Jezzine جزين Jezzin | |
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Municipality | |
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  Jezzine Location in Lebanon | |
| Coordinates:33°32′24″N35°35′01″E / 33.54000°N 35.58361°E /33.54000; 35.58361 | |
| Country |  Lebanon |
| Governorate | South Governorate |
| District | Jezzine District |
| Elevation | 950 m (3,120 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Jezzine (Arabic:جزينJizzīn) is a municipality inLebanon, located 22 km (14 mi) fromSidon and 40 km (25 mi) south ofBeirut.[1] It is the capital ofJezzine District. Surrounded by mountain peaks, pine forests (like theBkassine Pine Forest), and at an average altitude of 950 m (3,117 ft), it is the main summer resort and tourist destination ofSouth Lebanon. The town is also known in Lebanon for the shrine ofOur Lady of the Waterfall.
The name, Jezzine, derives from theAramaic (Syriac) word, meaning "depot" or "store". Many historians believe that Jezzine served as a storing location for traders because of its strategic location on the caravan route that connected the ancient port city ofSidon to theChouf, theBeqaa Valley, and to Syria.[2]
TheAustralian 7th Division, withBritish andFree French forces, supported by theRoyal Australian Air Force,Royal Australian Navy,Royal Navy andRoyal Air Force, fought forJezzine againstVichy French forces in 1941.
Julián Slim Haddad (born Khalil Salim Haddad Aglamaz), was born in 1888 in Jezzine. He emigrated toMexico when he was 14 years old to avoid beingconscripted into theArmy of theOttoman Empire. After moving toMexico City, Julián established adry goods store, La Estrella de Oriente (The Star of the Orient). One of his sons,Carlos Slim Helú, born on 28 January 1940 in Mexico City, inherited his father's business talent and ultimately became the richest man in the world in 2007.[3]
Following the1982 invasion of Lebanon Jezzine became part of the Israeli ‘security zone’. On 6 June 1992 two members of theSouth Lebanon Army (SLA) were killed by a roadside bomb near Jezzine.[4] On 24 August 1995 fighting in Jezzine between the SLA andHizbollah resulted in two Hizbollah fighters being killed. The following day anIDF patrol in the area killed three more Hizbollah men.[5]
Technically Jezzine was not part of thesecurity zone but the town was the base for aSouth Lebanon Army (SLA) unit calling itself the 20th Battalion. The Israeli backed unit controlled five neighbouring villages. In the spring of 1997 Hizbollah launched a five-month campaign attempting to cut off the SLA in Jezzine from theIDF and the other SLA forces further south. On 18 June two SLA soldiers and an officer, as well as one civilian, were killed by a roadside bomb. In the aftermath the IDF detained a number of youths in the town and SLA commander-in-chiefAntoine Lahad visited and made threats of “unspecified violence” if attacks continued. The following month, 17 July, the Israeli head of Northern Command, Major GeneralAmiram Levin visited the town in attempt to bolster SLA morale. On 18 August a roadside bomb killed two teenage children of a local SLA commander who had been killed four years earlier. The SLA responded with indiscriminate shelling ofSidon which killed seven civilians and wounded thirty-five. Earlier the same month local notables, backed byDany Chamoun called on the government to move theLebanese army into Jezzine, without success. On 29 November two SLA members were killed by a roadside bomb outside Jezzine.[6]
In October 1998 it was reported that the population of Jezzine had fallen from 50,000 to around 3,000.[7]
On 1 June 1999 theSouth Lebanon Army began dismantling its TV station and headquarters in Jezzine. In the following two weeks they withdrew from the town and thirty six surrounding villages. Retreating SLA members and their families commandeered empty houses inMarjayun,Ibl al-Saqi andKawkaba in the IndianUNIFIL zone. At the time it was estimated that the SLA had only four hundred men.[8]
In 2014,Christians made up 99.11% of registered voters in Jezzine. 83.37% of the voters wereMaronite Catholics and 10.15% wereGreek Catholics.[9]
The number of inhabitatnts in Jezzine is about 16 thousand.[10] The inhabitants of Jezzine are mainlyMaronite andMelkiteChristians.[11]
The Feast of theAssumption of the Virgin Mary is celebrated on August 15 of each year with religious and cultural festivities.[citation needed]
The Jezzine Public Library was built in 1960 and underwent refurbishment in 2004.
Empire Jezzine, the local movie theatre, played Hollywood and Lebanese films. (Permanently closed)
The production of pine nuts is the main agriculture product of Bkassine, the neighbor of Jezzine.
Jezzine is known for its handcrafted knives and other cutlery, made of inlaid mosaics and bone. The cutlery has been presented as gifts to dignitaries all over the world as a memento of Lebanon.[12] The first family who produced this cutlery is the el Haddad family and started the company in 1770. The latest was Samir Haddad, who died in 2015 at the age of 84. He was praised for his skills and art by many people.[2]
Jezzine is a summer resort inSouth Lebanon. The town is located on the slopes of Tumat Niha and its landscape features pine-forested valleys and mountain summits, vineyards, orchards, ponds, and waterfalls. The town is known as the "City of Falls" because of its waterfalls, the Jezzine Falls.[2]
Like most towns onMount Lebanon, Jezzine has a large and successful diaspora, especially inLatin America and West Africa. For example the Aziz and Slim families have built sizeable businesses inMexico, as well as the Karam and Wehbe families in West Africa[13]
At the entrance of Jezzine, there is "Saydet Jezzine" or "Saydet el-Maabour" (Our Lady of Jezzine) shrine (Arabic:سيدة المعبور); inside it lies theChristian statue of theVirgin. In 1955, the Virgin Statue was erected during religions celebrations that occur on August 15, the day of the Virgin's Assumption. In the center of the town there is the Municipal Palace, which was built according to the Ottoman style in 1898 during the reign of Sultan Abd el Hamid and the "Qaim Maqam" of the district, Saleem Bey Aammoun, at the expense of the municipality.
On the outskirts of the town isSt. Maroun Church, which dates back to the 18th century. It was partially destroyed in 1759, and then repaired several times.
The churches in Jezzine are:
South of Jezzine lays Sirhal Palace, a huge building whose architecture is nontraditional. It was built by Dr. Farid Sirhal. The Palace includes spacious rooms topped with perforated glass colored vaults, as well as shapes of engraved water-springs. It is visible from the Ain Majdalein road, but is not open for visitors.[14]
Karam Wines, Southern Lebanon's only winery, owns land in the area where they primarily growSyrah andCabernet Sauvignon.[15]
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