Machghara (), also spelled Mashghara, is a town in the

Beqaa Valley The Beqaa Valley (, ; Bekaa, Biqâ, Becaa) is a fertile valley in eastern Lebanon and its most important farming region. Industry, especially the country's agricultural industry, also flourishes in Beqaa. The region broadly corresponds to th ...

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 ...

, situated in the

Western Beqaa District Western Beqaa District () is an administrative district in the Beqaa Governorate of the Republic of Lebanon. The capital is Joub Jannine which has a population of 12,000. Most of the residents of the district are Sunni Muslims, with a Christian ...

and south of the

Beqaa Governorate Beqaa ( ') is a governorate in Lebanon and one of the eight districts of the country. It is located in the eastern part of Lebanon and borders with Syria. The capital of the district is the city of Zahlé. Districts Since 2014, Beqaa Governorate ...

. It lies just to the northwest of Sohmor and southwest of

Lake Qaraoun Lake Qaraoun ( / ALA-LC: ''Buḥayrat al-Qara‘ūn'') is an artificial lake or reservoir located in the southern region of the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon. It was created near Qaraoun village in 1959 by building a concrete-faced rockfill dam (the larg ...

, south of

Aitanit Aitanite/ Aitaneet (عيتنيت) is a village in Lebanon, in the West Beqaa Governorate, Beqaa region. Aitanit is located in the southern region of Lebanon, particularly the Beqaa Valley. Aitanit is also located about 1070 meters above sea level ...

and north of

Ain Et Tine Aitanite/ Aitaneet (عيتنيت) is a village in Lebanon, in the West Beqaa region. Aitanit is located in the southern region of Lebanon, particularly the Beqaa Valley. Aitanit is also located about 1070 meters above sea level and is currently ...

, and 45km(28mi) south east of 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 ...

. The Iskander Spring lies to the northeast of the village. There were 9,944 registered voters in Machghara in 2010. The inhabitants of the town are

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 ...

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 ...

and

Shia Muslim Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...

s. On 14 June 1986 the

Syrian army The Syrian Army is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. Up until the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian Arab Army existed as a land force branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which dominanted the military service of the fo ...

entered Machghara to enforce a truce that they had brokered between

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

and the

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 ...

. During a week of fighting Hezbollah had taken control of the town.

History

Ottoman tax registers in 16th century indicate Machghara had two imams, 389 households and 26 bachelors, all

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Geography

The city is located at an average of 1,050 meters above sea level, more than 200 meters above the course of the

Litani River The Litani River (), the classical Leontes (), is an important water resource in southern Lebanon. The river rises in the fertile Beqaa Valley, west of Baalbek, and empties into the Mediterranean Sea north of Tyre. Exceeding in length, the ...

. It leans against the eastern slope of the

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round. Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...

massif. Machghara is part of the

Caza which has 18 localities.

Demographics

In 2014,

made up 60.44% and

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 38.87% of registered voters in Machghara. 58.17% of the voters were

Shiite Muslims Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood to ...

and 26.28% were

Greek Catholics Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gre ...

.https://lub-anan.com/المحافظات/البقاع/البقاع-الغربي/مشغره/المذاهب/

People from Machghara

Al-Hurr al-Amili Muḥammad bin al-Ḥasan bin ʿAlī bin al-Ḥusayn al-Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī al-Mashgharī (; 1033/1624 - 1104/1693), commonly known as Al-Ḥurr Al-ʿĀmilī (), was a prominent Akhbari Twelver Shia muhaddith. He is best known for his comprehensive ...

(1624–1693) *

Nicolas Hajj Nicolas Hajj, BS (born on 30 June 1907 in Machgara, Lebanon - died on 12 January 1995) was a Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Baniyas. Life Nicolas Hajj was ordained to the priesthood on April 1, 1934 ...

(1907–1995) *

Zaki Nassif Zaki Nassif (; 4 July 1918 – 10 March 2004) was a Lebanese music composer and singer. He was influential among the first generation of composers for the mass audience for music on radio in Lebanon in the 1940s and 1950s, and continued to be a ...

(1918–2004) * Salim Ghazal (1931–2011) *

Wassim Salamoun Wassim Salamoun, , (born 1952) is a Lebanese-born Canadian politician who is serving as Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island. Biography Salamoun was born in Machghara, Lebanon, in 1952. He holds a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Univ ...

(b. 1952), 30th and current

Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island The lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island () is the representative in Prince Edward Island of the monarch, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada. The lieutenant go ...

in Canada *

Riad Sharara Riad Sharara (also known as Reyad Sharara, Arabic: رياض شرارة) (1940 – September 24, 1994) was a Lebanese television presenter and sports commentator, journalist actor and author, known for his charisma and sense of humour. He is the ...

(1940-1994)

References

External links

Machghara
Localiban {{Western Beqaa District Populated places in Western Beqaa District Eastern Orthodox Christian communities in Lebanon Melkite Christian communities in Lebanon Shia Muslim communities in Lebanon