Borj Ech Chemali

Town in South Governorate, Lebanon

Borj Ech Chemali (Arabic: برج الشمالي) is a town in the Tyre District in South Lebanon, located just east of Tyre.

Name

According to E. H. Palmer in 1881, the name Burj esh Shemâly means "the northern tower".^[2]

History

In 1875, Victor Guérin found the village to be inhabited by 150 Métualis. The old fort was divided into several private dwellings.^[3]

In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as: "A large village built of stone, containing about 300 Metawileh, placed on a low ridge, with figs, olives, and arable land around. There are two good springs nearby.^[4]

They further noted that it was "a village with a similar tower of drafted masonry (as that of Borj Rahal). The hill is crowned by a stronghold, the vaults of which, slightly ogival, do not appear older than the Crusaders, but it was constructed of older blocks, some in drafted masonry while others are completely smoothed. About a mile to the south-west of this hill is a subterranean series of tombs, each containing several ranges of loculi, which was explored by Renan."^[5]

References

1. city-facts.com
2. Palmer, 1881, p. 4
3. Guérin, 1880, p. 202
4. Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. 48
5. Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. 58

Bibliography

• Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. Vol. 1. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
• Guérin, V. (1880). Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine (in French). Vol. 3: Galilee, pt. 2. Paris: L'Imprimerie Nationale.
• Palmer, E.H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
• Renan, E. (1864). Mission de Phénicie (in French). Paris: Imprimerie impériale.

External links

• Borj Ech Chemali, Localiban
• Survey of Western Palestine, Map 1: IAA, Wikimedia commons