Maghdouché
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Maghdouché (مغدوشة) | |
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country |  Lebanon |
| Governorate | South Lebanon Governorate |
| District | Sidon |
| Geography | |
  Maghdouché
Location of Maghdouché, Lebanon
|
|
| Elevation | 200 - 229 m |
Maghdouché (also Maghdouche, Maghdoucheh or Maghdousheh) is a town in the South Governorate in Lebanon. It is located 50 kms south of Beirut and 8 kms southeast of Sidon.[1] The village lies 3 kms inland from the Mediterranean, occupying a hill with elevation ranging between 200 to 229 meters above sea level.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Demographics
Maghdouché has a permanent population of 8,000 inhabitants,the majority of who are Melkite Catholics and few Maronite Catholics. [3] The population of the town doubles when the expatriates return to spend their summer vacations in their ancestrol home.
[edit] Economy
Maghdouché's main industry is agriculture. The town produces grapes and citrus fruits, especially oranges. The town is famous for its best quality orange-blossom water.[4] On April 2006, USAID funded a $195,000 cooperative of flower blossom and rose water production center, which will serve more than 950 farmers in the Magdhouche area.[5]
[edit] History
The name Maghdouche is originated from the Syriac word, which means crops collectors. It is also derived from the Syriac word (Kidsh) and its derivatives (Kadisho, Kadishat, Makdosho). And In Hebrew language it means Holy or Saint.The tradition tells that when Jesus came to Sidon, the Virgin Mary who accompanied him, stopped to wait for him at the top of the hill; She spent the night inside the cave named "Mantara". The King Constantin the Great responded to St. Hélène request and transformed the cave into a sanctuary for the Virgin. He erected there a tower, at the top of which he put a flame to announce that Saint Hélène his mother discovered the Christ’s Gross. This tower fell down during the earthquake of 550. The king Louis IX erected there a watching tower. The cave was once again discovered accidentally by a shepherd in 1726, the miraculous icon of the Virgin was near the altar. It is of byzantine style and dates back to the VII or to the VIIIth century. Since then, the cave has been transformed into a place of pilgrimage for all the Lebanese confessions. In 1860, the Greek-Melkite Community became the owner, and transformed the cave into a sanctuary worthy of the Virgin in 1880.
At the beginning of the sixties, Mgr Basile Khoury built a beautiful hexagonal chapel and a 28 m high tower on the top of which he erected a beautiful statue of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus in her arms, a work of the Italian artist Pierrotti. The statue is 28m and a half high. The Virgin of Mantara is the protectress of the children, that’s why many baptisms are celebrated there.
In 1986 The armed conflict between Amal (Shi'a Muslim militias) and the Palestinians spread to Maghdouche. Ferocious combats took place in this Christian strategic town. Ultimately, it fell partially in the hands of Palestinians and its residents were forced to flee from their homes and Maghdouche was destroyed. In 1990 after 4 years, the resident of Maghdouche start to return to the ruines of their village to start the big Journey of rebuilding what was distroyed in the war. .[6]
[edit] Landmarks
Maghdouché's most famous landmark is the tower of Our Lady of Mantara, which is a Marian shrine built above the cave that is believed to have been the resting place of the Virgin Mary as she waited for Jesus while he preached in Sidon.
[edit] References
- ^ http://maghdouche.pipop.org/index.asp?link=Geography.htm
- ^ http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/discussion/002discuss.html
- ^ http://maghdouche.pipop.org/index.asp?link=Geography.htm
- ^ http://maghdouche.pipop.org/index.asp?link=Geography.htm
- ^ http://lebanon.usaid.gov/(1twhhg45inm1lnyrylczrq55)/files/news2.aspx
- ^ http://www.geocities.com/maghdouche2003/history.html
