Al-Qantara

For other uses, see Qanater.

Al-Qantara القنطرة
Municipality
Al-Qantara Location within Lebanon
Coordinates: 33°16′25″N 35°27′49″E
Grid position	193/297 PAL
Country	Lebanon
Governorate	Nabatieh Governorate
District	Marjayoun District
Elevation	470 m (1,540 ft)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Dialing code	+961

Al-Qantara (القنطرة) is a municipality in the Marjayoun District in southern Lebanon.

Etymology

According to E. H. Palmer, the name El Kantarah means "the arch",^[1] qantara (Arabic: قنطرة) also being used in Arabic to denote a bridge built of stone or masonry, an aqueduct or a dam, and a high building.^[2]

History

In 1875 Victor Guérin found that the village had 150 Metawileh inhabitants.^[3] He further remarked: "The mosque is built of hewn stones of apparent antiquity. Its door is surmounted by a lintel belonging to an ancient Christian church, in the midst of which can be made out a cross with equal branches enclosed in a circle."^[4]

In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it: "A village, built of stone, containing about 250 [..] Metawileh, situated on an isolated and conspicuous hill, and surrounded by gardens, olives, and figs. There are two perennial springs a little to the south of the village."^[5]

On 24 August 1994 two members of Hizbollah were killed in Qantara in clashes with the South Lebanon Army.^[6]

Demographics

In 2014 Muslims made up 99.80% of registered voters in Al-Qantara. 98.27% of the voters were Shiite Muslims.^[7]

References

1. Palmer, 1881, p. 23
2. van Donzel, Emeri Johannes (1994). Islamic Desk Reference. BRILL. p. 24. ISBN 9789004097384. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
3. Guérin, 1880, p. 272
4. Guérin, 1880, p. 272; as given in Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. 116
5. Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. 87
6. Middle East International No 484, 23 September 1994, Publishers Lord Mayhew, Dennis Walters MP; August chronology p.14
7. https://lub-anan.com/المحافظات/النبطية/مرجعيون/القنطرة/المذاهب/

Bibliography

• Conder, 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.
• 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.

External links

• Qantara (Marjaayoun), Localiban
• Survey of Western Palestine, Map 2: IAA, Wikimedia commons