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
