User:Marjawi

link titleEl-Marj, Lebanon

History,

The word “El-Marj” is a true Arabic word meaning lush green land.

The El-marj has been there for many, many years. It dates back to 500 years ago, including the time of the Ottoman Empire in the Arab world. There are graves that are dated back to Umayyad period of the 700’s. Some historians say it is back to the time of the Great Khalifas at even an earlier date. Either way, the El-marj is an ancient and established area of the Bekaa Valley.

In 1952, El-marj elected its first town council, on December 7th of that year and the first mayor was Mohammed Harb. The first Mukhtar was Ali Ahmad Chaaban.

El-marj has been an interesting political arena, with many positive and negative events. Of the latter, the one most remembered was in 1963 the election of the town council was delayed because of local politics. It was delayed until 1966, when Mohammed Harb was re-elected, but no town council was elected. In 1998 after 30 years of no council, an election took place. Samir Kassim Jarrah was elected as Mayor, and continues in that position until 2004 a new council has been elected. Location The El-marj is situated in the middle of the West Bekka Valley, judicial district of Zahle. It has a very good relationship with the surrounding neighbors in district. You can get to the El-marj in all directions. The town is an open door to all visitors and people just passing through. To the north you will find the town of Bar Elias, and to the south, Houch Al-Harimah, while west of El-marj is Al Rowda (Istabble) and Kab Elias to the west (see map1). The town is approximately 12 square kilometers, with 65 Dunums still owned by the town. The town is situated about 876m above sea level and is located 51km from Beirut, Lebanon’s capital. It is also 12km from the major city of Zahle, and 18km from Jib Janine the province’s capital. Location of El-Marj in the World: Metric Imperial (DMS) Latitude: 33.7619 33o 45' 43N Longitude: 35.8803 35o 53' 49E Altitude: 876m 2877 Feet Demographics The population of the El-Marj is approximately 15,000, divided into 58 families. There is approximately 1700 residential housing in El-Marj. According to the 1998 elections, we have approximately 4,500 eligible voters. Schools Elementary and Junior High School The Makassed Islamic Elementary and Junior High School High School The Bait al Maamour School The School of Bekka AlHadeetha School Jarrahiah Elementary School Social Associations The Nahdah Association Sport Clubs Al Salaam Sports Club Al Wahdi Sports Club The Scouts Al Makassed Scouts Agriculture El-marj has got a great deal of flat land making ideal for various agricultural activities. There is about 14000 dunums available to farm in the area. There are two rivers that go through the town, on the west is the famous Litani river and on the east, the Ghazayel River. This makes the land very fertile and well irrigated. Health and Wellness Unfortunately, there is one medical clinic in El-marj, and it is one that is too small to meet the needs of the town. Though there are a number of doctors practicing in and around El-marj. The following is some of the names of the Doctors: Ahmad Al-Maafer Jamal Ibrahim Fayez Saleh Emad Khaldiah Ali Al-Khatib Abeer Jarrah Mazhar Abou-Othman Fawaz Harb Fadi El-Jaji Mazhar Al-Qaq Jamal darwish Imad Khaldiah Fadi Eljaji There are two pharmacies, El-marj Pharmacy and Ghotme Pharmacy. Business and Commerce There are a large variety of businesses in El-marj, which make it an attractive place to live. From large supermarket to small neighborhood grocery stores, everything is available right in town. Elmarj boasts one of the largest furniture stores in Lebanon, Gallery Jarrah, and is home to the only ceramic manufacturing plant in the country.

Perhaps El-marj is most famous for the Monday Souk (Market). This Souk is held one day a week every week, rain or shine. It survived the war and natural disasters. There you can find everything from food to clothing to live animals, all which can be purchased and/or traded. This Souk has attracted vendors from across Lebanon, who come and sell their wares. It also attracts about 10,000 people per week. Environment The town is in desperate need to clean the Litani river. Years of neglect and war have done a great deal of damage to the river and its surrounding area.