Mahrouna ( ar, محرونة) is a small

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit w ...

town located in the south of

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

. It is situated at a distance of 100 kilometres from

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, the capital, and 18 kilometres to the southeast of the city of

Tyre Tyre most often refers to: * Tire, the outer part of a wheel * Tyre, Lebanon, a Mediterranean city Tyre or Tyres may also refer to: Other places Lebanon * Tyre District * See of Tyre, a Christian diocese *Tyre Hippodrome, a UNESCO World Heritag ...

. Mahrouna stands at a height of 400 meters above sea level. The population count is at approximately 3,800 inhabitants, however this number increases to about 5,000 during the vacations and summer times. According to a municipal member, this is the city of origin of the Lebanese poet and politician Tannus Alejandro Wehbe Malik who left for Colombia during the late Ottoman period. He is also directly related to the Lebanese singer and actress

Haifa Wehbe Haifa Wehbe ( ar, هيفاء وهبي ) is a Lebanese-Egyptian singer and actress. She has released seven studio albums, and made her acting debut in the 2008 Pepsi-produced film ''Sea of Stars''. In 2006, Wehbe was on '' People Magazine''s 50 ...

, also native to Mahrouna, and Jorge Wehbe, director at the

Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires The Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires ( es, Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires), better known as Banco Provincia, is a publicly owned bank in Argentina and the second-largest in the country by value of assets and deposits. History The prog ...

in 1955.

Name

E. H. Palmer wrote that the name Mahrûneh came from "'carded' (as cotton)."

History

In 1875

Victor Guérin Victor Guérin (15 September 1821 – 21 Septembe 1890) was a French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included Greece, Asia Min ...

found it to be a

Metawileh Lebanese Shia Muslims ( ar, المسلمون الشيعة اللبنانيين), historically known as ''matāwila'' ( ar, متاولة, plural of ''mutawālin'' ebanese pronounced as ''metouali'' refers to Lebanese people who are adherents ...

village, he further noted: "Here are traces of a surrounding wall, ancient materials, a tomb cut in the rock, and a

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

, a part of which has been formed into a tank." In 1881, the

PEF PEF, PeF, or Pef may stand for the following abbreviations: * Palestine Exploration Fund * Peak expiratory flow * PEF Private University of Management Vienna * Pentax raw file (see Raw image format) * Perpetual Education Fund * Perpetual Emigratio ...

's ''Survey of Western Palestine'' (SWP) described it as: "A village, built of stone, containing about 150

; no houses of note; situated on a hill, surrounded by olives, figs, and arable land, with a spring and

cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by ...

s." This peaceful quiet town is rich with its green surrounding, but it is especially famous for its

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

and

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

trees hill which forms a natural park for the town’s residents. This hill has an ancient ruin at the top with large squared stones arranged on top of each other to form part of a solid wall corner. The residents believe it to be the remains of a small castle or stronghold.
Unfortunately, this greenly oak hill has been bombarded several times since the 1970s by the Israeli jets. As a result, large numbers of oak trees were burnt in some parts of the hill, especially in 2006. Mahrouna became a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

in 2004. During these municipal elections, nine municipal council members were elected for six years, with Kamal Wehbe elected president. Currently the municipality runs the services required for the town independently, although still remaining under the control of the central government.

, one of the most famous artists in the Arab world, was born in Mahrouna; she also won Miss South Lebanon in 1992, and was runner up for Miss Lebanon in 1996.

Demography

The town is predominantly inhabited by

Shia Muslims Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...

, though the surrounding area also has a significant

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

minority.

Gallery

File:Town-House-By-Haasan-Makki-05-08 (2).jpg, Old Town House File:Mahrouna Green View-05-08- By H-Makki.jpg, Town's Green View File:Mahrona-OakTreeHill-By-H-Makki-5-2008.jpg, Oak Tree Hill

References

Bibliography

* * *

Sources

*Municipality of Mahrouna
Ministry of Interior and Municipalities, Republic of Lebanon

External links

* Survey of Western Palestine, Map 2
IAA

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Mahrouna
Localiban {{Tyre District Populated places in Tyre District Shia Muslim communities in Lebanon