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Panoramic Views > North > Akkar > Village of Beino

Bayno or Beino

There are many different origins proposed for this name, most of them being Canaanite.

- A word meaning the tamarisk, a tree very common in the region.
- The Temple of Juno, Bay Yuno, protector of women, in which case the origin would be Greek or Latin.
- Baytawana, the hostel or house.
- Bina, the feast or festival.

The village is practically in the middle of the caza or department of Akkar in North Lebanon and nestles on a mountain chain a little beyond Qammua. To reach it one takes the road from Tripoli to Syria, turning right at Abdeh towards Halba and following the departmental road passing through Sheikh Taba.

One finds oneself at an altitude of some two thousand feet in a mountainous region with a great variety of forest trees, such as oaks, pines and cypress. There is an agreeable temperate climate and pollution has not yet contaminated the area, which remains a scenic paradise with abundant verdure.

Beino is formed of two extensive stretches of land, Beino and Obula, and is administered by a capable municipal authority. Beino Village, Obula and the outskirts are divided into several quarters, namely Biatra, Haret Sagheyia, Haret Abboud, Dahnal Deir, and Wadi al-Askar – the Valley of Soldiers.

The inhabitants came originally from Houran in Syria. In 1640 a certain Faraj Atallah from Houran married the daughter of one Abboud. The church of Saint Theodore was built in the village and then others came to swell the population.

Like many other villages, Beino suffered much under Ottoman occupation, with the result that after World War I, many families moved out towards Beirut and Tripoli ub search of work and better economic conditions as well as good schools for their children.

It should also be noticed that a great many emigrated to the two Americas, proving themselves to be courageous, active, intelligent and constructive.

There are many olive groves in the region and abundant orchards of fruit trees such as apricot, fig and especially pomegranate trees, as well as vineyards. Formerly wheat was extensively cultivated for local consumption, particularly during the great famine provoked by the Ottoman Turks under the leadership of the bloodthirsty Jamal Pasha.

One can see at Beino beautiful oak trees that are more than four or five hundred years old, while ancient cypresses surround the village cemetery near the monastery of Mar Sarkis. One can admire the magnificent and well-cared-for gardens, perfuming the air with their roses and jasmine bushes, attached to the private homes and to the luxurious villas, one might say palaces. The people of Beino, now wealthy and generous, have spent large sums of money to make Beino the jewel of Akkar.

Several associations have been set up to help the people in the region around by financing schools and tennis, gymnastics, swimming and football clubs, while other organizations contribute to medical and social centers. An artificial lake has been laid out to help form a nature reserve abounding with birds and with such animals as gazelles, rabbits, horses, donkeys, dromedaries and ostriches, for the purposes of enriching the heritage, encouraging visitors and giving the local youth something to do.

Beino has given Lebanon some leading businessmen and other personalities who take an active part in developing the country, such as Issam Fares and the Attiyahs, men who have invested in many projects and made of Beino a model village, up-to-date and fully functioning. It is a place really worth a visit.

Joseph Matar
Translated from the French by K.J. Mortimer


- Beino Reserve 1: >> View Movie << (2015-12-01)
- Village of Beino 1: >> View Movie << (2015-12-01)
- Village of Beino 2: >> View Movie << (2015-12-01)
- Beino Reserve 2: >> View Movie << (2015-12-01)
 

 


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