Iaal

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This article is about the village in Lebanon. For the Internet slang term "IAAL", see IANAL.
Iaal
ايعال
Village
Map showing the location of Iaal within Lebanon
Map showing the location of Iaal within Lebanon
Iaal
Location within Lebanon
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country  Lebanon
Governorate North Governorate
District Zgharta District
Government
 • Mayor Hatem Dib (elected May 2016)
Area
 • Total 2.89 km2 (1.12 sq mi)
Elevation 281 m (922 ft)
Population (2010)
 • Total ≈1,000
Demographics
 • Religion 100% Sunni Islam
 • Languages Overwhelmingly Arabic and English
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Dialing code +961

Iaal (Arabic: ايعال‎‎, also spelt as Ī`āl, Iäal or I’aal) is an ancient village in northern Lebanon.

Location

Iaal is located approximately 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south-east of Tripoli, 85 kilometres (53 mi) from Beirut and 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from Zgharta.[1][2] It is situated within the Zgharta District of the North Governorate of Lebanon. Iaal lies at the foot of the Mount Lebanon range and has a road that runs up into the mountains (parallel to Wadi Iaal) passing through its borders.[3] Neighbouring and nearby communities include Jdaydeh, Kfaryachit, Khaldieh, Morh Kfarsghab and Sakhra. Iaal is one of only five Sunni towns in the Zgharta District and is the southernmost entirely Sunni Muslim settlement in the whole North Governorate of Lebanon.[4]

Buildings

The most identifiable building in Iaal is the castle/fort built on the hilltop of the village centre: the Fortress of Iaal[5][6] It was built in 1816 by Mustafa Agha Barbar (the Ottoman governor of Tripoli from 1798) because the area was considered strategic thanks to its panoramic views, which extend all the way down to the Mediterranean coast. The other identifiable building in Iaal is the mosque along the road that runs up into the mountains called Masjid al-Taqwa (Arabic for Mosque of Piety), built in 1994.[7] There is a second mosque located within the confines of the castle—the two mosques being a testament to the villagers’ strong adherence to Sunni Islam.

History

It appears that Iaal was inhabited prior to the arrival of Barbar, as evidenced by a census conducted by the Ottomans in 1555 showing that there were 34 males in the village at that time (females were excluded from the census).[8] However, who these villagers were and where they originated from is unknown. What can be presumably safely deduced is that the modern descendants from Iaal are a product of Barbar, those serving him and those who were counted in the 1555 census. Based upon the 1555 census alone, there should be more than the few thousand people currently claiming an origin from Iaal, i.e. if the population was able to grow without the interference of many unnatural deaths (e.g. killings) and/or significant migration and subsequent loss of identity.

Agriculture

The land of Iaal is watered by Iaal Dam and its outflow of Wadi Iaal.[9] This makes it fertile, sustaining a variety of produce and grazing animals, and has resulted in making Iaal famous for its olive tree gardens.[10]

Climate

Iaal’s climate is typical of a Mediterranean plain village: with heavy rains, mild winters and hot, dry, arid summers. Its annual rainfall is 810 millimetres (32 in). Its average monthly temperatures are shown below:

Climate data for Iaal, Lebanon
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °F (°C) 61
(16)		 61
(16)		 66
(19)		 72
(22)		 77
(25)		 81
(27)		 84
(29)		 86
(30)		 84
(29)		 81
(27)		 72
(22)		 64
(18)		 73
(23)
Daily mean °F (°C) 54
(12)		 54.5
(12.5)		 58.1
(14.5)		 63.5
(17.5)		 68.9
(20.5)		 73
(23)		 77.9
(25.5)		 79.7
(26.5)		 76.1
(24.5)		 72
(22)		 63.5
(17.5)		 57
(14)		 66.6
(19.2)
Average low °F (°C) 46
(8)		 48
(9)		 50
(10)		 55
(13)		 61
(16)		 66
(19)		 72
(22)		 73
(23)		 68
(20)		 63
(17)		 55
(13)		 50
(10)		 59
(15)
Source: labans.com[11]

People

Its inhabitants are entirely Sunni Muslim and number about 1,000 people (although precise figures are unattainable).[12] In 1988 Iaal had a total population of 903, and in 1998 its population increased by almost 20% to 1,082 people. However, these figures relate to all registered citizens originating from the village, including both residents in Lebanon and those who emigrated abroad.[13] The people of Iaal are also all related to one another through common ancestors. The majority of people who trace their ancestry to the village actually live outside of Iaal. The overwhelming majority of these immigrants and their descendants live in Australia, primarily Sydney, in the local government areas of the Municipality of Kogarah (where they operate a mosque in the suburb of South Hurstville) and the City of Liverpool.[citation needed] This diaspora community also runs the Iaal Charitable Association Inc.[14] During the late 19th and early 20th century, most people from Iaal (at the time) emigrated to Latin America; however, these emigrants fully assimilated into their new environments and lost all connections with their homeland.

Some common surnames of people from Iaal include Affouf, Al-Choukairy, Al-Hage, Ardati, Ayyoub, Dennaoui, Diab, Dib, Elmir, Habib, Hadid, Halbouni, Hammoud, Hussein, Ibrahim, Issa, Jameel, Khidr, Mahrees, Merhi, Nasreddine, Nasser, Shehaddy, Subkhi and Taleb.

Notable people

Some notable people born in or descending from Iaal include:

2016 municipal election

Tension has been building in Iaal in the lead up to the late May 2016 municipal election. For the first time in over a decade the incumbent, Ahmad Elmir, risks losing his mayoral position. His challenger has run a strong campaign backed by large sums of money from wealthy residents of Miziara, including billionaire Gilbert Chagoury. (The town of Miziara is located on the mountain directly above Iaal.) The Miziara backers have supported the challenger in exchange for the fulfilment of their longstanding demand to have a highway built through Iaal to more conveniently connect to Miziara, replacing the current 2-lane road. They have also been assured by the challenger that a much greater share of Iaal's water resources will be diverted to Miziara's sister settlement of Sakhra, which neighbours Iaal directly across the Wadi Iaal. The realisation of the aforementioned road and water schemes, if the opposition wins the election, has led many Iaalis to fear for the long term survival prospects of their village.

Gallery

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References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Religious. caza-zgharta.com. Archived 31 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ Iaal Fortress photo. naharnet.com.[dead link]
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Photo of "Masjid al-Taqwa," built in 1994. zgharta.com.[dead link]
  8. ↑ 1555 Iaal census. caza-zgharta.com. Archived 17 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ Participatory Water Saving Management and Water Cultural Heritage: Lebanon Country Report, by K. Karaa, F. Karam, N. Tarabey, pp. 190-91, in Fig, 2. Sites of the Master Plan’s main storage structures and Table 5. Ten Years Master Plan for Dams and ponds construction.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Historical. caza-zgharta.com. Archived 17 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Demographic Study. by Paul B.M. Douaihy. caza-zgharta.com. Archived 31 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Future Movement Australia: Management FMA NSW. fmansw.org. Archived 30 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ↑ Future Movement Australia: Future Movement – Australia (Tayar Al-Mustaqbal) Official Committee Structure. fmansw.org. Archived 30 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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