Mount Lebanon Governorate (Arabic: محافظة جبل لبنان) is one of the nine governorates of Lebanon, of which it is the most populous. Its capital is Baabda. Other notable towns and cities include Aley, Bikfaya, and Beit Mery.
This governorate is named after the mountainous region of Mount Lebanon and, except for the small Beirut Governorate which it surrounds, spans the stretch of the Mediterranean coast between Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate and South Governorate.
Chouf (also spelled Shouf, Shuf or Chuf; Arabic: جبل الشوف, romanized: Jabal ash-Shouf) is a historic region of Lebanon, as well as an administrative district in the governorate (muhafazat) of Mount Lebanon.
Greater Beirut (Arabic: بيروت الكبرى) is the urban agglomeration comprising the city of Beirut (Beirut Governorate) and the adjacent municipalities over the Mount Lebanon Governorate. It does not constitute a single administrative unit. Greater Beirut geographically stretches south to the Damour River in the Chouf District until it reaches the "Nahr al-Kalb" river in the Keserwan District in the north. It also comprises many towns and cities in the mountains in the Aley District, Baabda District and Metn District Districts, most notably being the cities of Baabda, Aley, Choueifat, Hazmieh, Sin el-Fil, Jdeideh, Bchamoun and Dekwaneh. The conurbation spreads south, east, and north of Beirut city. To the west, the Eastern Mediterranean Sea serves as a natural boundary.
Christianity and Druze are Abrahamic religions that share a historical traditional connection with some major theological differences. The two faiths share a common place of origin in the Middle East and are both monotheistic. Christian and Druze communities share a long history of interaction dating back roughly a millennium, particularly in Mount Lebanon. Over the centuries, they have interacted and lived together peacefully, sharing common social and cultural landscapes, despite occasional exceptions. Moreover, Druze beliefs, scriptures and teachings incorporate several elements from Christianity.Historically, the relationship between the Druze and Christians has been characterized by harmony and peaceful coexistence, with amicable relations between the two groups prevailing throughout history, with the exception of some periods, including 1860 Mount Lebanon civil war. In the Levant region, the conversion of Druze to Christianity was a common practice. Throughout history, there have been instances where prominent members of the Druze community, including some of Shihab dynasty members, as well as the Abi-Lamma clan, embraced Christianity.
The Maronite Catholics and the Druze set the foundation for what is now Lebanon in the early 18th century, through a governing and social system known as the "Maronite-Druze dualism" in Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate. Interaction between Christians (members of the Maronite, Eastern Orthodox, Melkite, and other churches) and the Druze resulted in the establishment and existence of mixed villages and towns in Mount Lebanon, Chouf, Wadi al-Taym, Jabal al-Druze, the Galilee region, Mount Carmel, and the Golan Heights.
Keserwan-Jbeil (Arabic: كسروان - جبيل) is the most recently created governorate of Lebanon. It consists of the districts of Jbeil and Keserwan. Keserwan-Jbeil covers an area of 722 km (279 sq mi) and is bounded by the North Governorate to the north, the Baalbek-Hermel Governorate to the east, the Mount Lebanon Governorate to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. The capital is at Jounieh.
As of the end of 2017, the combined population of the districts of Jbeil and Keserwan was estimated to be 282,222. Maronites comprise a large majority of the population in the governorate, while Shiites are the next largest confessional group. In the 2018 Lebanese general election, Jbeil and Keserwan formed the Mount Lebanon I electoral district which was allotted eight parliamentary seats in total, seven Maronite and one Shia.
Antelias (Arabic: أنطلياس) is a city in Lebanon in the Matn District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate. It is located around 5 km to the north of Beirut.
Deir al-Qamar (Arabic: دَيْر الْقَمَر, romanized: Dayr al-qamar, lit. 'Monastery of the moon') is a city south-east of Beirut in south-central Lebanon. It is located five kilometres outside of Beit ed-Dine in the Chouf District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate at 800 m of average altitude.
Beit ed-Dine (Arabic: بيت الدين), also known as Btaddine (Arabic: بتدين) is a small town and the administrative capital of the Chouf District in the Mount Lebanon Governorate in Lebanon. The town is located 45 kilometers southeast of Beirut, and near the town of Deir el-Qamar from which it is separated by a steep valley. It had 1,613 registered voters in 2010 and its inhabitants are predominantly Christians from the Maronite, Melkite and Greek Orthodox denominations. Beit ed-Dine's total land area consists of 244 hectares and its average elevation is 860 meters above sea level.
The town is well known for the Beiteddine Palace, which hosts the annual summer Beiteddine Festival.
Baalbek-Hermel (Arabic: بعلبك - الهرمل) is a governorate of Lebanon and is the largest by area in the country. It comprises the districts of Baalbek and Hermel, which in turn are subdivided into a total of 74 municipalities. The capital is at Baalbek. The governorate covers an area of 3,009 km (1,162 sq mi) and is bounded by Akkar Governorate to the northwest, North Governorate to the west, Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate and Mount Lebanon Governorate to the southwest, Beqaa Governorate to the south, and the Syrian governorates of Homs and Rif Dimashq to the northeast and southeast. The governorate occupies the northern portion of the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon's most important agricultural area.
The UNHCR estimated the population of the governorate at 416,427 in 2015, including 137,788 registered refugees of the Syrian Civil War and 8,117 Palestinian refugees. The Lebanese citizen population is predominantly Shiite with pockets of Christians and Sunnis, while the refugee population is predominantly Sunni Muslims.
Damour river or (Arabic: نهر الدامور, Nahr Al Damour) is a 37.5-kilometre (23.3 mi) coastal river in the Mount Lebanon Governorate in Lebanon. The river's headwaters originate on and around the slopes of the 1,943-meter peak Jabal el-Barouk, site of a nature preserve where some of Lebanon's largest and oldest Cedars of Lebanon are found, and flows west through the Jisr Al-Kadi valley, where it receives water from the creeks of the Chouf mountains. The river flows towards the Mediterranean Sea, south of Damour, which bears the river's name.