Kessrewan, resistance, heroism, a people brave and
glorious!
Kessrewan stretches from North Metn “The Kateh”,
to Ftouh, which now is part of it, and used to include
a large part of the Jbeil-Byblos region. Alone,
Kessrewan once made up almost half of Mount Lebanon.
Ftouh-Kessrewan is a name derived from the Arabic
word meaning conquest, entry, or opening up. In
point of fact the area was conquered by the Arabs,
and this gave it the name Ftouh. The capital of
this Ftouh is Ghazir, the largest agglomeration
of buildings in the region. The name of this town
is of Semitic origin and is to be found in the Bible
in Joshua ch. 10, v. 33.
It is impossible to sum of Ghazir in a mere couple
of pages. This would need several volumes, an encyclopedia
rather. Ghazir is fifteen miles from the capital
of Lebanon, Beirut, and stands at 1,300 feet above
sea level. On its west side it touches the coast
at Maameltein near Jounieh, to t he north Guineh,
to the east Aramoun and Katten, and to the south
Sahel Alma close by Jounieh itself. There are many
roads going up to Ghazir, coming from all directions.
The nearest and easiest approach is from the Beirut-Tripoli
high road, only five minutes away from Ghazir by
car.
How can one talk of Ghazir, its history, its tourist
attractions, its traditions and customs, its old
souq of shops, and its wide squares, the central
one or the one facing the seminary of the Maronite
Fathers that once belonged to the Jesuits? In this
seminary Ernest Renan wrote his famous Vie de Jésus,
Life of Jesus.
Ghazir has more than ten churches, including Our
Lady of the Towers, Saint Elias’, Our Lady “Habshiyyeh”,
and a great number of monasteries and religious
houses such as those of Our Lady of the Pastures,
Saint Maroun, Saint Anthony, Al-Mazar, and Saint
Francis, and the schools of the nuns as well as
the official schools.
From the seventeenth century to the nineteenth the
raising of silk worms and silk production flourished
and provided substantial financial income for the
village folk, helping them to get through the darker
periods of history.
In Ghazir there is a Jaafarite Shiite tribunal.
This was the birthplace of Emir Shehab the Great
as well as of President Fuad Shehab. Several outstanding
families have dominated Ghazir, such as the Shehab
emirs, the Maan emirs, the Assaf emirs, the sheikhs
Hobaish, and others.
In 1823 a great Patriarch, Yussef Hobaish was elected
to be head of the Maronite community during a period
covering the Peasant Revolt and the confessional
strife between Maronites and Druze.
There are several religious confraternities, for
example the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception,
the Legion of Mary, the charity of Saint Vincent
de Paul, and the parish choir. There is a parish
council, a clinic for the care and help of the sick,
and the Scouts of Lebanon. A bust of Renan stands
in the town’s central square and another connection
with France is the twinning between Ghazir and the
town of Tréguier in France, established in
the year 2009.
Among its sons and daughters the town counts politicians,
scholars, poets, men of learning, historians, thinkers,
researchers, artists and very active artisans. Some
years ago a sports stadium was put up where international
competitions are held.
Emigrants and travelers from Ghazir have gone round
the world, among whom we make particular mention
of Al-Ghaziri, a monk who was a specialist in eastern
languages, an archivist, and Vatican librarian.
Attention should be drawn to the beautiful typical
Lebanese houses with their red-tiled roofs, in addition
to the large new buildings, the many new luxurious
residences, the centers, the orchards of fruit trees,
the stretches of woodland, the springs of rushing
water, the several caves including that of the Lion,
the old flour-mills, the old alleyways, and the
new roads serving the whole region. In Ghazir the
home industry of food preserves is expanding and
thousands of families come here to get their famous
Lebanese “mouneh” for the winter.
The Town Hall was built in 1904 during the time
of the Muhafez administration.
From Ghazir one has a sweeping view of the horizon
stretching along the coastline south to Beirut and
north to the shores of Jbeil-Byblos. Making good
use of the town’s infrastructure, the Town Council
and whole municipality work for the modernization
of the town and support many cultural and artistic
activities including conferences, theater plays,
dances, competitions, games, concerts and bazaars.
To these achievements may be added a school of agriculture
which provides a career near home for the young,
and other schools which make Ghazir a national center
of education attracting students from far and wide.
Festivals and ceremonies take place on a large scale,
backed by restaurants by the dozen and hotels, chalets
and night-clubs overlooking the beaches.
Ghazir is also a land of sanctity, prayer, and sacrifice;
one of its sons was the illustrious Father Yaacoub,
who has been beatified and is soon to be canonized.
The wineries and distilleries are flourishing and
the wine Musar has attained international fame,
while the arack produced here is widely appreciated.
The charm of this town of Ghazir comes from its
will to safeguard its traditional picturesque aspect
with its rural and historic atmosphere, while at
the same time keeping up-to-date.
Joseph Matar - Translation from the French:
Kenneth J. Mortimer
- Ghazir old souk 1: >> View
Movie << (2017-02-20)
- Ghazir old souk 2: >> View
Movie << (2017-02-20)
- Home Father Yaacoub 1: >> View
Movie << (2017-03-28)
- Home Father Yaacoub 2: >> View
Movie << (2017-03-28)
- Home Father Yaacoub 3: >> View
Movie << (2017-03-28)
- Saint Francis convent: >> View
Movie << (2017-03-28)
