Bishmizzine
Encyclopedia
Bishmizzine or Bishmezzine, Bechmezzine, Beshmizzine, Bishmezzine, is a village in the Koura
district of the North Governorate of Lebanon
at Latitude
34°19'12.66"N and Longitude
35°47'49.69"E. It is about 275 meters above sea level
. Bishmizzine borders the villages of Afisdeeq, Kfar-Hazir, Amyoun, Fi', and B'terram.
The religious heritage of Bishmizzine is primarily of the Eastern Orthodox sect of Christianity
, and there are several historical churches and local shrines throughout the village. In addition, there are also residents of other Christian sects, such as Maronite and Protestant. The small community of Sunni Muslim
residents maintain a mosque
located adjacent to St. Georges Church near the village center.
, and thus has moderate weather throughout the seasons. Summers are hot and dry, while winters are rainy with occasional light snow.
Electricity is supplied by the grid from the concessions of Quadisha electric company part of Electricity of Lebanon (EDL). There is a privately owned diesel generator which supplies the village in the event of power shortage. Also many villagers own their own generator. Water is supplied through a deep well tapping the underground aquifer and maintained by regular fees payed by the villagers. Waste management is mainly through underground waste pools, though a system of waste collection has been partly laid out as part of the plan to collect the waste of the region in a waste management plant. Telephones exist in nearly every house as well as low speed internet access. Wireless coverage is excellent and covers all the Bishmizzine area.
Fruits consist mainly of : Olive trees producing quality table olives and olive oil, Quince (Sfargal), Grapes: seedless and non seedless, Pine producing quality pine seeds, Citrus trees, cactus, pomegranate and a variety of other fruits in non commercial quantity ex. Apples, apricot, mulberry, peaches, plums. Vegetables include mainly peas, fava beans, summaq, and wild cucumbers as well as a small scale privately owned organic farm producing many quality vegetables ex. Cucumber, parsley, radish, mint, tomato, onion, garlic. Some fields are planted with corn, wheat, oat and barely but in non commercial quantities. Previously almonds were produced in commercial quantity but have been wiped out by an almond virus 25 years ago and have not been replanted also wild scented roses were produced in large quantity and a factory for rose essence existed but is no longer. Oak trees grow sporadically in the fields and are used for biofuels. Livestock consist of a small dairy farm and few poultry farms. The main experimental farm for the Koura Development Council is situated in Bishmizzine and is the site of several educational lectures and events for the farmers and Koura intellectuals.
Koura District
Koura or El Koura is a district in the North Governorate, Lebanon.Koura is one of the 36 districts of Lebanon, which is very popular for the olive tree cultivation. It is known by its dark green color....
district of the North Governorate of Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
at Latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
34°19'12.66"N and Longitude
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
35°47'49.69"E. It is about 275 meters above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
. Bishmizzine borders the villages of Afisdeeq, Kfar-Hazir, Amyoun, Fi', and B'terram.
People
Bishmizzine is known for its export of intellectuals. The genetic lineage is probably mixed as is the whole of Lebanon. The inhabitants are probably representative of the Lebanese genetic pool comprising mainly Arab and Mediterranean people haplotypes as well as some minor crusader haplotypes specific to the time of the Crusades. The people are friendly, educated and welcoming to strangers. Most speak 2 languages Arabic and English and many speak French as well as a third language.Religious Diversity
Text to be added.The religious heritage of Bishmizzine is primarily of the Eastern Orthodox sect of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, and there are several historical churches and local shrines throughout the village. In addition, there are also residents of other Christian sects, such as Maronite and Protestant. The small community of Sunni Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
residents maintain a mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
located adjacent to St. Georges Church near the village center.
Environmental Features
Bishmizzine rests in the middle of the Kura plain, probably one of the largest uninterrupted olive groves in the world. It is bordered by hills and thus winter rain flows in water ways down to the town. The village rests on a large aquifer and this underground water body partially explains the extremes in climate when compared to neighbouring villages. For example thin ice develops overnight in winter while it does not in neighbouring villages. At night the temperature may dffer by 5 to 7 degrees C lower than the nearby adjacent surrounding hills or neighboring villages. Another factor that may play a role in explaining this climate conundrum is the fact that Bishmizzine rests in the plain at the base of the Western Lebanese Range of mountains and is surrounded by hills which act to trap any cold air that may flow by convection down the range from as high up as the Cedars of Lebanon in Bcharre. Hence there was a climatology station for the government in the village that utilized the temperature of the plain at 4 to 5 am before sunrise in an equation to arbitrarily calculate the temperature at the top of the mountain range. In the old days this environmental phenomena was counteracted by a pine forest that used to blockade the cold night air advancing down the mountain slopes towards the town. Remnants of this pine forest remain to this day and act as a picnic zone visited by many. The argylls soil in Bishmizzine has been sought after by cement factories that find its characteristics favorable for quality cement production. This has been a blessing and a curse at the same time. The blessing is obviously financial for the land owner and jobs created in the nearby cement factories however the environmental impact has been catastrophic. Huge deep excavation areas emptied of soil remained after the removal of the soil. These areas then filled up with rain water during the winter and resulted in a swamp/wetland like environment with rising humidity. The damp environment as well as soil erosion have rendered the surrounding area susceptible to fungal diseases ex olive leaf spot or peacock eye spot Spilocea oleaginea which infested initially the area around the excavations and then spread to involve the surrounding olive fields rendering the once productive olive groves unproductive. This disease now infests olives in an area up to 4 km away from the epicenter. Noteworthy is the recent natural transformation of these excavation sites from a swamp to a wetland habitat with flora and fauna uncharacteristic of Lebanon. This transformation has recently stopped soil erosion and stabilized the habitat. Also this phenomena has become a source of inquiry for botanists curious as to where some of the atypical flora came from ex. reeds characteristic of the Nile or Danube. Since Bishmizzine lies on the route of migratory birds some experts have postulated that the water holes became a rest area for migrating birds ex storks and hence the seeds where carried in their feathers from distant areas. The disease burden of fungal olive disease peacock eye remains high however and a concerted effort by farmers, government and NGOs is needed. A large area of Bishmizzine remains free of fungal disease and produces some of the best extra virgin olive oil and table olives in the area.Climate
The climate of Bishmizzine is characterized by a dry-summer subtropical Mediterranean climateMediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
, and thus has moderate weather throughout the seasons. Summers are hot and dry, while winters are rainy with occasional light snow.
Utilities
Text to be added.Electricity is supplied by the grid from the concessions of Quadisha electric company part of Electricity of Lebanon (EDL). There is a privately owned diesel generator which supplies the village in the event of power shortage. Also many villagers own their own generator. Water is supplied through a deep well tapping the underground aquifer and maintained by regular fees payed by the villagers. Waste management is mainly through underground waste pools, though a system of waste collection has been partly laid out as part of the plan to collect the waste of the region in a waste management plant. Telephones exist in nearly every house as well as low speed internet access. Wireless coverage is excellent and covers all the Bishmizzine area.
Agriculture
Text to be added.Fruits consist mainly of : Olive trees producing quality table olives and olive oil, Quince (Sfargal), Grapes: seedless and non seedless, Pine producing quality pine seeds, Citrus trees, cactus, pomegranate and a variety of other fruits in non commercial quantity ex. Apples, apricot, mulberry, peaches, plums. Vegetables include mainly peas, fava beans, summaq, and wild cucumbers as well as a small scale privately owned organic farm producing many quality vegetables ex. Cucumber, parsley, radish, mint, tomato, onion, garlic. Some fields are planted with corn, wheat, oat and barely but in non commercial quantities. Previously almonds were produced in commercial quantity but have been wiped out by an almond virus 25 years ago and have not been replanted also wild scented roses were produced in large quantity and a factory for rose essence existed but is no longer. Oak trees grow sporadically in the fields and are used for biofuels. Livestock consist of a small dairy farm and few poultry farms. The main experimental farm for the Koura Development Council is situated in Bishmizzine and is the site of several educational lectures and events for the farmers and Koura intellectuals.