Dibbiyeh

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Debbiyeh (Arabic: الدبية) is a Lebanese village in the Chouf District of Mount Lebanon, about 30 kilometers south of Beirut. It sits in the Iqlim al-Kharrub region and is roughly midway between Beirut and the rest of Mount Lebanon. The town covers about 16.6 square kilometers, making it one of Lebanon’s largest municipalities by area. It borders Saadiyat and Dahr-el-Mghara to the east and south and Bourjein to the west and north. The name likely comes from Aramaic Ze'biyeh, meaning “place of wolves,” reflecting a time when grey wolves lived in the area.

Debbiyeh has four Maronite churches: St Joseph's in the village square, the Chapel of the Divine Mercy opposite the square, St Maroun's Church in the northern part of town, and St Aabda's near the Fkheity River.

Beirut Arab University has a Debbiyeh site about 33 kilometers from Beirut. The campus sits on about 1.35 million square meters of land, with the highest point at 404 meters and the lowest at 154 meters above sea level. Built area is about 50,000 square meters and includes three main buildings for the faculties of Architectural Engineering, Engineering and Science, plus dormitories, a gym, a mosque, an observatory, a bank, an outdoor cafeteria, and maintenance facilities. The Architectural Engineering building is 10,300 square meters with four floors, housing classrooms, five studios, a 300-seat hall, several laboratories, and a library. The Engineering and Science building is 17,300 square meters with six floors, containing many laboratories, a 660-square-meter library, and multiple auditoriums. The Science Laboratories building is 6,500 square meters with four floors and multiple laboratories.

For context, Fairuz, a famous Lebanese singer, said she spent summers in Debbiyeh with her grandmother during childhood.

Municipality contact: Mayor Nabil Boustany. Website: debbiyehmunicipality.gov.lb.