Dhour El Shuwayr

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Dhour El Shuwayr (ضهور الشوير)
Administration
Country Flag of Lebanon Lebanon
Governorate Mount Lebanon Governorate
District Matn District
Geography
Elevation 1,200 m (3,937 ft)

Dhour El Shuwayr (Arabic: ضهور الشوير) is a mountain town in Lebanon ('dhour' meaning 'summit, top [of a mountain]'). It lies slightly north of the main Beirut Damascus highway. It overlooks the city of Beirut and the Mediterranean sea. It is 30 km from Beirut and 42 km from Beirut International Airport.

It is one of Mount Lebanon's most favored summer resorts. Dhour El-Choueir is important for its August yearly carnival, honoring Lebanon's emigrants.

The Greek Orthodox monk Abd Allah Zakhir set up an Arabic language printing press using movable type at the monastery of Saint John at Choueir, the first home made press in Lebanon. He personally cut the type molds and did the founding of the elegant typeface. He created the first true Arabic script type in the Middle East. A prior "Arabic" press at the Maar Quz?hayy Monastery in Lebanon had transliterated the Arabic language using Syriac script. The first book off the Zakhir press was in 1734; this press continued to be used until 1899. [1][2]

It is the birthplace of Anton Saadeh who founded the Syrian Social Nationalist Party.[3]

The town was on the front line during the Lebanese Civil War.

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