| Shemlan شملان Chemlane |
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Shemlan
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Lebanon |
| Governorate | Mount Lebanon Governorate |
| District | Aley District |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | +3 (UTC) |
Shemlan (also spelled Chemlane, Shimlan) is a village in the Aley District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate in Lebanon, located about 25 km from Beirut.[1]
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Shemlan is first mentioned in history books as early as the 12th century. More recent accounts attribute Shemlan as being part of the land belonging to the Shehab Family. In the 19th century, this land was donated to the Antonine Monks. Over the years, Shemlan's was inhabited by the Jabbour's, Hitti's, Tabib's and Farajallah's--all traditional Maronite Catholic families—many of which emigrated during the civil war.
Shemlan's strategic location overlooking Beirut International Airport and its diverse political make-up made Shemlan a fierce battleground during the 1958 civil war and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
In 1947, the British Government opened the Middle East Centre for Arabic Studies in Shemlan. This school gained a reputation as being a "spy school" because many of its graduates worked for the C.I.A. or Britain's Foreign Office.
Shemlan's most famous resident is Philip Khuri Hitti, a renowned author and professor on the Middle East.
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