Souk El Gharb سوق الغرب | |
|---|---|
City | |
  Souk El Gharb Location within Lebanon | |
| Coordinates:33°47′33″N35°33′45″E / 33.7925°N 35.5625°E /33.7925; 35.5625 | |
| Country |  Lebanon |
| Governorate | Mount Lebanon Governorate |
| District | Aley District |
| Highest elevation | 750 m (2,460 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 674 m (2,211 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Dialing code | +961 |
Souk El Gharb (Arabic:سوق الغرب), (also spelled Suk, Sug al, ul, Suq), is a town located in theAley District,Mount Lebanon Governorate, inLebanon and its name translates to "Western Market".
Before theLebanese Civil War (1975–1990), this mountain town surrounded bypine woods was a prosperous mountain resort nestled in the mountains of theAley District ofMount Lebanon, overlookingSaint George Bay andBeirut. Being located only a few kilometers away from the district capital ofAley, it is now considered one of Aley's suburbs. The villages that lie between Aley and Souk El Gharb are Bmakine and the two Ains (the modern spelling in Lebanese Arabic isa'ayn): Ain el-Sayydé ("Our Lady's spring"), and Ain el-Rimmané ("The spring of the pomegranate"). South of Souk El Gharb is located the village ofKaifun.
The inhabitants of Souk El Garb are predominantlyGreek-Catholics andGreek-Orthodox Christians. Prior to the outbreak of the Civil War in 1975, the town, along with neighboring Aley, was a popular tourist destination for wealthy Arab outsiders from theArab countries of the Persian Gulf, who used to own luxuriousvillas there where they spent the summers, escaping the heat and humidity in their own countries.
Souk El Gharb was famous for housing several important schools and teaching institutions in Lebanon, including: the Souk El Gharb Presbyterian School (alumni includeAbraham Rihbany), the Souk El Gharb College of Lebanon, the Souk El Gharb Technical Institute and College, the Souk el Gharb School for English Instruction, and the Souk El Gharb Boarding School for Boys. In addition to these schools, Souk El Gharb also houses theBalamand university.
Souk El Gharb has been inhabited since ancient times, as attested by theRoman vestiges found in the town area. Most of its historical buildings date back at least from the era of Ottoman rule in the 16th century.
The town itself was the scene of several notable fierce battles during theLebanese Civil War, its notability arising from being actually held for a long time by theLebanese Army rather than a particular Lebanese militia. This was sometimes achieved against great odds, by facing strong pressure from Lebanese Muslim militias backed both bySyrian Army forces stationed at Lebanon and thePalestine Liberation Organization (PLO) guerrilla factions. Between September 1983 and October 1990, GeneralMichel Aoun'sEighth Brigade managed to repulse theDruzeProgressive Socialist Party'sPeople's Liberation Army (PLA) militia and their allies' attempts to wrestle control of the town. Unfortunately for the local civilian population, it also led to the destruction of much of their town.
On 10 August 1989 the Syrians launched a massive and sustained artillery barrage on the positions held by Lebanese Army units loyal to GeneralMichel Aoun, followed three days later by a PSP/PLA ground offensive against their positions in Souk El Gharb overlooking the presidential palace atBaabda and the Ministry of Defence atYarze. The assault was repulsed with 20–30 PSP/PLA men being killed.[2]
In June 2005, parliamentary elections were held in the town for the first time since the withdrawal ofSyrian Army troops from Lebanon. One resident put it in this way: "For me, ballot box battles are for sure much better than gunbattles..."[3]
Souk El-Gharb figured prominently in the Civil War years, but during this particular timeframe the town attracted worldwide attention due to the involvement of the United States Navy in theMountain War, whose backdrop was theIsraeli invasion of Lebanon in June 1982. On August 31, 1983, theIsrael Defense Forces (IDF) unilaterally withdrew from theChouf District located southeast of Beirut, thus removing the buffer between the Druze PLA and theChristian MaroniteLebanese Forces (LF) militias and triggered another round of brutal fighting. By September, theDruze PSP/PLA had defeated the LF in a series of engagements and gained control over most of the Chouf. In later stages of the battle, theLebanese Army loyal to PresidentAmin Gemayel's government relieved the LF and took over the positions that they had held onto in Chouf.
Baabda lay downhill on theBeirut–Aley–Damascus highway, and any militia forces advancing from the south had to pass through Souk El Gharb in order to get into the Beirut–Aley road. Moreover, Souk El Gharb controlled a ridge that overlooked the key East Beirut districts ofBaabda andYarze, where were located thePresidential Palace and theLebanese Ministry of Defense complex, respectively. From that ridge, Druze PLA artillery units had a point-blank light of sight to those areas.
The Lebanese Army Commander-in-Chief,Lieutenant generalIbrahim Tannous, tried to get the Americans involved, reasoning with them that they should do so, since the Syrians were backing the anti-government militias. At first, the Americans refused but eventually agreed when they were told that Souk El Gharb was in danger of being overrun.[4] The nuclear-powered missile cruiserUSS Virginia, and the destroyerUSS John Rodgers, the frigateUSS Bowen, and the destroyerUSS Arthur W. Radford fired 338 rounds from their five-inch (127 mm) naval guns in support of theLebanese Army units defending Souk El Gharb. Eventually, the Lebanese Army'sEighth Brigade bore the brunt of the attacks, but succeeded in retaining control of the town after three days of heavy fighting. However, it remains an open question whether they would have held it without the American naval support.[5][6] Much of the town was left in ruins during these hostilities. The PLA seized Souk El Gharb three times over, but failed at each occasion to keep it for long: firstly in September 1983, because of the American naval bombardments; secondly in March 1984, after U.S. troops left Lebanon and because of internal political pressure brought to bear on the PSP/PLA to withdraw from Souk El Gharb; and thirdly in 1987, after the PLA temporarily took control of the area, a quarrel between Druze troops allowed the Lebanese Army'sFifth Brigade to retake the town, which they held until October 13, 1990, when it fell to an alliance of Druze PSP/PLA, ChristianLebanese Forces – Executive Command (LFEC) andSyrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) militias andSyrian Army troops.
Some authors, includingThomas Friedman, have argued that the use of the naval bombardments was the turning point in which the U.S. military forces of theMultinational Force in Lebanon (MNF) contingent began to be perceived as active participants in the ongoing civil war rather than neutral peacekeepers, which made them vulnerable to retaliation.[7][8]
Much use was made oflandmines in the vicinity of the town and demining is an ongoing concern. One strategic position known as Hill 888, overlooking theBeirut International Airport was extensively mined.[9]
Capital:Aley | ||
| Towns and villages |  | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
