Al-Qlaiaah () is a municipality in the

Marjayoun District The Marjayoun District is a district in the Nabatieh Governorate of Lebanon. The capital of the district is Marjayoun. Marjayoun stands at a hill facing Mount Hermon to the East, with Beaufort Castle, Lebanon, Beaufort Castle. The Litani River an ...

in southern

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 ...

. The inhabitants are mainly

Maronite Christians 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 ...

Etymology

According to

E. H. Palmer Edward Henry Palmer (7 August 184010 August 1882), known as E. H. Palmer, was an England, English oriental studies, orientalist and explorer. Biography Youth and education Palmer was born in Green Street, Cambridge, the son of a private scho ...

, the name means "the little castle".

History

In 1838,

Eli Smith Eli Smith (September 13, 1801 – January 11, 1857) was an American Protestant missionary and scholar. Biography Smith was born in Northford, Connecticut, to Eli and Polly (née Whitney) Smith. He graduated from Yale College in 1821 and from A ...

noted Al-Qlaiaah's population as

Maronite Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christianity, 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 re ...

. In 1870

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

found the village to have 400 Maronite inhabitants. In 1881, the PEF's ''Survey of Western Palestine'' (SWP) described it: "A village, built of stone, containing about 150 Christians; it contains a church, and is situated on a ridge, with vineyards, olives, figs, and arable land around; it has a birket and spring near." Note that a birket is a pool of water.

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 98.81% of registered voters in Al-Qlaiaah. 92.40% 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 ...

. https://lub-anan.com/المحافظات/النبطية/مرجعيون/القليعة/المذاهب/

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links