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72-564: The populated area called Miziara is formed of four villages: Miziara, Harf Miziara, Houmeis and Sakhra. Miziara : Miziara sits on a hilltop at 800 m above sea level, overlooking Morh Kfarsghab , Jdeideh , Zgharta , Tripoli and the Mediterranean Sea . The road that leads to it goes through Zgharta , Kfarhata , Iaal and then to Miziara. The town's water source is in Ain El Moutran , coming through Bhairet Toula ,

144-613: A large financial penalty on the Jumblatts. Isma'il died in custody shortly after. Around this time, Sa'ad al-Khuri was arrested by Jezzar for ransom, but he too died in custody after becoming sick. In 1788, Jezzar Pasha demanded that Emir Yusuf pay off the bribe he had promised him in 1783, but Emir Yusuf refused. Consequently, Jezzar threw his support to Ali Shihab, Isma'il's son, in his bid to eliminate Emir Yusuf, who in turn backed an uprising against Jezzar in Acre. After Jezzar suppressed

216-424: A nearby village. Harf Miziara and Houmeis : The road that leads to these two villages goes through Miziara. Sakhra : Administratively, this village does not exist. The inhabitants are from Miziara, and the road that leads to it goes through Zgharta – Kfarhata – El Khaldiyeh - Sakhra. It rises 300 meters above sea level. The distance from Zgharta is 5 kilometers. Its patron Saint is Saint Maroun , whose feast

288-582: A person name in this latter case. For the local people, Kfarsghab is referred to as jurid ( Arabic : جرد [ɡurd] ). The word is of Arabic origin and means the arid barren land . Kfarsghab predates Christianity . However, like most villages in the Qadisha valley, Kfarsghab's known history began with the settlement of the Maronites in Mount Lebanon during the 10th century. Until

360-667: A territory under their control and largely independent of Ottoman authority. Emir Mansur allied himself with them against the Ottoman governors of Sidon and Damascus, while Yusuf supported the Ottomans. Emir Mansur backed Zahir and Nasif in their alliance with Ali Bey al-Kabir of Egypt . Ali Bey dispatched his commander Abu al-Dhahab to launch an invasion of Damascus in 1770. When Abu al-Dahab suddenly withdrew from Damascus after defeating its governor Uthman Pasha al-Kurji , Emir Mansur's position became vulnerable when Uthman Pasha resumed

432-564: A total exodus of the population takes place twice a year in May and in October. All families without exception have a house in each village. The other well-known example in Lebanon is that of the neighboring town(s) of Ehden / Zgharta . In the recent years, the seasonal migration for Ehden / Zgharta is losing its importance with the necessities created by the development of the service sector in

504-683: Is a typical Mediterranean high mountain village. There are four seasons, with winters being cold with moderate to heavy snowfall while summers are mild and dry. The area experiences fog during late summer, early fall and late spring. The highest average temperature is in July/August at 81 °F (27 °C) while the lowest average temperature is in January/February at 35 °F (2 °C). However, summer temperatures can top 90 °F (32 °C), and winter temperatures can drop below 23 °F (−5 °C). Total yearly precipitation

576-588: Is a typical organization of pastoral and agricultural Mediterranean communities where transhumance , which is a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures, is still practised. The Lebanese hailing from Kfarsghab number 20,000 worldwide. 95% of them live outside Lebanon, mainly in Australia and the United States. The Semitic name of Kfarsghab is composed of two parts: kfar and sghab . The first part, kfar , comes from

648-721: Is a village located in the Zgharta District in the North Governorate of Lebanon . It is situated in the Valley of Qadisha , which is considered a holy and spiritual place in Eastern Christianity . The main religion of its residents is Maronite Catholicism . Kfarsghab is actually two geographically separated settlements: Kfarsghab , a high mountain village, and Morh Kfarsghab , a plain village, respectively inhabited in summers and in winters. It

720-410: Is in the range of 48 inches (1,200 mm), with the heaviest occurring during the fall and spring. Snowfall, which normally occurs from late November to early April, ranges from 1 to 10 inches (3 to 25 cm) per month. Economy is based mainly on agriculture. The existence of two settlements, Kfarsghab and Morh Kfarsghab, at different altitudes ensure continuous and varied crops throughout

792-609: Is in this context that Naamtallah Néhmé , the ancestor of all the Meziarian families, arrived in North Lebanon, like many others. When Naamtallah Néhmé left Bikfaya , Metn , to North Lebanon , he first settled in Arbet Kozhaya . He brought up and raised his family there. Later on, the family moved to Sereel and then to Ejbeh , where they did not stay for long, moving to a small farm beside Sebhel . Rishtaamout

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864-764: Is on February 9. The water source is Ain Al Jadideh (the New Spring). For Miziara, the population is around 4,250. Including the inhabitants of Harf Miziara and Houmeis, the population becomes nearly 6,000. The number of households is 567 in Miziara, 151 in Harf Miziara, 51 in Sakhra and 56 in Houmeis. This article is based on an article of Al Bashir newspaper on Miziara. Miziara was not inhabited before

936-412: Is true that the winter village, Morh Kfarsghab, is relatively isolated but for the original village, Kfarsghab, which was used for the major part of the year, geography is not an evident reason. The explanation for the difference has to be found somewhere else. As to when this accent took its final shape, linguists do not have a model that estimates the period of time necessary to form an accent. Since

1008-534: The Beqaa Valley was challenged by the governor of Damascus in 1773. Emir Yusuf's brother, Sayyid Ahmad, who had been the governor of Beqaa at the time, had robbed traveling merchants from Damascus in the Beqaa village of Qabb Ilyas . Emir Yusuf removed him from the Beqaa and was appointed in his place. Jezzar Pasha became the governor of Sidon in 1776 after the Ottomans' elimination of Zahir al-Umar. Emir Yusuf

1080-596: The Byblos region, took over the rule of Jebbet Bsharri, a land survey was made in 1766. Prince Youssef gave the Sheikhs Karam from Ehden and the Sheikhs Issa El Khoury from Bsharri the collection of taxes of Miziara and its vicinity. Prince Youssef Al Shihabi ruled afterwards Lebanon from 1770 to 1789. In 1849, there were 250 male adults in Miziara and 163 in Houmeis. The number of households

1152-580: The Egyptian invasion of Ottoman Syria . Emir Yusuf led an offensive against Nasif and Zahir in late 1771, but was decisively defeated. He failed to arrive and support Uthman Pasha when the latter attempted to launch an invasion of Galilee, but was routed by Zahir's forces at the Battle of Lake Hula . Yusuf sought to compensate for this loss by launching a campaign against the Metawalis at Nabatieh , but

1224-709: The Emir to build their home there. An important migration took place from Jebbet Bsharri to the south but also to Aleppo , Syria . After the fall of the Emir Fakhreddine in 1632, the situation in the southern Mount Lebanon became difficult and there was a reverse migration to North Lebanon. This migration from the Metn and Kesrwan accelerated particularly after the Sheikhs Hamadeh , rulers of Jebbet Bsharri started stabilising their rule around 1680. It

1296-513: The Jacobite pronunciation which was that of the Syriac in Lebanon, the passage from a to o is unconditional: all a' s are transformed, whatever their position, whatever the consonnatic context, the phenomenon is general. In North-Lebanon, it is not the case: the passage of a to o occurs only in determined cases, it is conditioned. A good example to make feel the difference between

1368-540: The Qozhaya valley at an average altitude of 1380 meters. Kfarsghab is mentioned in documents as old as 1283 AD. Morh Kfarsghab , the winter village, is located on the north-western slope of the Joueit valley separating Miziara from Bnachii . On average, it sits at 280 meters above sea level . A written document mentioning Morh Kfarsghab is dated to October / November 1748 AD (Thu'l-Qa'dah 1161 Hijri ). Kfarsghab

1440-562: The Tripoli countryside in an uprising that drove out the Hamade landlords, who were Shia Muslims . Thereafter, Muhammad Pasha appointed Yusuf as administrator of Batroun and Jubail . Yusuf's acquisition of Hamade territory not only provided him a solid power base from which to fight against Emir Mansur, but also provided him with the Hamade's former role as patrons of the local Maronite clergy. This further strengthened their relationship with

1512-500: The emirate . When Mulhim died in 1759, Qasim became the administrator of Chouf district, although after paying a bribe, this authority was transferred to Ahmad and Mansur. The two brothers engaged in conflict in which Yusuf supported Ahmad. Emir Mansur prevailed by 1763, and Yusuf fled the Chouf to Mukhtara , the headquarters of the powerful Druze Jumblatt clan . Ali Jumblatt, an ally of Emir Mansur, protected Yusuf and offered to mediate

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1584-505: The (( Arabic )) accent of Kfarsghab is not to be limited by a silence at the drop of the voice for the pause, as the Arab dialects commonly do, but to mark this stop by a special form: a pausal form (Kfarsghab shares this originality with other accents of Lebanon: Zahlé and Shhim). The generally established classical Arabic system used the iskan to mark the pause. Kfarsghab has recourse to diphthongizations or changes of timbre of vowels ; in

1656-419: The 17th century figures. Between 1850 and 1875, demographic pressure obliged the young men of Kfarsghab to join massively the monastic orders. It is estimated that 10% of the male adult population joined the monastic life during the 19th century. But the economic difficulties of the silk industry, the political situation of the new Mutassarifiah regime of Mount Lebanon (1865–1915) and changing conditions of

1728-504: The 20th century, especially during the Lebanese Civil war (1975–1990). Today about 20,000 people around the world are related to Kfarsghab by their origin, only 1,000 of them are living in the village. Kfarsghab is composed of two geographically separated settlements: Kfarsghab and Morh Kfarsghab respectively inhabited in summers and in winters. It is a typical organization of pastoral Mediterranean communities. For Kfarsghab,

1800-634: The Aghas of Danniyeh. Then came a time when the Aghas were unable to pay their debts in cash, so they paid it with land and estates. It is at the origin of the Bchenneta plantation. Assad Beik Karam, from Ehden , bought it. The Meziarians bought it from him, to use as a summer residence. Yousef Elias Khoury ordered every inhabitant of Miziara to fill a bag of acorns from the Oak trees of Bchenneta and plant it around Miziara. He specified every Sunday of every season,

1872-553: The Chouf to Ghazir . With the backing of the Ra'ad family and the Kurdish Mir'ibi family (both Sunni Muslim families ), he entered into armed conflict with his two brothers. He regained control of Chouf after paying off Jezzar Pasha. In 1780, Effendi was killed in an attack his forces launched to assassinate Emir Yusuf's top confidant, Sa'ad al-Khuri. Sayyid Ahmad then mobilized his Jumblatt and Yazbak allies against Emir Yusuf, but after

1944-579: The Druze clans for safety in return for surrendering authority over Mount Lebanon. Bashir Shihab II , a distant cousin and ally of Ali al-Shihab, was given official control over Mount Lebanon by Jezzar Pasha in September 1789. Bashir II sought to eliminate Yusuf to remove any potential threats to his position and his forces defeated Yusuf's retinue of supporters in the Munaytara hills of north Lebanon. Yusuf

2016-663: The Jumblatts forced Emir Yusuf to flee Mount Lebanon for the Jabal al-Ansariyah . Jezzar then offered Yusuf safe passage if he returned to Beirut, but when the latter returned he was arrested by Jezzar's troops who transported him to Jezzar's headquarters in Acre where he was imprisoned. Sayyid Ahmad and Isma'il offered Jezzar 500,000 qirsh to execute Yusuf, but Yusuf countered with 1,000,000 qirsh to release and return him to Mount Lebanon. Jezzar accepted Yusuf's offer and, upon his return to Mount Lebanon, Yusuf had Isma'il arrested and imposed

2088-706: The Maronites since Yusuf already had the support of the Khazen family of Keserwan , a prominent family of the Maronite church. In 1768, a strong alliance was established between Nasif al-Nassar , the sheikh of the Metawali (Shia Muslim) clans of Jabal Amil in south Lebanon , and Zahir al-Umar , the autonomous Arab sheikh of Galilee and northern Palestine and head of the Zaydani clan . Together, they carved out

2160-544: The Meziarian writer and poet Youssef Younis known as Younis Al Ibn ). It was the first responsibility that Father Youssef Younis carried on his shoulders, the freedom of Meziara . He used to wear an old shoe, light his cigarette and walk on foot to Batroun , the administrative center of the Bsharri region during the Mutassarrifiat Regime (1862–1918). After that, he went to Syria, met the ruler and told him

2232-641: The Meziarians, except for Yousef Elias, were sharecroppers with the Sheikhs Karam and Issa El Khoury. Every year the partners had to send to the Sheikhs twenty kilograms of silk from the seasonal production in Miziara, 125 kilograms of tobacco and also products like grains and grapes. This is written in the Encyclopedia of Lebanese capitals and villages, know Lebanon by Afif Boutros Merhej . In

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2304-475: The Semitic root kpr which in the context corresponds to the common Semitic noun kapar that means village. For the second part, sghab , comes from the Semitic root sgb which means to make strong, safe . A second possibility could be the name of a person Segub . Given the above references, the etymological meaning of Kfarsghab could be " the fortified village " or " the village of Segub ", Segub being

2376-695: The Syriac and the usage of dialectal Arabic in North-Lebanon is the treatment of the Arabic word kitab ( Arabic : كتاب meaning book ): in Syriac: ketob ; in Kfarsghab: ktib ; elsewhere in the North, ktéb . The major advantage of Kfarsghab, for the linguistic science, is to have pushed to the extreme the tendencies which govern the vowel a in North-Lebanon and in consequence to put in full light

2448-673: The area and pursued them to Beirut , which the Russians also began to bombard until Emir Yusuf paid their admiral to cease their fire. By 1772, Zahir and his allies were firmly in control of Sidon. In order to prevent further encroachments in Lebanon by Zahir, Emir Yusuf requested the assistance of Jezzar Pasha, an Ottoman officer. Emir Yusuf turned down a bribe of 200,000 Spanish reales from Abu al-Dahab to betray Jezzar and execute him. Jezzar Pasha soon consolidated his own rule in Beirut and ignored agreements he had made with Emir Yusuf regarding

2520-555: The beginning of the 20th century thanks to the funds sent by emigrants. The revenues derived from agriculture would have been comfortable if, since the Seventies, the agriculture in Kfarsghab was not plagued by several problems. The main difficulties faced by agriculture are the lack of manpower due to emigration, the unfair competition of foreign products at lower dumped prices especially for olive oil, apple diseases and parasites,

2592-553: The beginning of the 20th century, the difficult conditions of sharecroppers made Yousef Elias Khoury instigate the people to revolt. The disagreement started between the Meziarians and the Sheiks of Issa El Khoury. A court case was filed but the judgment was in favor of the Sheiks. This was written in El Bachir newspaper on the first of July 1913. The families objected to the judgment supported by Fr. Youssef Younis (the grandfather of

2664-409: The coastal pole of Zgharta/ Tripoli , increasing number of salaried employees and the growing financial difficulties of the households to maintain two dwellings. For Kfarsghab, the seasonal transhumance is still respected as agriculture remains the main activity. Kfarsghab , the summer village, is located on the road going from Ehden to Bsharri in the northern part of the Qadisha valley, overlooking

2736-477: The dispute between the two. After Emir Mansur refused Ali Jumblatt's offer and seized Yusuf's properties, Ali switched allegiance and backed Yusuf in his struggle for control of the emirate. Also in 1763, a 16-year-old Yusuf, under the mentorship of his Maronite manager Sa'ad al-Khuri and with the political support of Governor Muhammad Pasha al-Kurji of Tripoli , led the Sunni Muslim and Maronite peasants of

2808-469: The end of this century, new rulers from the Hamadeh family appointed by the Ottoman authorities succeeded in establishing a relative stability in the region and started re-populating the area encouraging the settlement of Christian families from their southern fiefdoms of Byblos and Batroun . It is at the end of the 17th century that the families composing the modern Kfarsghab arrived in the region. By

2880-404: The energetic rule of this family, Kfarsghab witnessed an important prosperity and demographic development driven by silkworm rearing and land acquisition. It was in the middle of the 18th century that the people of Kfarsghab acquired and developed the lower land that will become their winter dwellings, Morh Kfarsghab. In 1849, the number of male adults totaled 374, a thirty-time increase compared to

2952-595: The farm. But summers were spent in Ejbeh , where they bought a hill and built a church on it, which is still known as Saint George Mountain. Naamtallah Néhmé family requested from the rulers of Jebbet Bsharri , the Shiite Hamadeh , the permission to live in Houmeis, a ruined village and its nearby forest which is now known as Miziara. Their request was granted. Younis and his family moved to Houmeis. The other three brothers Youssef, Abdallah and Abdel Ahad settled in

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3024-578: The feast of planting acorns around Miziara. Miziara features qusur , Arabic for 'palaces,' which were constructed using wealth brought from emigrants in Africa. Our Lady of Miziara, Mother of Mercies , is a Marian shrine which consists of a statue of the Virgin Mary that stands at the entrance of the village. Marcel Chaghoury, a native of Miziara, built the shrine in 1979. It was consecrated by Bishop Antoine Jbeir on September 6, 1992. The entrance to

3096-629: The forest with their families, as its location and atmosphere gave them great pleasure. So Youssef, son of Naamtallah Néhmé, became the founder of Miziara as was recorded by the Historians. In 1761, a conflict opposed the people of Jebbet Bsharri to the Sheikhs Hamadeh . In this conflict, Miziara will lose two of its sons, Dawud son of Abou Mansour and his cousin Issa during the campaign of 1763. After Prince Youssef Al Shihabi , then ruler of

3168-466: The governorship. The Druze clans of Mount Lebanon withdrew their backing for Emir Mansur and Uthman Pasha transferred his governorship of Chouf to his loyalist Emir Yusuf. Uthman Pasha officially appointed Yusuf as emir of Mount Lebanon. Together with Uthman Pasha and his sons ( Darwish Pasha , governor of Sidon and Muhammad Pasha, governor of Tripoli), Emir Yusuf sought to push Zahir and his Metawali allies out of Sidon , which they briefly occupied during

3240-543: The late 17th century. Before it was established the area was a dense forest, filled with wild boars. Part of the land where the today Miziara is located was part of the baklik of the Shia Sheikhs Hamadeh , the rulers of Jebbet Bsharri from 1654 till 1761. At the end of the 16th century, and the beginning of the 17th century, the southern Mount Lebanon under the stable rule of the Emir Fakhreddine (1678–1735) attracted many families who were encouraged by

3312-620: The latter bribed the Yazbaks with 300,000 qirsh , Sayyid Ahmad's force fell apart. In 1783 and on Jezzar Pasha's orders, Emir Yusuf took over Marjayoun from his maternal uncle Isma'il Shihab. Jezzar had accused Isma'il of responsibility in the death of a Jewish merchant. Jezzar sought to divide and conquer Mount Lebanon and thus when Isma'il Shihab offered to pay a higher tax rate if he restored his authority in Marjayoun, Jezzar accepted. The new alliance between Jezzar, Isma'il, Sayyid Ahmad and

3384-487: The latter's authority in the city. Emir Yusuf and his Druze soldiers subsequently tried to dislodge Jezzar Pasha, but were unable to. Thus, Emir Yusuf requested help from his erstwhile enemy, Zahir al-Umar, via his uncle Mansur who he had previously struggled against and replaced. Zahir accepted the request and had his Russian allies bombard Beirut by sea on Yusuf's behalf until Jezzar surrendered and fled. Zahir's backing became handy once again when Emir Yusuf's authority over

3456-734: The leaders of the Shihab dynasty . The Shihabs were descendants of the Ma'an dynasty of Fakhr ad-Din . The first emir of the dynasty, Haydar al-Shihab, succeeded the last Ma'an emir (prince) of Mount Lebanon in 1697. Haydar al-Shihab was a Sunni Muslim , although his mother was Druze . His kinship with the Ma'ans allowed for him to serve as the eminent leader of the Druze clans of Mount Lebanon. The Shihabs were generally not religious and embraced their faith nominally, some were Sunni Muslims or Druze, and later other members became Maronite Catholics . Emir Yusuf

3528-406: The main agricultural activity. The few salaried people in teaching and in the regional services sector do not count on the salaries derived from their job to ensure a decent living. Since the 1990s, the construction sector developed rapidly thanks to emigrants and residents building, extending or renovating their real estate properties. Several highly qualified individual contractors are found among

3600-410: The mid-1950s, emigration and education are contributing to the standardization of the original Kfarsghabian accent. Youssef Al Shihabi Yusuf Shihab ( Arabic : يوسف الشهابي ) (1748–1790) was the autonomous emir of Mount Lebanon between 1770 and 1789. He was the fifth consecutive member of the Shihab dynasty to govern Mount Lebanon. Yusuf Shihab was the son of Emir Mulhim. They were

3672-552: The middle of the 18th century Kfarsghab was a village of modest importance, with a total population not exceeding 150 inhabitants. The first mention of Kfarsghab in the writings of the Maronite Historians concerns events that happened in 1283 at the end of the Crusaders period. In 1470 Kfarsghab is mentioned, in conjunction with the construction of Saint Awtel 's Church. In the 16th century, Kfarsghab figured in

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3744-407: The middle of the 18th century, the newly settled families started challenging the Hamadeh's rule and succeeded, along with other families in the region, around 1760 in ousting them out of the region. The family of Abou Youssef Elias was appointed Sheikhs of Kfarsghab and of three other villages by the Ottoman authorities, a charge that the members of this family assumed for the next 100 years. Under

3816-491: The monk orders pushed the people of Kfarsghab to find new economic outlets by emigrating massively from 1885 onwards to the United States and Australia . It is estimated that Kfarsghab lost during the last 15 years of this century' 20% of its population. Emigration was halted by the First World War , only to resume massively from 1925. The French Mandate and the formation of the modern Lebanon in 1925 did not slow down emigration. The demographic weakening continued all along

3888-443: The natives of Kfarsghab. Since 2005, this sector is facing some difficulties due to the general political situation of the country. Several welfare organizations founded by the emigrants support the infrastructure projects in Kfarsghab such as the public library, the public halls, the health center, the water supply, the roads, the churches and public buildings renovation. Also, emigrants help and support financially their relatives in

3960-430: The new owners. But a major transformation has been happening since the end of the 19th century. In fact, at that time, the Meziarians started to emigrate to Brazil. Seventy people traveled in an effort to pay for the legal deeds, which they signed. Yousef Elias Khoury, Hanna's father, stayed in Miziara with his sons, occupied with the management of his money and estates. He took loans from the wealthy Tripolitans, to loan

4032-412: The region of Kfarsghab witnessed an important migration to the more prosperous Southern Mount Lebanon under the stable rule of Emir Fakhreddine. The tragic end of the autonomous Emirate of Fakhreddine in 1635 threw Mount Lebanon in turmoil. The political void in the Kfarsghab region opened the way to bloody conflicts between local notables, accentuating the migration of a weary population. However, by

4104-516: The revolt, Ali launched an offensive against Yusuf's holding in the Beqaa Valley, but was repelled by Yusuf's brother Haydar. However, Jezzar Pasha arrived to support Ali, and their combined 2,000-strong force moved against Haydar, whose forces after the desertion of the Harfush clan consisted of 700 cavalry from the Shihab and Abi Lamas clans and disgruntled mercenaries of Jezzar. Jezzar Pasha decisively defeated Emir Yusuf at Jubb Janin in south Beqaa. Following his 1788 defeat, Emir Yusuf appealed to

4176-403: The same way it is in Shhim and also in Zahlé... ... A major originality of the accent of Kfarsghab is its vocalism evolution. The Lebanese are especially struck by the frequency of its vowel ' o' . The well-read men see there an influence of the Syriac, as they attribute the ' o' one hears in North-Lebanon to an influence of the Syriac. In fact, the Syriac has no relation to this. In Syriac, in

4248-493: The shrine is guarded by two angels carved from limestone. The shrine also includes sculptural representation of Christ's Baptism, Wedding at Cana , and the Last Supper . The Agricultural of Miziara is based on: Apples , Pears , Grapes and assorted grains for the people's use. The most important river is El-Aam river. Kfarsghab Kfarsghab ( known also as Kfar Sghab , Kafarsghab or Kfarseghab ; Arabic : كفرصغاب , pronounced [kafarsˤiɣaːb] )

4320-466: The transformation processes; it is thus in the center of this linguistic movement... It is still more intriguing for the local population. The popular tradition in Kfarsghab attributes its particular accent to the special characteristics of the drinking water. From sociological point of view, a major difference in accent between neighboring settlements denotes usually either geographical isolation, or an unconscious collective will of identity conservation. It

4392-405: The two Ottoman Censuses of 1519 and 1571. It is credited respectively with 14 and 12 male adults (of more than 15 years old), all Christians and married. And around 1600, the population of the neighboring village of Qaryat Moussa took refuge in Kfarsghab merging with the existing population after some unrecorded events obliged them to abandon their village. At the beginning of the 17th century,

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4464-470: The village. Kfarsghab's particular Arabic accent is unique in Lebanon with its unusual ‘ a ’/‘ o ’ transformation phenomenon, meaning that the vowel a in Arabic words is vocalized as o . Some saw there the influence of the Syriac language and many scholars studied the subject without a definite conclusion as to the origin of this evolution. Here's what says about it Henri Fleisch in his study Le Parler Arabe de Kfar-Sghab : ... an originality of

4536-411: The weakness of the Lebanese pound increasing the prices of fertilizers and pesticides, the closing of some important foreign outlets for Lebanese products like Iraq , the Lebanese Civil War . Services in Kfarsghab are not developed at all: a small snack / restaurant, an internet-cafe, few shops, few local taxis and individual truck owners. All the existing services are mostly complementary business to

4608-417: The whole story. He got what he requested. All the land was registered in the name of the sharecroppers, the new farm owners. (From Yousef Younis book, His Life & Traces to Mikhail Massoud .) The farmers could not pay their taxes in exchange for ownership of the land. But the Sheikhs paid their taxes and registered the land in the owners' names. And the Sheikhs were satisfied with a legal deed signed from

4680-419: The year. For Kfarsghab , the crops are summer fruits, mainly apples and pears . Pears are harvested during August and apples from mid September to mid October. Other fruits are also cultivated like peaches and cherries but on a modest scale. The land owned by the Kfarsghab people extends on a large area in the Zgharta District, Bsharri District as well as Koura District . Land was acquired mostly at

4752-403: Was 51 in Miziara and 35 in Houmeis. Around 1850 - 1851, we know that Father Maroun Saliba from Miziara was the administrative tax collector. It is said that this family came at the end of the 18th century to the region from Bteghrine , Metn . Today, this family lives in Sakhra. As we are informed by Historians and by the local memory, that Youssef, son of Naamtallah Néhmé, bore children, Youssef

4824-453: Was confirmed as the governor of Beirut, Chouf, Beqaa and Jubail. Moreover, Hasan Pasha, the Ottoman kapudan (commander of the Ottoman Navy ) who led the offensive against Zahir in 1775, declared that Governor of Sidon's authority over Emir Yusuf was limited to the collection of the miri ( Hajj tax). However, Jezzar Pasha ignored this order and took over Beirut in 1776 with the demand that Emir Yusuf pay three years worth of miri tax. Jezzar

4896-475: Was later driven out by the Ottoman Navy. Nassar was captured and executed by Jezzar in 1780. Emir Yusuf and his brothers Sid Ahmad and Effendi engaged in a long power struggle during the late 1770s and 1780s. Jezzar Pasha took advantage of this situation and gave his support to whichever brother paid him the highest bribe. Ali Jumblatt, Yusuf's former ally, died in 1778 and the Jumblatt family gave their backing to Sayyid Ahmad and Effendi. Emir Yusuf withdrew from

4968-451: Was raised as a Maronite Christian, but was publicly a Sunni Muslim. During Yusuf Shihab's rule, many members of the Shihab family converted to Christianity and Yusuf also began to rely on the support of the Maronite Christians . In 1753, Emir Mulhim was ill and unable to govern. This led to a rivalry over succession between his brothers Ahmad and Mansur , while Mulhim and his nephew Qasim sought to prevent either from assuming control over

5040-528: Was routed by the Zaydani-Metawali alliance, losting some 1,500 of his Druze soldiers. Following their victory against Emir Yusuf, the allies captured Sidon from Darwish Pasha. Emir Yusuf and Uthman Pasha attempted to wrest back control of Sidon by assembling a troops backed by artillery and commanded by Ottoman officer Jezzar Pasha . The siege failed when the Russian Navy entered the conflict to back their ally Zahir. After Emir Yusuf's troops were bombarded by Russian ships, Zahir and Nasif's troops drove them out of

5112-407: Was the eldest son, he became a priest known as Father Elias, who also bore a son, Youssef Elias Khoury. Youssef Elias Khoury was the beginning , as the old people of Miziara used to say. He bore seven boys and five girls. Hanna, the eldest son, was known as Hanna Youssef. There was a famous saying in Miziara: Just like the children of Hanna's mother , meaning unity of the family. At that time, all

5184-578: Was the name of the farm. in Syriac , Rishtaamout means the summit of taste or of pleasure as the farm was famous for its tasty fruits. There Naamtallah's children founded four families: The Historian Boutros Béchara Karam wrote in his book The Coral Chain in the history of North Lebanon that the family of Naamtallah Néhmé stayed in Rishtaamout for about seventy years. The family did not grow or branch out. Spending winters, springs and autumns in

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