Ballouneh

Ballouneh Balloune
Municipality
Ballouneh Location in Lebanon
Coordinates: 33°56′58″N 35°40′29″E / 33.94944°N 35.67472°E
Country	Lebanon
Governorate	Mount Lebanon
District	Keserwan
Area
• Total	3.93 km^2 (1.52 sq mi)
Elevation	650 m (2,130 ft)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)

Ballouneh (Arabic: بلونة‎‎) is a small town and municipality in the Keserwan District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate of Lebanon. It is located 18 kilometers north of Beirut.^[1] It has an approximate area of 3.93 square kilometers and an average elevation of 650 meters above sea level.^[1] Ballouneh's inhabitants are predominantly Maronite Catholics, although Christians from other denominations also live in the town.^[2]

Etymology

There are two versions regarding the origin of the word Ballouneh, either deriving from the Syriac word ballani/ballana meaning bath or pertaining to the Greek name of the god Apollo. That said, there is a third source that links the origin of the word back to the Italian Bella Luna, meaning "beautiful moon".

Notable sites

• The old Roman well (near the municipality's building)
• The house of Sheikh Abou Nader el Khazen
• The church of St. Mary (dating back to the sixteenth century)

See also

Fakhr-al-Din II

References

1. "Ballouneh". Localiban. Localiban. 2008-01-19. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
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.