Douma, Lebanon

Douma (Arabic: دوما‎, romanized: Dūma) is a village in Lebanon located 80 km from Beirut, 30 km from Byblos and 43 km from Tripoli. Douma is a administratively part of Batroun District and is known for its location in a valley surrounded by mountains. It stands at an altitude of 1150 m. Almost all of its houses are covered in red tiles. It has a temperate climate and an abundance of vineyards and olive and apple groves.

Douma

دوما

Duma
Center of Douma, 2009
Nickname(s): 
Douma al-Hadid (the Iron Douma)
Douma
Location in Lebanon
Coordinates:
CountryLebanon
GovernorateMount Lebanon
DistrictBatroun
Founded byMaalouf clan
Government
Elevation
1,150 m (3,770 ft)

History

Douma witnessed different civilizations including ancient Greece, ancient Rome and Turkey. However, the Ottoman Empire left the largest impact on Douma's inhabitants. In the town square sits a sarcophagus, bearing a Greek inscription recording that this was the burial place of Castor, who died in 317 AD.

The village had been abandoned until the 16th century, during Ottoman rule, when the modern village was founded by the Greek Orthodox Christian clan of Maalouf, who migrated to the Byblos and Keserwan areas from the Hauran.[1] The family continues to inhabit the village until the present day.[1] In 1880 the Ottoman mutasarrif of Mount Lebanon, Rustum Pasha, appointed a municipal council to administer Douma, the sixth locality to receive a council in Mount Lebanon.[2]

A road in Douma, 2009

The Great Famine of Mount Lebanon during World War I precipitated a wave of emigrants from Douma to the Americas and their remittances significantly contributed to boosting the village's economy.[3] Most infrastructure and houses in Douma were built between 1881 and 1914, largely financed by emigrants from the village in Brazil, Argentina and the United States. In the 1920s, the leaders of Syria who had just rebelled against the French, were detained and exiled to Douma of Lebanon. One of those leaders was Sa’dallah al-Jabiri who was destined to become Syria’s first Prime Minister after its independence in the 1940s. Another one was a main author of Syria’s constitution: lawyer Safadi.

Name
Douma's Main Street

Douma is also named "Douma El Hadid" (Douma of Iron or Iron-Douma) due to the abundance of iron found in its soil and the superior craftsmanship of its blacksmiths. The arming industry established under Ibrahimn Basha's regime encouraged many people from Showeir to come and settle in Douma since opportunities of work were plentiful at the time.

Climate

Douma has a Mediterranean climate. Rainfall is higher in winter than in summer. The Köppen-Geiger climate classification is Csa. The average annual temperature in Douma is 15.2 °C (59.4 °F). About 1,210 mm (47.64 in) of precipitation falls annually.

Climate data for Douma
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 10.7
(51.3)		 11.0
(51.8)		 13.8
(56.8)		 18.9
(66.0)		 23.4
(74.1)		 27.2
(81.0)		 29.5
(85.1)		 30.1
(86.2)		 27.2
(81.0)		 23.6
(74.5)		 17.9
(64.2)		 13.3
(55.9)		 20.6
(69.0)
Average low °C (°F) 2.8
(37.0)		 3.1
(37.6)		 4.7
(40.5)		 8.1
(46.6)		 11.6
(52.9)		 14.7
(58.5)		 16.4
(61.5)		 17.2
(63.0)		 14.7
(58.5)		 12.3
(54.1)		 8.4
(47.1)		 4.9
(40.8)		 9.9
(49.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 265
(10.4)		 222
(8.7)		 202
(8.0)		 87
(3.4)		 35
(1.4)		 2
(0.1)		 1
(0.0)		 1
(0.0)		 9
(0.4)		 43
(1.7)		 124
(4.9)		 219
(8.6)		 1,210
(47.6)
Source: Climate-Data.org,Climate data

Twin towns

References
  1. Harris, William (2012). Lebanon: A History, 600–2011. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-19-518-111-1.
  2. "Joseph Khairallah Maalouf - Head of the Municipality of Douma". The Monthly Magazine. 8 March 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  3. Kadi, Samar (4 July 2019). "Lebanon's Douma village where Levantine traditions survive". The Arab Weekly. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
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