Iaal Explained

Iaal
Native Name:ايعال
Native Name Lang:ara
Settlement Type:Village
Pushpin Map:Lebanon
Pushpin Map Alt:Map showing the location of Iaal within Lebanon
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within Lebanon
Coordinates:34.3667°N 90°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:
Subdivision Type1:Governorate
Subdivision Name1:North Governorate
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:Zgharta District
Leader Title:Mayor
Leader Name:Hatem Dib (elected May 2016)
Area Total Km2:2.89
Elevation M:281
Population Total:≈1,000
Population As Of:2010
Demographics Type1:Demographics
Demographics1 Title2:Religion
Demographics1 Title3:Languages
Demographics1 Info3:Overwhelmingly Arabic and English
Timezone1:EET
Utc Offset1:+2
Timezone1 Dst:EEST
Utc Offset1 Dst:+3
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Postal Code:2220
Area Code Type:Dialing code
Area Code:+961

Iaal (Arabic: ايعال, also spelt as Ī`āl, Iäal, Izal or I’aal) is a village in northern Lebanon.

Etymology

The name Iaal is phonetically derived from the sound donkeys make when braying (onomatopoeia). This was chosen in honour of the preeminent role donkeys played in logistics connecting the coastal and mountain regions through Iaal.

The village's alternative name, Izal, has its origin in Aramaic.[1]

Location

Iaal is located approximately south-east of Tripoli, from Beirut and from Zgharta.[2] [3] It is situated within the Zgharta District of the North Governorate of Lebanon. Iaal lies at the foot of the Mount Lebanon range and has a road that runs up into the mountains (parallel to Wadi Iaal) passing through its borders.[4] Neighbouring and nearby communities include Jdaydeh, Kfaryachit, Khaldieh, Morh Kfarsghab and Sakhra. Iaal is one of five predominantly Sunni towns in the Zgharta District.[5]

Buildings

The most identifiable building in Iaal is the castle/fort built on the hilltop of the village centre: the Fortress of Iaal[6] [7] It was built in 1816 by Mustafa Agha Barbar (the Ottoman governor of Tripoli from 1798) because the area was considered strategic thanks to its panoramic views, which extend all the way down to the Mediterranean coast. The other identifiable building in Iaal is the mosque along the road that runs up into the mountains called Masjid al-Taqwa (Arabic for Mosque of Piety), built in 1994.[8]

History

It appears that Iaal was inhabited prior to the arrival of Barbar, as evidenced by a census conducted by the Ottomans in 1555 showing that there were 34 males in the village at that time (females were excluded from the census).[9] However, who these villagers were and where they originated from is unknown. What can be presumably safely deduced is that the modern descendants from Iaal are a product of Barbar, those serving him and those who were counted in the 1555 census. Based upon the 1555 census alone, there should be more than the few thousand people currently claiming an origin from Iaal, i.e. if the population was able to grow without the interference of many unnatural deaths (e.g. killings) and/or significant migration and subsequent loss of identity.

Agriculture

The land of Iaal is watered by Iaal Dam and its outflow of Wadi Iaal.[10] This makes it fertile, sustaining a variety of produce and grazing animals, and has resulted in making Iaal famous for its olive tree gardens.[11]

Climate

Iaal's climate is typical of a Mediterranean plain village: with heavy rains, mild winters and hot, dry, arid summers. Its annual rainfall is . Its average monthly temperatures are shown below:

People

Its inhabitants number about 1,000 people (although precise figures are unattainable).[12] In 1988 Iaal had a total population of 903, and in 1998 its population increased by almost 20% to 1,082 people. However, these figures relate to all registered citizens originating from the village, including both residents in Lebanon and those who emigrated abroad.[13] The people of Iaal are also all related to one another through common ancestors. The majority of people who trace their ancestry to the village actually live outside of Iaal. The overwhelming majority of these immigrants and their descendants live in Australia, primarily Sydney, in the local government areas of the Municipality of Kogarah (especially the suburb of South Hurstville) and the City of Liverpool. This diaspora community also runs the Iaal Charitable Association Inc.[14] During the late 19th and early 20th century, most people from Iaal (at the time) emigrated to Latin America; however, these emigrants fully assimilated into their new environments and lost all connections with their homeland.

Some common surnames of people from Iaal include Affouf, Al-Choukairy, Al-Hage, Ardati, Ayyoub, Dennaoui, Diab, Dib, Elmir, Habib, Hadid, Halbouni, Hammoud, Hussein, Ibrahim, Issa, Jameel, Khidr, Mahrees, Merhi, Nasreddine, Nasser, Shehaddy, Subkhi and Taleb.

Notable people

Some notable people born in or descending from Iaal include:

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Geoffrey Khan . The Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Barwar . 2008 . Brill . 570.
  2. Web site: Google Maps: Iaal, Lebanon. 23 May 2015.
  3. Web site: Iaal: Geographic coordinate information. Tageo.com. 23 May 2015.
  4. Web site: Wādī Ī'āl. getamap.net. 23 May 2015.
  5. http://www.caza-zgharta.com/Religious/religious.htm Religious
  6. http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/About+Lebanon.nsf/SectionsBySubAlias/Iaal?OpenDocument Iaal Fortress photo
  7. Web site: I'aal: Fortress details. Sou'al Jawab Tourism. 23 May 2015.
  8. http://zgharta.com/cgi-bin/zgallery/page.cgi?g=Detailed%2F2925.html;d=1 Photo of "Masjid al-Taqwa," built in 1994
  9. http://www.caza-zgharta.com/zawie/zawieh%20hist.htm 1555 Iaal census
  10. http://om.ciheam.org/om/pdf/b48/05002293.pdf Participatory Water Saving Management and Water Cultural Heritage: Lebanon Country Report
  11. Web site: Towns and Villages Neighbouring Tripoli Lebanon: I'aal. tripoli-city.org. 23 May 2015. 29 October 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20181018153203/http://www.tripoli-city.org/neighbour.html#iaal. 18 October 2018. dead.
  12. http://www.caza-zgharta.com/caza/historical.htm Historical
  13. http://www.caza-zgharta.com/demography/demographic_study.htm Demographic Study
  14. Strong in Their Weakness or Weak in Their Strength? The Case of Lebanese Diaspora Engagement with Lebanon. Immigrants & Minorities. 33. 2. 2014. 12–14, 17. 10.1080/02619288.2013.877347. Skulte-ouaiss, Jennifer . Tabar, Paul . Routledge. The I’aal Village Association. 145242533 . 0261-9288. ...For the village association of I’aal in North Lebanon (known as the Charitable Association of I’aal in Australia), there is no clear line separating those who reside in the village and those who have emigrated, as there is so much circular migration and other forms of transnational interaction. The Deputy Head of the Municipality, Mr Nasser Al Dein Dieb, who has also been a migrant himself, stated that ‘there is no single family in I’aal who [does] not have at least one relative residing in Australia’. The association is active in a variety of infrastructure and education projects in the village; individual migrants are also active in private or family activities, for example, building elaborate and expensive vacation homes that get used only for a few weeks per year. In the 2009 general elections, almost 500 members of the I’aal Diaspora community in Sydney travelled to Lebanon to participate and vote. What made their participation very significant was the fact that they voted in a district (Zghartah district) where the race between the two major political forces running for this election (March 14 and March 8 alliances) was so close, making their contribution crucial for the final outcome of the elections. This village association is by no means the largest that we encountered in our research but rather is typical of many such tight-knit organizations that seek to address the needs of the homeland community that cannot or will not be met by state authorities. Migrants in Australia from I’aal (the majority of I’aal inhabitants who live abroad are found in Sydney, Australia) have contributed abundantly to the development of the village in Lebanon: they have donated profusely to improve the services of the village school and clinic, and to many families who were in need to provide expensive health care to their sick family members or to support their children's education. As a result, all these activities qualify I’aal, like hundreds of other diasporan villages in Australia, Canada and the USA, to assume the role of a non-state actor...What is striking about the I’aal Village Association, as well as others like it tying the Lebanese Diaspora to villages and towns throughout Lebanon, is that they contribute significantly to the financial, social and even political sustenance of these villages and towns...However, as discussion of the cases of...I’aal Village Association, and Auxilia illustrate, the Diaspora is never completely autonomous in its activities. Rather, it is strongest when...the Diaspora restricts its activities to the local level (e.g. I’aal Village Association) but also takes the lead..
  15. http://www.fmansw.org/about_us.html Future Movement Australia: Management FMA NSW
  16. http://www.fmansw.org/about_us.html Future Movement Australia: Future Movement – Australia (Tayar Al-Mustaqbal) Official Committee Structure
  17. Web site: موقع وزارة الداخلية والبلديات . 28 April 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100918023951/http://www.moim.gov.lb/ui/moim/guidex/PhonesNorthx.html . 18 September 2010 .
  18. Web site: Declaration of the Local Government Election for Georges River Council - Councillors 2017-2020. Georges River Council. 29 October 2017. 18 September 2017.
  19. News: Ground-breaking ceremony for Hurstville's new $60 million office tower . 9 May 2019 . 8 May 2019.
  20. News: Jim Gainsford. South Hurstville man honoured in Premier's Multicultural Community Awards. 1 April 2017. St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. 17 Mar 2017.
  21. News: Paul Kent. Khoder Nasser: The man behind Sonny Bill Williams' anger. 23 May 2015. The Daily Telegraph. 24 May 2008.
  22. News: Greg Bearup. Lord of the Ring. 23 May 2015. The Sydney Morning Herald. 27 July 2010.
  23. News: Josh Massoud. North Queensland Cowboys NRL star Cory Paterson converts to Islam. 23 May 2015. The Daily Telegraph. 2 August 2011.
  24. News: Phil Lutton. Rugby faces agent of change. 23 May 2015. The Sydney Morning Herald. 20 May 2011.
  25. News: Tanya Nolan. Deputy Police Commissioner calls for closer cooperation with Muslim community. 23 May 2015. AM. ABC. 21 July 2005.

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