Btourram
Btourram or Bterram, Bturan, Beturan (Arabic, بطرام) is a Greek Orthodox village in Koura District of Lebanon.
Etymology
The known meanings of Btourram are the following:
- in Arabic "wind of the rock" or the rocky wind.
- "bet" "tur" "ram" means "House of the High Mountain".
- “beth” “turan” means “the temple” of “Turan” or Astarte (Phoenician/Canaanite Goddess).[1]
Local authorities
The municipal council is formed of 12 members headed by Kamal A. Salem. Board members are: Abdelallah Abboud, Elie Khoury, Mariam Malek, Philippe Melki, Khalil Serhan, George Salem, Naim Serhan, Robert Serhan, Wahib Salem, Walid Serhan and Wassim Salem. The mukhtar (mayor) is Ibrahim Melki.
Family and education
Bterram's family names are: Abboud, Alagha, Deab, Fellah, Jabbour, Jarjoura, Khalache, Khawli, Khoury, Makhoul, Malek, Melki, Naser, Salem Saker, Sarkis, Serhan, Sha, Srour, Tannous, Yazbek, Younes...
Some of the most influential people are: Charles Malik, a philosopher and diplomat who was a leading figure in the drafting and adoption of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Elie Salem who held many influential political and academic positions. Now, he is the president of the Balamand University. Btourram has two schools; Khalil Salem School and Universal School of Lebanon.
Archeology
In archeology, Btourram is known for its middle palaeolithic site of Keoue [2] and an old underground sanctuary called Eshmunit.[3] Btourram also has one church dedicated to Cosmas and Damian and one monastery dedicated to Virgin Mary. Both date from the Crusades era.
References and external links
- http://www.bterram.com/ official site
