Aalma ash-Shaab علما الشعب 'Alma ash Sha'b | |
|---|---|
Municipality | |
  Aalma ash-Shaab | |
| Coordinates:33°06′14″N35°10′58″E / 33.10389°N 35.18278°E /33.10389; 35.18278 | |
| Grid position | 167/278PAL |
| Country |  Lebanon |
| Governorate | South Governorate |
| District | Tyre |
| Highest elevation | 1,250 ft (380 m) |
| Population (2015)[1] | |
• Total | 1,080 |
| Time zone | GMT +3 |
Aalma ash-Shaab (Arabic:علما الشعب) is a municipality in theTyre District, in SouthernLebanon.
According toE. H. Palmer, ’Alma means "a coat of mail"; while Shảub means "mountain spurs".[2]According to Dr. Anis Freyha in his book " A Dictionary of the Names of Towns and Villages in Lebanon" 2nd edition 1985, page 117, he mentions that the root of the name is Semitic (עלם) and could mean "the hidden" or sexual maturity, the same in Phoenicians and Aramaic.
In 1875, during the lateOttoman period,Victor Guérin found here a village with 350 inhabitants, mostly Greek catholics, orMaronite.[3]
In 1881, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it: “A large Christian village, containing about 500 inhabitants. The houses are clean and well built. There are two chapels, and the place seems increasing in size. It is situated on a ridge, with figs, olives, and pomegranates and arable land around. To the east and north the land is covered with brushwood. There is a spring within reach, and about thirty rock-cutcisterns in the village.”[4]
In 2009, there were 400 members of theSaint-Élie parish of theMelkite Church in the village.[5]
Since the beginning of theGaza war, Shia Islamist groupHezbollahhas joined the conflict by launching rocket and drone attacks on the occupiedShebaa farms and Israel from areas in southern Lebanon. As a result, at least 800 residents have fled the village out of fear of getting caught in the crossfire, leaving only about 100 remaining. Israel has conducted retaliatory strikes targeting what they claim is "Hezbollah infrastructure", which according to the deputy mayor, destroyed several structures in the village.[6]
In 2014Christians made up 98.06% of registered voters in Aalma ash-Shaab. 42.62% of the voters wereMaronite Catholics and 39.19% wereGreek Catholics.[7]
| Climate data for Aalma ash-Shaab, elevation 385 m (1,263 ft) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 15.8 (60.4) | 16.1 (61.0) | 18.8 (65.8) | 21.7 (71.1) | 25.6 (78.1) | 28.2 (82.8) | 29.5 (85.1) | 30.6 (87.1) | 28.5 (83.3) | 26.5 (79.7) | 22.7 (72.9) | 18.3 (64.9) | 23.5 (74.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 12.1 (53.8) | 12.5 (54.5) | 14.3 (57.7) | 16.6 (61.9) | 20.2 (68.4) | 22.7 (72.9) | 24.1 (75.4) | 25.5 (77.9) | 23.7 (74.7) | 21.7 (71.1) | 18.2 (64.8) | 14.6 (58.3) | 18.8 (66.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 9.5 (49.1) | 9.6 (49.3) | 10.3 (50.5) | 12.3 (54.1) | 15.3 (59.5) | 17.6 (63.7) | 19.2 (66.6) | 21.0 (69.8) | 19.8 (67.6) | 18.1 (64.6) | 14.8 (58.6) | 11.8 (53.2) | 14.9 (58.9) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 186 (7.3) | 158 (6.2) | 70 (2.8) | 32 (1.3) | 10 (0.4) | 1 (0.0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 4 (0.2) | 31 (1.2) | 73 (2.9) | 184 (7.2) | 749 (29.5) |
| Source:FAO[8] | |||||||||||||
| International | |
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| Other | |
