Many names of Lebanese villages are double-barreled,
such as Jouar el-Hawz, Jouret el-Ballout, Ain et-Tineh,
Ain et-Tannour, Nabh et-Teggeha, Beit Shebab, and
so on. Jour el-Hawz was Al-Lubnan, from which the
country’s name Lebanon is derived.
It is a very pleasant village, situated on a foothill
of Jabal el-Kneisseh, at a height of a little over
4,000 feet and twenty-odd miles from the capital city
of Beirut. There are several ways of getting there,
in particular one through Dhour es-Shweir and El-Mtein
in the Metn district and another through Bhamdoun
and Hamana.
Jouar el-Hawz used to be the property of Emir Youssef
ben Ismail ben Hassan Abillama from the year 1717
and then passed to his descendants. The Abillama emirs
became Christians and so the village became a refuge
for a number of families from the North, who cultivated
the land, did building, and in general worked in cooperation
with the Abillamas. The village grew and prospered,
thanks to the planting of vineyards and orchards of
cherry and other fruit trees. This was helped by the
presence of eight springs of good drinking water,
several of which are mineral.
When the Shamoun family moved in from Tannourine,
they brought with them one of their relatives, the
priest Father Philippos el-Hajj, who cared for the
parish and brought in more families closely related
to him. During the troubles of 1840 and 1860 the village
and its inhabitants suffered considerable damage and
harm, in the form of destruction, murders, and cutting
of throats from the Druze provoked by the Ottomans,
resulting in emigration, but after the violence came
to an end and calm returned, Jouar el-Hawz once again
developed and prospered.
During the recent disturbances, several martyrs gave
their blood on account of their Christian and patriotic
convictions. But now several new buildings have been
put up, adding beauty to a village which already charms
on account of the hospitality and friendliness of
its people. One can see here “a citadel of the tower”,
an ancient ruin composed of enormous stone blocks.
There is also a cave known as the Tomb of the Jew,
hewn out of the rock and of considerable antiquity,
as well as a venerable oak tree near the church some
five hundred years old.
The locality has several active foundations, including
the town council, the parish council, the sports club,
religious congregations, Caritas, and various cultural
activities. Here we would wish to particularly mention
Fred Joseph Maroon, an American artist photographer
who came from the village.
Joseph Matar - Translation from the French:
Kenneth Mortimer
