Ajaltoun

Ajaltoun (Arabic: عجلتون‎) is a town and municipality in the Keserwan District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate in Lebanon. It is located 24 km north of Beirut. Ajaltoun's average elevation is 850 meters above sea level and its total land area is 612 hectares.[1] The municipality consists of a twelve-member council, which as of 2008 was headed by Clauvise Khazen. In addition to the municipal council, two mukhtars (headmen), Georges Fersan and Antoine Harouni, also serve the town.[1] The Virgin Mary Church, built by the Khazen sheikhs in 1647, and the Mar Shalita Monastery are located in Ajaltoun.[1] The town was also the site of fighter plane crash during World War I.[1]

Ajaltoun عجلتون
Municipality
Ajaltoun Location within Lebanon
Coordinates: 33°58′4″N 35°41′6″E
Country	Lebanon
Governorate	Mount Lebanon
District	Keserwan
Area
• Total	6.12 km^2 (2.36 sq mi)
Lowest elevation	850 m (2,790 ft)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Dialing code	+961

Etymology

Historic church in Ajaltoun.

Ajaltoun's name comes from the Arabic root word ′aajel, which could mean "calf", "to roll" or "wheel". An alternative theory for the town's etymology are that it originates from the Phoenician word for "statue" or "round area".[1]

Demographics

Ajaltoun had an estimated population of 3,742, who live in a total of 2,500 homes and operate 175 businesses. In 2009, there were 2,524 registered voters in the town.[1] Most of the inhabitants are Maronite Catholics,[1] although there are minorities of Melkite Catholics and Greek Orthodox Christians.[2] The principal families in relative order of size are Sfeir, Ghosn, Harouni, Khalifah, Mdawar, Zoghbi, Mrad, Ghanem, Khazen, Abi Chaker and Kasis.[1]

Economy

The main source of income in Ajaltoun is derived from tourism, and there are four hotels and seven restaurants in the town. An annual festival dedicated to Saint Zakhia is held in Ajaltoun in the last days of August.[1]

Education

There are five schools in Ajaltoun, including Ajaltoun Public School, Mar Mansour Sisters for Charity and the Ajaltoun Foundation for Arts.[1] The Antonine International School, an institute for higher education, is also located in Ajaltoun.

References

1. Centre de ressources sur le développement local au Liban (2008-01-18). "Aajaltoun". Centre de ressources sur le développement local au Liban. Retrieved 2013-04-05.
2. "Elections municipales et ikhtiariah au Mont-Liban" (PDF). Localiban. Localiban. 2010. p. 19. Archived from the original (pdf) on 2015-07-24. Retrieved 2016-02-12.