| Iaal ايعال |
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|---|---|
| — Village — | |
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Iaal
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Lebanon |
| Governorate | North Governorate |
| District | Zgharta District |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ahmad Elmir (elected since 2004) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.89 km2 (1.1 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 281 m (922 ft) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | >1,000 |
| Demographics | |
| • Religion | 100% Sunni Islam |
| • Languages | Overwhelmingly Arabic and English |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
| Postal code | |
| Dialing code | +961 |
Iaal (Arabic: ايعال) is an ancient village located approximately 12 km south-east of Tripoli, 85 km from Beirut and 5 km from Zgharta.[1][2] It is located within the Zgharta District of the North Governorate of Lebanon. Iaal lies at the foot of the Mount Lebanon range and has a road that runs up into the mountains passing through its borders. The most identifiable building in Iaal is the castle/fort built on the hilltop of the village centre.[3][4] The Fortress of Iaal was built in 1816 by Mustafa Agha Barbar (the governor of Tripoli under the Ottomans from 1798) because the area was considered strategic thanks to its panoramic views, which extend all the way down to the Mediterranean coast. The other identifiable building in Iaal is the mosque along the road that runs up into the mountains, called "Masjid al-Taqwa" (Arabic for "Mosque of Piety"), built in 1994.[5] There is a second mosque located within the confines of the castle; the 2 mosques being a testament to the villagers’ strong adherence to Sunni Islam.
The land of Iaal is fertile (sustaining a variety of produce and grazing animals) and has resulted in making the town famous for its olive tree gardens.[6]
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It appears Iaal was inhabited prior to the arrival of Barbar, as evidenced by a census conducted by the Ottoman’s in 1555. It shows that there were 34 males in the village at that time (females were excluded from the census).[7] However, who these villagers were and where they originated from is unknown. What can be presumably safely deduced is that the modern descendants from Iaal are a product of both Barbar and those serving him, and those who were counted in the 1555 census. Based upon this census alone, there should be more than the few thousand people claiming an origin from Iaal today- i.e. if the population was able to grow without interference of unnatural deaths (e.g. killings) and/or significant migration and subsequent loss of identity.
Iaal’s climate is typical of a Mediterranean plain village - with heavy rains, mild winters and hot, dry, arid summers. Its annual rainfall is 810mm. It has the following average temperatures for each month of the year:
| Climate data for Iaal, Lebanon | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °F (°C) | 61 (16) |
61 (16) |
66 (19) |
72 (22) |
77 (25) |
81 (27) |
84 (29) |
86 (30) |
84 (29) |
81 (27) |
72 (22) |
64 (18) |
73 (23) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 54 (12) |
54.5 (12.5) |
58.1 (14.5) |
63.5 (17.5) |
68.9 (20.5) |
73 (23) |
77.9 (25.5) |
79.7 (26.5) |
76.1 (24.5) |
72 (22) |
63.5 (17.5) |
57 (14) |
66.6 (19.2) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 46 (8) |
48 (9) |
50 (10) |
55 (13) |
61 (16) |
66 (19) |
72 (22) |
73 (23) |
68 (20) |
63 (17) |
55 (13) |
50 (10) |
59 (15) |
| Source: Kfarsghab.net[8] | |||||||||||||
Its inhabitants are entirely Sunni Muslims and number above 1000 people (although precise figures are unattainable). They are also all related to one another through the relations of common ancestors. The majority of people who trace their ancestry to the village actually live outside of Iaal. The overwhelming majority of these immigrants and their descendants live in Australia; primarily Sydney, in the Local Government Areas of the Municipality of Kogarah (where they own and run a mosque in the suburb of South Hurstville) and the City of Liverpool. Most people from Iaal (at the time) also immigrated to Latin America during the late 19th and early 20th century. However, these immigrants fully assimilated into their new environments and lost all connections with their homeland.
Some common surnames of people from Iaal include: Affouf, Al-Choukairy, Al-Hage, Ardati, Ayyoub, Dennaoui, Diab, Dib, Elmir, Habib, Hadid, Halbouni, Hammoud, Hussein, Ibrahim, Issa, Jameel, Khidr, Mahrees, Merhi, Nasreddine, Nasser, Shehaddy, Subkhi, Taleb.
Some notable people born in or descending from Iaal include:
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