Welcome to Roumieh!

Lebanon has six designated mohafizat or regions: Beirut, Mount Lebanon, North Lebanon, South Lebanon, Beqaa, and Nabitiyeh. Roumieh is within the mohafazah (singular term) region of Mount Lebanon.

Roumieh is located northeast of Beirut and is known as a picturesque village with spectacular panoramic views of the Beirut peninsula and the Mediterranean coast. One can easily see views reaching as far north as Byblos and as far south as Beirut Airport. There are also beautiful mountain views of Harissa (seat of the Maronite Patriarch) and Mount Sannin (which rises to 2,695 meters or 8,842 feet in height).

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Country: Lebanon
Governorate: Mount Lebanon
District: Matn
Highest elevation: 700m (2,300ft)
Lowest elevation: 550m (1,800ft)
Time Zone: EET (UTC+2)
Dialing code: +961

The Municipality of Roumieh covers 6.5 million meters² and spans altitudes from less than 50 meters above sea level (at Nahr-el-Mot) to just over 700 meters. Roumieh borders the villages of Kanabet, Bsalim, Broummana, Beit Meri, Ain Saade, Fanar, Biakout and Jdeideh. Being only 15km from Beirut, travel time to the heart Lebanon’s capital only takes about 20 minutes during non-rush hours.

People

The people of Roumieh are known to be hard working, well-educated and coming from close-knit families who take great pride in their village and their community. Records date the founding of the village as far back as the early 1600’s when Maronite families emigrated from the north and congregated to live close to what is now the village center of Roumieh, locally known as “The Ain,”  (Arabic for water spring).  Family cohesiveness has remained of paramount importance throughout the village’s history even enduring the regional political turmoil and the divisiveness of the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1992).  Throughout the region, the people of Roumieh are known for their community spirit, putting family and village above all else.

Although Roumieh began as an agricultural community, the town’s proximity to Broummana High School (a Quaker school founded in 1874), provided an excellent world class education in English and  Arabic at a time when literacy in the Middle East was minimal and equal education of boys and girls learning together was almost non-existent in the region.

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Geography & Climate

While the upper most areas of Roumieh are mostly residential, the lower elevations include an industrial-zoned expanse starting at the rock quarries of Nahr-el-Mot and bordering on the neighboring villages of Jdeideh, Ain Saade and Fanar. Since its designation as an industrial zone in the early 1960’s, this area developed into one of the best industrial zones in Lebanon due to its excellent accessibility to the Tripoli Highway and the Port of Beirut.  Roumieh’s industrial zone is located about 4km from the village center of Roumieh and is buffered from the residential areas of Roumieh by the large tracts of wooded areas and also the grounds of the government hospital, Dahr-el-Bache.

The village of Roumieh rests on a large aquifer, which gave rise to The Ain (water spring) in the village center and three other ains also found in Roumieh: Ain Jdeedi (near Beit Salameh), Ain-el-Naas, and Ain Wadi-el-Maan. While the availability of water was plentiful, the steep rocky slopes of the village terrain required extensive terracing of the mountain slopes to provide flat agricultural areas for cultivation. These beautiful terraces are still commonplace in the village and attest to the traditional local cultivation of olives, cereals, vegetables, grapes and many varieties of fruit and nut trees.

Climate: While Lebanon enjoys a typical Mediterranean climate, characterized by long, hot, dry summers and short, cool, rainy winters, the weather in Roumieh, due to its higher altitude, will usually be noticeably cooler than the coastal areas, oftentimes by as much as 8 to 10°F. or 5 to 6°C.

NEWS & LINKS

— Daily Star, February 27, 2014:
Read on Daily Star website

— Interview with Louis Abi-Habib on OTV, May 11, 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzrB7X7NqWA

— Al Mustaqbal Newspaper:  http://www.almustaqbal.com/v4/Article.aspx?Type=NP&ArticleID=703414

— LBC TV (Kalam Ennas 30/7/2015):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xhscd3sBUVA&feature=youtu.be

— Opening of the Nadim Khalaf Auditorium at Mar Doumit Antonine School, Roumieh, Annahar Newspaper, April 2016: (Read Article)

— The Red Tile Roofs of Roumieh, 18/08/2015 in L’Orient Le Jour:  http://www.lorientlejour.com/article/939616/a-roumieh-le-tri-des-dechets-nest-plus-une-option.html

— Antonine Sister’s School, Nadim Khalaf Theatre Documentary, April 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in89mmGYl-8

— The Wall Street Journal, July 31, 2015: Read Article “Mountains of Trash are New Scourge Plaguing Lebanese Capital

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