in Aleppo) typographer and Catholic deacon who set up the first printing press in the Middle East.
His printing press used Arabic movable type and was installed in 1733 in the motherhouse of th ...
from Aleppo, built the printing machine between 1726 and 1733, the first homemade press in Lebanon, and set it up in 1733 at the monastery of Saint John. He created the first true Arabic script type in the Middle East, personally cut the type molds for using movable type, and did the founding of the elegant typeface. The first book off the Zakhir press was printed in 1734; this press continued to be used until 1899.
The weather in Khenchara is pretty pleasant with temperatures varying from 18 to 35 degrees Celsius in summer, 13 to 20 degrees Celsius in autumn. In winter, the weather is cold with the temperatures varying from -7 to 10 degrees Celsius. It snows every winter between 30 and 70 centimeters, but the snow quickly melts.
References
Khinchara - Jouar Localiban
Khencharajwar website(Arabic)
Populated places in Matn District
Melkite Christian communities in Lebanon
Maronite Christian communities in Lebanon
Eastern Orthodox Christian communities in Lebanon
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