Kahale

Kahale الكحالة Kehale
Kahale Location in Lebanon
Coordinates:
Country	Lebanon
Governorate	Mount Lebanon Governorate
District	Aley District
Population
• Total	13,000
Time zone	EST (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	+3 (UTC)

Kahale (Arabic الكحالة) is a mountain village in the district of Aley (Caza Aley), Lebanon, 13 km from Beirut. Population estimated at 13,000 residents, all of whom are Maronite Catholic.

Etymology

Kahale is derived from Syriac and Aramaic, from kah (verb meaning breathed or respired); al or el (the name of the Caananite god El, who was considered the father of God and of mankind); and e (an ending denoting that the god El is the speaker's god)

Geography

Considering the locale and geography of the Kahale this name is suited well. A valley extends from the Sh'har west side of the Kahale into the Rjoum, eastern side of the Kahale. In this valley, the winds accelerate as if being sped along by some external supernatural will, the will of the ancient god El.

Religion

Kahale has a predominantly, if not wholly, Maronite Catholic population.

The village has three churches:

• Mar Elias (مار الياس )
• Our Lady (السيدة)
• Mar Antonios (مار انطونيوس)

This in addition to Don Bosco monastery and school, and Saint Charbel Home for the elderly which is now closed.

Prominent families

Kahale has seven prominent families, listed as follows in alphabetic order:

• Abi Khalil (ابي خليل)
• Al Achkar (الاشقر)
• Bejjani (بجاني)
• Feghaly (فغالي)
• Moukarzel (مكرزل)
• Rizkallah (رزق الله)
• Zoghbi (زغبي)

In order of population size:

1. Bejjani
2. Abi Kahlil
3. Moukarzel
4. Zoghbi
5. Feghaly
6. Rizkallah
7. Al Achkar

Geography

Latitude: 33°49'18.64"N, Longtitude: 35°35'14.55"E, 200 to 500m above sea level and a land size of approximately 1,96 square kilometers.

External links

• http://www.kahale.net

References

• Abi Khalil, Charbel. (1997). History of the Kahale. Beirut: The Arabic press.