Joun
Encyclopedia
Joun is a Lebanese village sitting on seven hills in the Chouf (in Arabic قضاء الشوف) district of Mount Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

 at a distant 13 kilometers from the city of Sidon
Sidon
Sidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...

.

Joun means in Assyrian “the corner,” and it is located in between Mount Lebanon and South Lebanon, forming a corner shape.

It is a village of approximately 7,400 inhabitants mainly Greek Catholic, Shiite and Maronite.

History

Joun is an old village located above the temple of the Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...

n god Eshmun
Eshmun
Eshmun was a Phoenician god of healing and the tutelary god of Sidon.This god was known at least from the Iron Age period at Sidon and was worshipped also in Tyre, Beirut, Cyprus, Sardinia, and in Carthage where the site of Eshmun's temple is now occupied by the chapel of Saint Louis.According to...

 near the city of Sidon
Sidon
Sidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...

.

In 1887 the Ottomans appointed the first commission of Joun.

The members were:

Greek Catholic: Gerges Chamy, Mitri Mousawbaa, Assaad Khoriaty, Mikhael Nab’aa, Youssef Gebran Khoury.

Shiite: Hossein Chamseddine, Hossein Saleh.

Maronite: Ibrahim Youness, Youssef Estephan

Protestant: Youssef Koussa
Their tasks were to take care of the land of Joun and regulate the environment and day-to-day work, such as agricultural life and water and also to supervise the local security.

In 1898, the commission had its own logo, and each member had his own stamp. And the members used it to sign official statements.

In 1903, the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 put a law that required electing the municipality members instead of recruiting them; And since then, Joun had its elected officials who took care of local matters as well as supervised the relationship with the national authority.

Notable people

95 % of Joun’s population are educated, mostly doctors, judges, lawyers, engineers, bishops and high position clergymen, journalists, government employees, and members of parliament.

Joun is also known for its cultural life, five of its sons are well known artists: the comedian Shoushou, the singer Nasri Shamsedine, the actor Michel Nab’aa, the composer Nasser Makhoul and the much known Salam Chahine.

Joun today

Joun today has a municipality of 15 members; the head of the municipality is Eng. Tony Fawaz.

Joun has a public Library (Michel Nab’aa Public Library).

In Joun today there are three churches and one mosque, also four schools: two public and two private.

Joun is a village rich in olive trees and grapes and is known for its olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...

 and soap
Soap
In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid.IUPAC. "" Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. . Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford . XML on-line corrected version: created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN...

.

Families

Joun families are:

Abdennour, Abou Abdo, Barbar, Borkhoche, Chami, Chamseddine, Chmouny, Doumit, Eid, Estephan, Fawaz, Ghosn, Hanna, Haydar, Hijazy, Ismail, Issa, Jaweesh, Kassem, Khoriaty, Khoury, Makhoul, Ma'louly, Mo’ty, Mousawbaa, Nachef, Nassar, Roufael, Roukoz, Saade, Saleh, Sammoun, Sleiman, Srour, Talj, Zein, Ziadeh, Bassila, Assaad, Maroun, Elias, Abdo, Mezhir, Farah, Costantin, Fram, Badiri, Kawkabani, Kabkab, Lteif, Metri, Nasr, Hourani, Chahine, Nabaa, Aabboud, Aalaeedin, Saad, kanaan, ojeimi

Tourism

Monastery Saint Savior

Monastery Saint (in Arabic دير المخلص) of the Melkite
Melkite Greek Catholic Church
The Melkite Greek Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catholic Church. The Melkites, Byzantine Rite Catholics of mixed Eastern Mediterranean and Greek origin, trace their history to the early Christians of Antioch, Syria, of...

 Basilian Salvatorian Order
Basilian Salvatorian Order
The Basilian Salvatorian Order is a religious order of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. The Latin name of this order is Ordo Basilianus Sanctissimi Salvatoris, the French name is Ordre Basilien Salvatorien. The name cames from its motherhouse, the Holy Saviour monastery, The Basilian Salvatorian...

 was built on a hill covered with pine and olive trees and grape vines and located in the east side of Joun beginning of the eighteenth century, and it constitutes a landmark in the Chouf district.

Lady Hester Lucy Stanhope site

This site is located on another hill to the north east side of Joun. This site is known as "Dahr El Sitt" (in Arabic ضهر الست).

Lady Hester Stanhope, who settled until her death in that residence, said in her memoirs written by her longtime friend Doctor Charles Meryon: the residence was on the tip of one of these hills and it was called by the villagers "Dahr El Sitt" or "Dar El Sitt."

Meryon also said about Lady Stanhope's house on the top of the hill shaped "like half orange". The house had a garden and a stable and other buildings for storage.

He implied that she liked the house because of its strategic location, "the house on the summit of a conical hill, whence comers and goers might be seen on every side," and the road from Joon to the cities of Sidon, Beirut and Deir El Qamar goes into lonely mountains full of jackals and wolves.

External links

Memoirs Of The ady Hester Stanhope:
  • http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=uvUKAAAAYAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=memoirs+/+hester+stanhope+&ots=29pWpCDtFe&sig=jgUmW8oEsxUolsaUU4_y-oHcvjM#PPR1,M1
  • http://www.middleeast.com/joun.htm
  • http://www.lebarmy.gov.lb/article.asp?ln=ar&id=7806
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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