Deir Mimas (also spelled Deirmimas, Deir Mamas, and Deir Mimmas) (دير ميماس) is a town 88 km south of Beirut in Lebanon. Named in honor of Saint Mamas, the town overlooks the Litani River and the medieval Beaufort Castle to the west and the snow-capped summits of Mount Hermon to the east. It has a population of around 4,600 people.[1]
According to E. H. Palmer the name means: "the convent of Mimâs".[2]
Deir is derivative from the Semitic, meaning house or convent.Mimas refers to Saint Mamas, the third century shepherd who preached Christianity and had a lion as a protector. Saint Mamas became martyr after his examination in the persecutions of Aurelian.[3] In the Middle Ages, a convent was built in honor of Saint Mamas on top of a hill surrounded by olive groves. A village grew around the convent, and it was eventually named in honor of the Convent of Saint Mamas.[4]
In 1875 Victor Guérin visited; the population ascribed to Deir Mimas by Guerin was 1,000. With the exception of twenty Protestants, he says, they were all "Schismatic Greeks".[7]
In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as: "A village, built of stone, containing about 300 Christians, surrounded by large groves of olives, and gardens of figs, pomegranates, and vineyards, with arable land to the east. There is a modern church in the village, which is well supplied with water from springs."[8]
In addition to the cultivation of grapes, and figs, Deir Mimas continues to be a major producer of olives and olive oil. It is home to around 130,000 - 150,000 [10] olive trees some of which date back hundreds of years. Three olive oil press facilities are available providing their services to olive farmers from Deir Mimas and surrounding villages. Olive oil produced in Deir Mimas is known to be as one of the best in Lebanon. Olive Oil produced in Deirmimas under the name "Mariam's Gold" ranked fourth among the products of more than 80 of the largest producing companies of the world in a contest organised by the German "Biofach 2012″ exhibition at Nuremberg , Germany.[11]
One of the most known individuals from Deir Mimas is Dr. George Fawaz, a renowned former pharmacologist at the American University of Beirut.[13] One of the priests that served most of his entire life is buried at the back of the church in Mar Mama. His name was the servant of God Gerges Chammas. The location is behind the church to the east side. He was a great servant and devoted his life to serve Christ and his followers.
HolidaysEdit
In addition to Christmas and Easter, the town celebrates the feast of Saint Mamas on September 15. Grand festivities are organized each year to honor the town's patron saint. Celebrations take place where masses are held at the "Deir" the Convent situated on a hill and facing the mountain and the litani river. Villagers meet, talk and gather over a nice array of food that many housewives have prepared.
ChurchesEdit
Deirmimas is considered as the closest Lebanese Christion village to the Holy land. It is 70 km far from Nazareth and 170 km far from Jerusalem. The village has seven different churches serving the population:[14] 1. Saint Mamas Monastery for the Greek Orthodox 2. Saint Michel Church for the Greek Orthodox 3. Saint Mamas Church for the Melkite Catholics 4. Santa Maria Monastery for the Latin Catholics 5. Santa Maria Church for the Latin Catholics 6. Protestant Church 7. Deirmimas Baptist Church
Saint Mamas Monastery for the Greek OrthodoxEdit
The monastery of St. Mema from which Deirmimas takes its name was built around 1404 A.D. The original monastery was a simple medieval construction with 6 monks' cells, situated by a small church. The monastery fell into decay and was restored a number of times, most recently in 2004 before it was totally demolished during the 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon. The present plan for the reconstruction of the site, which has been financed by Qatar, began in 2008 and has replaced the old monastery with a much larger construction. The site has been inaugurated by the ruler of Qatar[15] and the Lebanese authorities in 2010. Since, the Monastery is open daily to all devotees and visitors from 9:00am to 7:00pm.
Unlike the West, where Christmas ranks supreme, in the East it is Easter, centered on the cross and the resurrection of Christ. Another supreme festival of the year is the St. Mema's festival on 15 September. On that day people take part in divine liturgy, after which they gather around for outdoor feast where everyone joins in to eat, drink and enjoy themselves.
The monastery is placed under the aegis of Father Salim Assaad who was given the reins of a ruined monastery and turned it not only into a peaceful place of worship but into a small museum for iconography. The icons are the most sacred, the most transcendent art that exists for the Orthodox Christians. The Monastery of St. Mema decorated with much admired mosaics depicting the life of Christ has been made the house of many windows into the kingdom of God.[16]
MunicipalityEdit
The municipality of Deir Mimas was founded in 1961 launching its activities with a team of two employees and six municipal council members elected along with the first Mayor Mr. Phillipe Awdeh.
During the Israeli occupation of South Lebanon, the municipality was care-taken by the Governor of Marjeyoun from 1969 until Israel's withdrawal from south Lebanon. Post-occupation election were held in 2001.
Many international and national organizations assisted the municipality, most notably UNIFIL, the Spanish Government, the Qatari Government and the Mines Advisory Group.[17]
^Ambraseys, N. N. (August 1997). "The earthquake of 1 January 1837 in Southern Lebanon and Northern Israel". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
Guérin, V. (1880). Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine (in French). Vol. 3: Galilee, pt. 2. Paris: L'Imprimerie Nationale.
Palmer, E.H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. Vol. 3. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.
Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1856). Later Biblical Researches in Palestine and adjacent regions: A Journal of Travels in the year 1852. London: John Murray.
External linksEdit
Deir Mimas, Localiban
Survey of Western Palestine, Map 2: IAA, Wikimedia commons
deir, mimas, also, spelled, deirmimas, deir, mamas, deir, mimmas, دير, ميماس, town, south, beirut, lebanon, named, honor, saint, mamas, town, overlooks, litani, river, medieval, beaufort, castle, west, snow, capped, summits, mount, hermon, east, population, ar. Deir Mimas also spelled Deirmimas Deir Mamas and Deir Mimmas دير ميماس is a town 88 km south of Beirut in Lebanon Named in honor of Saint Mamas the town overlooks the Litani River and the medieval Beaufort Castle to the west and the snow capped summits of Mount Hermon to the east It has a population of around 4 600 people 1 Deir Mimas دير ميماسTownDeir MimasDeir MimasLocation within LebanonCoordinates 33 18 N 35 33 E 33 300 N 35 550 E 33 300 35 550Grid position131 151 LCountry LebanonGovernorateNabatieh GovernorateDistrictMarjeyoun DistrictGovernment MayorDr Georges NakadHighest elevation650 m 2 130 ft Lowest elevation550 m 1 800 ft Time zoneUTC 2 EET Summer DST UTC 3 EEST Dialing code 961Websitehttp www deirmimas lb com Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Modern era 3 1 Agriculture 3 2 Demography 3 3 Holidays 3 4 Churches 3 4 1 Saint Mamas Monastery for the Greek Orthodox 4 Municipality 5 People from Deir Mimas 6 References 7 Bibliography 8 External linksEtymology EditAccording to E H Palmer the name means the convent of Mimas 2 Deir is derivative from the Semitic meaning house or convent Mimas refers to Saint Mamas the third century shepherd who preached Christianity and had a lion as a protector Saint Mamas became martyr after his examination in the persecutions of Aurelian 3 In the Middle Ages a convent was built in honor of Saint Mamas on top of a hill surrounded by olive groves A village grew around the convent and it was eventually named in honor of the Convent of Saint Mamas 4 History EditIn 1838 Eli Smith noted Deir Mimas s population as Greek Orthodox and Catholic Christians 5 In 1852 Edward Robinson noted the village from Beaufort Castle 6 In 1875 Victor Guerin visited the population ascribed to Deir Mimas by Guerin was 1 000 With the exception of twenty Protestants he says they were all Schismatic Greeks 7 In 1881 the PEF s Survey of Western Palestine SWP described it as A village built of stone containing about 300 Christians surrounded by large groves of olives and gardens of figs pomegranates and vineyards with arable land to the east There is a modern church in the village which is well supplied with water from springs 8 The village was heavily damaged and 5 people where killed after the Galilee earthquake of 1837 9 Modern era EditAgriculture Edit In addition to the cultivation of grapes and figs Deir Mimas continues to be a major producer of olives and olive oil It is home to around 130 000 150 000 10 olive trees some of which date back hundreds of years Three olive oil press facilities are available providing their services to olive farmers from Deir Mimas and surrounding villages Olive oil produced in Deir Mimas is known to be as one of the best in Lebanon Olive Oil produced in Deirmimas under the name Mariam s Gold ranked fourth among the products of more than 80 of the largest producing companies of the world in a contest organised by the German Biofach 2012 exhibition at Nuremberg Germany 11 Demography Edit Religion in Deir Mimas 12 Greek Orthodox 40 1 Greek Catholic 28 3 Maronite 11 6 Christian Minorities 8 9 Protestant 8 5 Other 2 6 The inhabitants of Deir Mimas are Lebanese and followers of the Eastern Orthodox Presbyterian and Greek Catholic churches Latin Church followers exist in the village in addition to a Maronite minority One of the most known individuals from Deir Mimas is Dr George Fawaz a renowned former pharmacologist at the American University of Beirut 13 One of the priests that served most of his entire life is buried at the back of the church in Mar Mama His name was the servant of God Gerges Chammas The location is behind the church to the east side He was a great servant and devoted his life to serve Christ and his followers Holidays Edit In addition to Christmas and Easter the town celebrates the feast of Saint Mamas on September 15 Grand festivities are organized each year to honor the town s patron saint Celebrations take place where masses are held at the Deir the Convent situated on a hill and facing the mountain and the litani river Villagers meet talk and gather over a nice array of food that many housewives have prepared Churches Edit Deirmimas is considered as the closest Lebanese Christion village to the Holy land It is 70 km far from Nazareth and 170 km far from Jerusalem The village has seven different churches serving the population 14 1 Saint Mamas Monastery for the Greek Orthodox 2 Saint Michel Church for the Greek Orthodox 3 Saint Mamas Church for the Melkite Catholics 4 Santa Maria Monastery for the Latin Catholics 5 Santa Maria Church for the Latin Catholics 6 Protestant Church 7 Deirmimas Baptist Church Saint Mamas Monastery for the Greek Orthodox Edit The monastery of St Mema from which Deirmimas takes its name was built around 1404 A D The original monastery was a simple medieval construction with 6 monks cells situated by a small church The monastery fell into decay and was restored a number of times most recently in 2004 before it was totally demolished during the 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon The present plan for the reconstruction of the site which has been financed by Qatar began in 2008 and has replaced the old monastery with a much larger construction The site has been inaugurated by the ruler of Qatar 15 and the Lebanese authorities in 2010 Since the Monastery is open daily to all devotees and visitors from 9 00am to 7 00pm Unlike the West where Christmas ranks supreme in the East it is Easter centered on the cross and the resurrection of Christ Another supreme festival of the year is the St Mema s festival on 15 September On that day people take part in divine liturgy after which they gather around for outdoor feast where everyone joins in to eat drink and enjoy themselves The monastery is placed under the aegis of Father Salim Assaad who was given the reins of a ruined monastery and turned it not only into a peaceful place of worship but into a small museum for iconography The icons are the most sacred the most transcendent art that exists for the Orthodox Christians The Monastery of St Mema decorated with much admired mosaics depicting the life of Christ has been made the house of many windows into the kingdom of God 16 Municipality EditThe municipality of Deir Mimas was founded in 1961 launching its activities with a team of two employees and six municipal council members elected along with the first Mayor Mr Phillipe Awdeh During the Israeli occupation of South Lebanon the municipality was care taken by the Governor of Marjeyoun from 1969 until Israel s withdrawal from south Lebanon Post occupation election were held in 2001 Many international and national organizations assisted the municipality most notably UNIFIL the Spanish Government the Qatari Government and the Mines Advisory Group 17 List of Mayors of Deir Mimas Name Took lead lead endedPhillipe Awdeh 1961 1969Lead by the Governors of Marjeyoun 1969 2001Sami Al Ghazzi 2001 2004Dr Kamel Morkos 2004 2010Jean Hourani 2010 2013Walid Hasbani 2013 2016Dr Georges Nakad 2016 IncumbentPeople from Deir Mimas EditSouha Bechara Left wing activist John Makhoul Computer scientistReferences Edit دير ميماس في تقرير للـ OTV من رونيت ضاهر retrieved 2022 06 10 Palmer 1881 p 20 Patron Saints Index Saint Mamas Archived from the original on 2007 02 13 Retrieved 2007 04 17 Deirmimas Robinson and Smith 1841 vol 3 2nd appendix p 137 Robinson and Smith 1856 pp pp 51 373 Guerin 1880 p 278 as given in Conder and Kitchener 1881 SWP I p 86 Conder and Kitchener 1881 SWP I p 86 Ambraseys N N August 1997 The earthquake of 1 January 1837 in Southern Lebanon and Northern Israel a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Deirmimas Home www deirmimas lb com Retrieved 2021 06 15 2012 Rumi Olive Oil Award at Biofach Canaan Palestine 2012 02 22 Retrieved 2021 06 15 Lebanon Mapped 10 May 2022 History Makers 150 aub edu lb Retrieved 2021 09 28 Deirmimas Home www deirmimas lb com Retrieved 2021 06 15 الجزيرة مباشر افتتاح كنيسة دير ميماس archived from the original on 2021 12 15 retrieved 2021 09 28 Deirmimas Home www deirmimas lb com Retrieved 2021 06 15 كاسو الليوتنانت أندريه اليونيفيل تمو ل تركيب أعمدة إانارة تعمل بالطاقة الشمسية في دير ميماس الخيام khiyam com in Arabic Retrieved 2022 06 13 Bibliography EditConder C R Kitchener H H 1881 The Survey of Western Palestine Memoirs of the Topography Orography Hydrography and Archaeology Vol 1 London Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund Guerin V 1880 Description Geographique Historique et Archeologique de la Palestine in French Vol 3 Galilee pt 2 Paris L Imprimerie Nationale Palmer E H 1881 The Survey of Western Palestine Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener R E Transliterated and Explained by E H Palmer Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund Robinson E Smith E 1841 Biblical Researches in Palestine Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea A Journal of Travels in the year 1838 Vol 3 Boston Crocker amp Brewster Robinson E Smith E 1856 Later Biblical Researches in Palestine and adjacent regions A Journal of Travels in the year 1852 London John Murray External links EditDeir Mimas Localiban Survey of Western Palestine Map 2 IAA Wikimedia commons http www deirmimas lb com https web archive org web 20070213125942 http www catholic forum com saintS saintm31 htm Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Deir Mimas amp oldid 1170504973, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
