Al Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve

Inside the Barouk forest

Al Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in the Chouf District of Lebanon. It is located on the slopes of Barouk mountain and has an area of 550 km², nearly 5.3 % of the Lebanese territory. It has been suggested that Reserve design be merged into this article or section. ... Chouf (also spelled Shouf, Shuf or Chuf) is a historical region of Lebanon, and also an administrative district in the governorate (mohafazat) of Mount Lebanon. ... Barouk is a village in the Chouf region of Lebanon. ...

The reserve contains the Lebanon Cedar forests of Barouk, Maaser el Shouf and Ain Zhalta. It is an Important Bird Area (IBA) and Eco-tourism area. It hosts 32 species of wild mammals, 200 species of birds, and 500 species of plants. Binomial name Cedrus libani A. Rich. ... An Important Bird Area (IBA) is an area designated as globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. ... Ecotourism essentially means ecological tourism, where ecological has both environmental and social connotations. ...

Geodiversity

The barouk mountain comprises rocks from the third geological era (Pliocene) which has undergone major tectonic movement that divided mount Lebanon 2 parallel parts; the eastern range is called the Anti-Lebanon, and the western range is called Mount Lebanon. The two mountain ranges are separated by the Beqaa Valley, which is composed of recent infill sediments. The main rocks are limestone. The whole of the Barouk Mountain is cavernous limestone, with many surface features such as dolines indicating the underlying cavernous forms of the mountain range. One particularly noteworthy cave, estimated to be 700 meters long, is located near Niha village. Villagers report an abundance of stalactites and stalagmites and that there is an underground body of water.The highest peak on the range at 1980 meters. The trend from north to south is for the eastern slopes to change from very steep to less steep and for the western slopes to become increasingly steep. The top of the Barouk range becomes increasingly narrow towards the south. The Pliocene epoch (spelled Pleiocene in some older texts) is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5. ... Anti-Lebanon is a mountain range of Lebanon and Syria. ... For other uses, see Mount Lebanon (disambiguation). ... Beqaa Valley Beqaa (Arabic: البقاع, valley; also transliterated as Bekaa, Biqâ‘ or Becaa) is a fertile valley in east Lebanon. ... For other uses, see Limestone (disambiguation). ...

• Hydrology:

Precipitation in the watershed is the source of both surface streamflow and groundwater. The major portion of this occurs as rain. Snowfall often occurs at the upper elevations but snow seldom persists more than a few days and disappears before the end of the rainy season. Normally snow has little overall direct effect on stream-flow within the watershed. However, on rare occasions warm rains falling on the snow-pack may result in rapid melting and release of large quantities of water at a time when the soils are already fully saturated. These conditions result in rapid runoff and floods.A large proportion of the exposed surface rock in the Barouk region is cavernous, fissured and broken limestone, and its porous condition makes it very permeable. This results in much of the precipitation infiltrating with minimum surface runoff despite the often-shallow soils and sparse vegetative cover. Water percolates downward through the various formations and feeds the many large springs found on lower slopes in the area. Such springs help maintain stream-flow during the April to November dry season. Surface water flows originating on the range are mostly seasonal but some are perennial. Underground water generates outflow rivers such as: - Al Awali River, more commonly known as Al-Barouk river - Damour River, known as Al-Safa river The summit of the range is considered as a divide between two hydrological systems because of the difference between the two slopes of the mountain. The eastern slope is much steeper and favors surface stream flows, whereas the western slope is less steep and favors ground water aquifers.

The rivers that flow in the valleys are the major source of agriculture irrigation and supply a dozen Shouf villages with domestic water and some of the western Bekaa villages. It is also the main source of water for the Aammiq Swamp in the Bekaa.

Man-made alpine lake in the reserve

• Pedology:
• Homogenous, belonging to the red brown Mediterranean soils formed on hard marl limestone.
• derived from Jurassic, Balthonian, Callovian to Oxfordien - Portlandian marl limestone.
• Stone contents ranges from 80 - 90 %.

From an erosion point of view these soils are in a state of equilibrium due to: The Jurassic Period is a major unit of the geologic timescale that extends from about 199. ... The Callovian is a stage on the geologic time scale occuring from 164. ...

• High permeability.
• Mask of calcareous fragments.
• Good vegetative cover.
• Good drainage.

• Climatology:

The annual rainfall average is 1200 mm, and the mean annual temperature is 11.3° C. The mean daily maximum temperature is 23.4? C in August whereas the mean minimum temperature in January is -0.6? C. The absolute temperature ranges from -10.8° C in January to 32.3° in August. The mean relative humidity lies around 65% but the eastern slopes are slightly dryer. There are about 50 to 55 days of snow fall per year, depending on the information provided by the Ministry of Public Work and Transport.

Biodiversity

• flora

The flora of the Al-Shouf Cedar area is partly covered by Mouterde's 1966, 1970 and 1983 flora of Lebanon. The most recent and extensive botanical researches on the official site were conducted, on behalf of the Ministry of Environment (Protected Areas Project), by (Georges Tohmé) the National Council for Scientific Research (NCSR) in 1999. Since then extremely few flora reports on the official site were published or known. Tohmé continued his field botanical studies at Al-Shouf Cedar Reserve during the last three years in order to obtain confirmation on the status of certain species. His recent new findings are published in Tohmé, G. & Tohmé, H. (2002). Few of them are incorporated here and the others will be added to the final report of the present study-project. The list of Al-Shouf Cedar Reserve species includes 500 identified species distributed over 61 families. Also the reserve is habitat to 25 internationally and nationally threatened species, 48 endemic to Lebanon or Lebanon and Syria or Lebanon and Turkey, and 14 rare species, whilst 214 species are restricted to the Eastern Mediterranean or Middle East area. Simplified schematic of an islands flora - all its plant species, highlighted in boxes. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1970 ([[Rf 1970 == January 1 - The Unix epoch begins at 00:00:00 UTC January 2 - The last studio performance of The Beatles oman numerals|MCMLXX]]) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the year. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... For other uses, see Species (disambiguation). ... Endemic, in a broad sense, can mean belonging or native to, characteristic of, or prevalent in a particular geography, race, field, area, or environment; Native to an area or scope. ... Rare species is an organism which is very uncommon or scarce. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ...

Cedar forest inside the reserve

Cedars in winter

The reserve is also home to 24 tree species, which some are found in Europe and the Mediterranean area as well as in Lebanon. The reserve is known for its official's efforts to save the cedar of lebanon through continues manegment of the forests and planting new trees in previously logged and deforestated areas.The reserve form the last natural limits to the spread of Cedrus libani on the planet. The reserve is also known for the ability of the forests to regenerate by their own without any human interference. Other tree species in the reserve include : Cyprus oak (Quercus infectoria ), Brant’s oak (Quercus brantii), Kermes oak (Quercus calliprinos), Calabrian pine (Pinus brutia), Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), Stone pine (Pinus pinea), Greek juniper (Juniperus excelca), Syrian juniper (Arceuthos drupacea). For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... Binomial name Cedrus libani A. Rich. ... Binomial name L. The Kermes Oak (Quercus coccifera) is an oak in the turkey oak section Quercus sect. ... Binomial name Pinus halepensis Miller The Aleppo Pine (Pinus halepensis) is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. ... Binomial name Pinus pinea L. The Stone Pine (Pinus pinea; family Pinaceae) is a species of pine native of southern Europe, primarily the Iberian Peninsula. ...

Kermes Oak Image File history File linksMetadata Quercus_coccifera. ...

Calabrian pine Download high resolution version (480x640, 177 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

Aleppo pine(picture from france)

stone pine Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1110x900, 282 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Stone Pine ...

• Fauna

Mammals: Mammal explorations in Lebanon were shy and almost limited to around the middle of the twentieth century. They are fragmentary and provided little information on the mammals inhabiting the country. Many species and sub-species were lacking or not yet mentioned in Lebanon till early seventieth. Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals characterized by the presence of sweat glands, including those that produce milk, and by the presence of: hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex... For other uses, see Species (disambiguation). ... In taxonomy, a subspecies is the taxon immediately subordinate to a species. ...

Heck cattle bull or recreated Aurochs (picture from Germany)

Between 1980 and 1985, Tohmé, G. and Tohmé, H. produced alone 33% of the known published papers on the Lebanese mammals. Whatsoever, the only documented data of the mammals of Al-Shouf Cedar Reserve apparently appeared in the report of Tohmé, H. that was prepared, on behalf of the Protected Areas Project at the Ministry of Environment, in 1999 by the NCSR. This report, which was based on inventory and surveys as well as brochures and other documents developed by the managing team of the reserve, produced a list of 32 mammals which include: Wild boar (Sus scrofa), Gray wolf (Canis lupus ), Beech marten (Martes foina), Mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella), Golden jackal (Canis aureus), Red fox(Vulpus vulpus), European badger (Meles meles), Cape hare (Lepus capensis), Caucasian Squirrel (Sciurus anomalus), Palestine Mole Rat (Nannospalax ehrenbergi) Indian porcupine (Hystrix indica), Striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena), Wild cat (Felis silvestris), Cape hyrax (Provacaria capenisis). The reserve launched a project to reintroduce the Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) to the area from jordan, after it was extinct in the mid-twentieth century. The reserve was most probably home to the extinct now in Lebanon Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), Persian fallow deer (Dama dama mesopotamica), Anatolian leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana), Wild goat (Capra aegagrus), and Syrian Brown Bear (Ursus arctos syriacus). The Aurochs (Bos primigenius) may have existed in the area in the middle ages as well. Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the year. ... This article is about the year. ... Binomial name Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758 The Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) is the wild ancestor of the domesticated pig. ... “Gray Wolves” redirects here. ... Binomial name Martes foina (Erxleben, 1777) The Beech Marten (Martes foina) is the most common species of marten in Central Europe. ... Binomial name Gazella gazella (Pallas, 1766) The Mountain Gazelle (Gazella gazella) is a species of gazelle that is widely but unevenly distributed across the Arabian Peninsula. ... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 Golden Jackal range The Golden Jackal (Canis aureus), also called the Asiatic or Common Jackal, is a mammal of the order carnivora native to North and East Africa, Southeastern Europe and South Asia to Burma. ... For other uses, see Red Fox (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Meles meles (Linnaeus, 1758) The European Badger (Meles meles) is a member of the Mustelidae family, and so is related to the stoats, otters, weasels, minks and other badgers. ... Binomial name Lepus capensis L., 1758 The Cape, Common or Brown Hare (Lepus capensis) is a hare natively found throughout Africa, and has spread to many parts of the Europe, Middle East and Asia, and was introduced to Australia. ... Binomial name Nehring, 1898 The Middle East Blind Mole Rat or Palestine Mole Rat (Nannospalax ehrenbergi) is a species of rodent in the Muridae family. ... Binomial name Hystrix indica , The Indian Porcupine (Hystrix indica) is a member of the Old World porcupines. ... Binomial name Hyaena hyaena (Linnaeus, 1758) The Striped Hyena (Hyaena hyaena) is closely related to the Brown Hyena. ... For other meanings of Wild Cat and wildcat, see wildcat. ... Binomial name Procavia capensis (Pallas, 1766) The Cape Hyrax, or Rock Hyrax, (Procavia capensis) is a species in the order Hyracoidea. ... Binomial name Capra nubiana F. Cuvier, 1825 The Nubian Ibex (Capra ibex nubiana) is a rocky desert dwelling goat antelope found in mountainous areas of Israel, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt and Sudan. ... In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ... Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) The European Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus) is a deer species of Europe, Asia Minor, and Caspian coastal regions. ... Binomial name Dama mesopotamica (Brooke,, 1875) The Persian Fallow Deer (Dama mesopotamica) is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. ... Panthera pardus tulliana photographed by researcher Curt Kosswig in 1938 Trinomial name Panthera pardus tulliana The Anatolian Leopard, Panthera pardus tulliana, is a subspecies of leopard. ... Binomial name Capra aegagrus Erxleben, 1777 Subspecies Capra aegagrus aegagrus Capra aegagrus blythi Capra aegagrus chialtanensis Capra aegagrus cretica Capra aegagrus hircus Capra aegagrus turcmenica The wild goat (Capra aegagrus) is a common type of goat species, with a distribution ranging from Europe and Asia Minor to central Asia and... Trinomial name Ursus arctos syriacus Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1828 The Syrian Brown Bear (Ursus arctos syriacus) is the smallest subspecies of Brown Bear. ... Binomial name Subspecies Bos primigenius primigenius   (Bojanus, 1827) Bos primigenius namadicus   (Falconer, 1859) Bos primigenius mauretanicus   (Thomas, 1881) See Ur (rune) for the rune. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ...

Wild boar Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 600 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1361 × 1361 pixel, file size: 2. ...	Nubian ibex Image File history File links Stavenn_Capra_nubiana_00. ...	Wild goat Image File history File links Kri_kri. ...	Gray wolf
Jungle cat Image File history File links Felis_Chaus. ...	Caracal	Golden jackal ImageMetadata File history File links Golden_Jackal_sa02. ...	Persian fallow deer

Birds: The reserve is home to 200 species of birds, which 19 are considered rare at the national level. More than 22 species have been confirmed to be resident, the rest are migratory or rare visitors, and at least three or two species have been introduced. The reserve holds a combination of birds found in Europe, Africa, and Asia which include: Chukar (Alectoris chukar), Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius), Blackbird (Turdus merula), Common raven (Corvus corax), Common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), Shore lark (Eremophila alpestris), Common redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus), Chaffinch, (Fringilla coelebs), Turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur), Rock sparrow (Petronia petronia), European goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis). For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Alectoris chukar (Gray, JE, 1830) The chukar, Alectoris chukar, is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. ... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 The Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) occurs over a vast region from Western Europe and north-west Africa to the eastern seaboard of Asia and down into south-east Asia. ... For other uses, see Blackbird (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 Common Raven range Subspecies The Common Raven (Corvus corax), also known as the Northern Raven, is a large all-black passerine bird in the crow family, with iridescent feathers. ... Binomial name Falco tinnunculus Linnaeus, 1758 The Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a bird of prey belonging to the falcon family Falconidae. ... Binomial name Eremophila alpestris (Linnaeus, 1758) The Shore Lark (Eremophila alpestris), called the Horned Lark in North America, breeds across much of North America, northernmost Europe and Asia and in the mountains of southeast Europe. ... Binomial name Phoenicurus phoenicurus (Linnaeus, 1758) Common Redstart The Redstart or Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family (Turdidae), but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher (Muscicapidae). ... Binomial name Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 The Chaffinch, (Fringilla coelebs), is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. ... Binomial name Streptopelia turtur (Linnaeus, 1758) The Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur) is a member of the bird family Columbidae, which includes the doves and pigeons. ... Binomial name Petronia petronia (Linnaeus, 1766) The term rock sparrow can also be used to refer to the genus Petronia as whole The Rock Sparrow, Petronia petronia, is a small passerine bird. ... Binomial name Carduelis carduelis (Linnaeus, 1758) Carduelis carduelis carduelis 1 summer 2 all year Carduelis carduelis caniceps 3 summer 4 all year The Goldfinch or European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) is a small passerine bird in the finch family. ...

White stork

Griffon vulture

Two species at least have been introduced to the shouf area for hunting and expanded their range in to the reserve, the two species are: Rock partridge (Alectoris graeca), and Common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus). The reserve is also home to many species of birds of pray such as: Griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), and the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2336x2336, 4052 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Beak User:Thermos Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2336x2336, 4052 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Beak User:Thermos Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or... Binomial name Alectoris graeca (Meisner, 1804) The Rock Partridge, Alectoris graeca, is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. ... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 The Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), otherwise known as the Ring-necked Pheasant or Chinese Pheasant is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. ... Binomial name Gyps fulvus Hablizl, 1783 The Griffon Vulture, Gyps fulvus is an Old World vulture in the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. ... For other uses, see Golden Eagle (disambiguation). ...

Chukar Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x1047, 283 KB) Chukar - Capitol Reef National Park (Utah, USA) 2004 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...	Common pheasant (male) Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 416 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ...	Eurasian jay Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 716 KB) Other versions File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Eurasian Jay User:Lviatour/Images/Animals Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the...	Blackbird (male) Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 565 pixelsFull resolution (2304 × 1626 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Common kestrel (male) Download high resolution version (500x700, 145 KB)Common Kestrel. ...	Golden eagle	Hoopoe Image File history File links Upupa_epops. ...	European goldfinch Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1659x1435, 506 KB) Stieglitz (Carduelis Carduelis) in Konstanz/Baden-Württemberg/Deutschland am 24. ...

Reptiles and Amphibians: Al-shouf cedar reserve is home to a rich variety of reptiles, 26 species were documented with two species endemic to Lebanon and the chouf area in particular. The reserve is also home to four species of amphibians, almost the same number of species found in the whole of Lebanon. The species include: Palestinian viper (Vipera palaestinae), Greek tortoise (Testudo graeca), Mediterranean chameleon (chamaeleon chamaeleon), European copper skink (Ablepharus kitaibelii), Common Toad (Bufo bufo), European green toad (Bufo viridis), Arouss Al Ayn (Salamandra infraimmaculata), Mediterranean tree frog (Hyla savignyi). Binomial name Testudo graeca Linnaeus, 1758 The Greek Tortoise or Spur-thighed Tortoise (Testudo graeca) is one of four European members of the Testudinidae family of tortoises. ... Binomial name Bufo bufo (Linnaeus, 1758) The Common toad or European toad Bufo bufo is widespread throughout Europe, with the exception of Ireland and some Mediterranean islands. ... Binomial name {{{binomial_name}}} (Laurenti, 1768) The European green toad Bufo viridis is a toad found in antarticaEurope and Asia. ...

Palestinian viper Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 786 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1988 × 1516 pixel, file size: 1,005 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) // Guy Haimovitch Vipera palaestina Taken In Israel, By Guy Haimovitch Animal Pictures File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this...	Medeterranian chameleon	Greek tortoise Download high resolution version (992x802, 200 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...	European copper skink
Common toad Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 489 KB) Português dois sapos (bufo bufo) fotografado de de:Benutzer:Janekpfeifer 28. ...	Green toad Image File history File links File links The following pages link to this file: European Green Toad ...	Arouss al ayn	Mediterranean tree frog

Cultural heritage

• The cedars:

The cedar forests of Lebanon enjoy the unique distinction as the oldest documented forests in history. The cedars were important enough in the history of man to be traceable to the very earliest written records, that of the Sumerians in the third millennium BC. In the ancient Sumerian story, "The Epic of Gilgamesh", one of the oldest pieces of literature in the world, the Cedars feature prominently. Gilgamesh has since been recognized as King Gilgamesh of history and in probability visited Mount Lebanon. For other uses, see Cedar (disambiguation). ... Sumer (or Shumer, Sumeria, Shinar, native ki-en-gir) formed the southern part of Mesopotamia from the time of settlement by the Sumerians until the time of Babylonia. ... (4th millennium BC – 3rd millennium BC – 2nd millennium BC – other millennia) Events Foundation of the city of Mari (Syria) (29th century BC ) Creation of the Kingdom of Elam (Iraq) Germination of the Bristlecone pine tree Methuselah about 2700 BC, the oldest tree still living now Dynasty of... For other uses, see Mount Lebanon (disambiguation). ...

• Historic Cultural Sites:
  

  

  Niha cave castle

The setting of the Shouf is a nexus of many cultures, religions, and historical events, all of which have left an imprint which makes the area's cultural heritage as rich as its ecosystems. The following are some major landmarks: In ecology, an ecosystem is a community of organisms (plant, animal and other living organisms - also referred as biocenose) together with their environment (or biotope), functioning as a unit. ...

• Qalaat Niha:

The cave castle of Tyron Niha relates to one of the closing episodes of Prince Fakhreddin II's epic history and are the only remaining vestiges of a once powerful fortress which was successively used by the Arabs, Crusaders, and a number of princes of Mount Lebanon. Fakhr-al-Din II also the Great was a Lebanese prince, son of prince Qurqumaz from the Maan Druze dinasty and princess Nassab. ... Languages Arabic other minority languages Religions Predominantly Sunni Islam, as well as Shia Islam, Greek Orthodoxy, Greek Catholicism, Roman Catholicism, Alawite Islam, Druzism, Ibadi Islam, and Judaism Footnotes a Mainly in Antakya. ... The Crusaders (formerly the Canterbury Crusaders) are a New Zealand Rugby Union team based in Christchurch, New Zealand that competes in the Super 14 (formerly the Super 12). ...

• El Nabi Ayoub:

A feretory was built on the hill above the village of Niha to honor Job's memory and hold his relics. Ayoub is the Arabic name of the prophet Job.

• Qab Elias Castle:

This once powerful Druze fortress served as a guardian outpost controlling the road that linked Beirut to Damascus, and a marching post for the Druze and Chehab rulers of the South Bekaa or Wadi Taym. Religions Druzism Scriptures Rasail al-hikmah (Epistles of Wisdom) Languages Arabic, Hebrew The Druze (Arabic: درزي, derzī or durzī, plural دروز, durūz; ‎, Druzim; also transliterated Druz or Druse) are a Middle Eastern religious community whose traditional religion is said to have begun as an offshoot of the Ismaili sect of... This article is about the Lebanese city. ... For other uses, see Damascus (disambiguation). ... The Beqaa Beqaa is a governorate in Lebanon with a population of 750,000 inhabitants. ...

• Mazar El Sit Cha'wane:

El Sit Cha'wane is a famous figure in the Druze religion. Like Job in the Old Testament, she was held up as a model of virtue and devotion. A feretory was erected in her name. Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh to refer to its canon, which corresponds to the Protestant Old Testament. ...

External links

• Al Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve official website

See also

Horsh Ehden

Aammiq Wetland