Shemlan
History
Shemlan is first mentioned in chronicles as early as the 12th century. Under Ottoman rule, Shemlan and surrounding villages were controlled first by the Maan family and then by the Shihab dynasty. Power struggles led to the departure of some rival Druze, and their replacement by Christians from the North, which in 1828 prompted the establishment of a Maronite Christian monastery, now the village church. In 1838, Eli Smith noted the place, called Shumlan, located in El-Ghurb el-Fokany, upper el-Ghurb.
For more than a century, Shemlan consisted of five extended families: the Maronite Christian Jabbours, Hittis, Tabibs, and Farjallahs, plus the Druze Moukaddems, once lords and chief land-owners.
Due to its strategic location overlooking Beirut International Airport and the diverse political make-up of the area, Shemlan became a fierce battleground during the 1958 civil war and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Most inhabitants fled during the 1975 – 1990 civil war, many never to return.
In 1948, the British Government opened the Middle East Centre for Arab Studies (MECAS) in Shemlan. This school gained a reputation as being a "spy school" because of allegations, made by Lebanese politician Kamal Jumblatt, that many of its graduates worked for the C.I.A. or Britain's Foreign Office. However, the only proven case of a spy studying at MECAS was that of British/Soviet double agent George Blake, who was escorted from MECAS and formally arrested at Heathrow airport.
Notable citizens
Philip Khuri Hitti (1886–1978), a renowned Lebanese American author and professor on the Middle East, was Shemlan's most famous resident.
References
- ^ "Chimlane". Localiban. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- ^ "Notre Dame du Secours". Antonine Maronite Order. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. 191
- ^ Craig, James (1998). Shemlan: A History of the Middle East Centre for Arab Studies. Oxford: Macmillan Press Ltd. p. 25. ISBN 978-0333689677.
- ^ "Overview about Shimlan". The Municipality of Shimlan. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
- ^ Fisk, Robert (2001-01-01). Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192801302.
