Zouk Mikael (Levantine Arabic: ذوق مكايل, romanized: Zūq Mikāyel, also spelled Zuq Mikha’il or Zouk Mkayel) is a town and municipality in the Keserwan District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate in Lebanon. Its inhabitants are predominantly Melkite and Maronite Catholics.[1]
The town is well known for its Ottoman-era souk (open-air market), a pedestrian market with arcades and shops cafés. It is also home to several monasteries and historic churches, such as the Saint George Church, the open-air Roman-era amphitheatre, which hosts live summer concerts.[2] In 1999, the UNESCO declared Zouk Mikael a “City of Peace”.[3]
History
In 1838, Eli Smith noted Zuk Mekayil as a village located in Aklim el-Kesrawan, Northeast of Beirut; the chief seat of the Maronites.[4]
On 27 February 1994 an IED exploded inside the Maronite Notre Dame de La Deliverance Church killing ten worshippers and wounding 60.[5]
Sports
Zouk Mikael is known as the Lebanese city of basketball, as it has the Stade Nouhad Naufal which was completed in 2015.[6] It hosted the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup where the Lebanon national team reached the quarter-finals.[7]
See also
Twin towns
Eu, France (2003)
Rueil-Malmaison, France (2009)
References
- ^ “Elections municipales et ikhtiariah au Mont-Liban” (PDF). Localiban. Localiban. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-02-16.
- ^ “Amphitheater of Roman Architecture”.
- ^ “Qada’ (Caza) Keserwan” (PDF). Middle East Airlines. Promenade. p. 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-11-02.
- ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. 193
- ^ Middle East International No 470, 4 March 1994, Publishers Lord Mayhew, Dennis Walters MP; Gerald. Butt p.10
- ^ “مجمع نهاد نوفل للرياضة والمسرح”. Archived from the original on 2022-07-18. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
- ^ “Iran v Lebanon boxscore – FIBA Asia Cup 2017 – 16 August”.
