Charoun

Charoun
شارون
Village
Map showing the location of Charoun within Lebanon
Map showing the location of Charoun within Lebanon
Charoun
Location within Lebanon
Coordinates: 33°46′16″N 35°41′9″E / 33.77111°N 35.68583°E / 33.77111; 35.68583
Country Lebanon
GovernorateMount Lebanon Governorate
DistrictAley District
Government
 • MayorMhanna Banna
Area
 • Total
10.5 km2 (4.1 sq mi)
Elevation
1,100 m (3,600 ft)
Highest elevation
1,400 m (4,600 ft)
Lowest elevation
750 m (2,460 ft)
Population
[citation needed]
 • Total
10,000
 • Density950/km2 (2,500/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Dialing code+961

Charoun or Sharoun (Arabic: شارون), is a Lebanese village located in the Aley District. Charoun is 31 kilometers away from Beirut and neighbors the town Saoufar. Its name derives from the Aramaic languages meaning the agricultural hills.[citation needed] Charoun is from the Jurd region, with a 1350 m altitude. It accounts two schools, one public school and one private school. Charoun has two industries with 5 or more workers. Charoun is one of the biggest villages in the Aley District, (10.5 square km), and wholly Druze.[citation needed]

Climate

The town receives heavy snow during the wintertime, which may reach a level higher than one metre high after particularly bad storms. Temperatures usually drop to less than zero during the months of December and January. Charoun is also known for its abundance in water like the Nahr Charoun and the historical Ain Bou-Freez, a 1030-year-old natural fountain. It also holds an important place in the Druze faith, as it contains two Druze maqams: Al maqam al shariff and the Sitt Sara maqam.[citation needed]

Families

There are three major families in Charoun: Al Ahmadieh, El Sayegh and Al-Banna. There are also three minor families: Dimashqi, Abdel-Khalek and Abou Hamdan. It's the hometown of many important persons in Lebanon: the journalist Nidal Al Ahmadieh, the composer Ziad Al Ahmadieh, the urologist Dr Nabil Ahmadieh and Wajdi Sayegh, the first martyr in the Lebanese National Resistance Front for the Syrian Socialist National Party.[citation needed]