Shemlan is a village in the Aley District

Aley District

Aley is a district in Mount Lebanon, Lebanon, to the south-east of the Lebanon's capital Beirut. The capital is Aley. Aley city was previously known as the "bride of the summers" during the 1960 and 70s, when Aley and neighboring Bhamdune were attractive tourist locations for Gulf tourists and...

 of the Mount Lebanon Governorate

Mount Lebanon Governorate

Mount Lebanon is one of the Governorates of Lebanon. Its capital is Baabda. The overwhelming majority of its population is Maronites, Greek Orthodox, and Melkite Greek Catholic Christians...

 in 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...

, located about 25 km from Beirut

Beirut

Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...

.

History

Shemlan is first mentioned in history books as early as the 12th century. More recent accounts attribute Shemlan as being part of the land belonging to the Shehab Family. In the 19th century, this land was donated to the Antonine Monks. Over the years, Shemlan's was inhabited by the Jabbour's, Hitti's, Tabib's and Farajallah's--all traditional Maronite Catholic families—many of which emigrated during the civil war.

Shemlan's strategic location overlooking Beirut International Airport and its diverse political make-up made Shemlan a fierce battleground during the 1958 civil war and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon

Israeli invasion of Lebanon

The Israeli invasion of Lebanon could refer to:*The Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the 1978 South Lebanon conflict;*The Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the 1982 Lebanon War;*The Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the 1993 Lebanon War;...

.

In 1947, the British Government opened the Middle East Centre for Arabic Studies

Middle East Centre for Arabic Studies

The Middle East Centre for Arabic Studies was an Arabic language college in Chemlane , in the Mount Lebanon Governorate of Lebanon. It was opened by the British Government in 1947...

 in Shemlan. This school gained a reputation as being a "spy school" because many of its graduates worked for the C.I.A. or Britain

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

's Foreign Office.

Notable citizens

Shemlan's most famous resident is Philip Khuri Hitti

Philip Khuri Hitti

Philip Khuri Hitti ,, born in Shimlan, Ottoman Syria, now modern day Lebanon), was a scholar of Islam and introduced the field of Arab culture studies to the United States. He was of Maronite Christian religion....

, a renowned author and professor on the Middle East.

External links

• Shimlan - official municipality website (English)