Zouk Mosbeh

This article is about the Lebanese town in Mount Lebanon. Not to be confused with the sports club Zouk Mosbeh SC.

Zouk Mosbeh (Arabic: زوق مصبح) is a town and municipality in the Keserwan District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate in Lebanon. It is located 12 kilometers north of Beirut. Zouk Mosbeh's average elevation is 170 meters above sea level and its total land area is 453 hectares.^[1] Its inhabitants are predominantly Maronite Catholics and Christians from other denominations.^[2] There are three schools in the town, one public and two private, which together enrolled a total of 4,633 students in 2005–2006.^[1] There were 167 businesses with over five employees operating in Zouk Mosbeh as of 2006.^[1]

Zouk Mosbeh ذوق مصبح
Municipality
Zouk Mosbeh Location within Lebanon
Coordinates: 33°57′18″N 35°36′53″E
Country	Lebanon
Governorate	Keserwan-Jbeil
District	Keserwan
Area
• Total	4.53 km2 (1.75 sq mi)
Elevation	170 m (560 ft)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Dialing code	+961

Commemorative stelae of Nahr el-Kalb and view towards Zouk Mosbeh and Zouk Mikael

Zouk Mosbeh is well known for a cave called ''the King's Cave'' and is home to the Notre Dame University – Louaize.^[3] The town is home to the Hall of Fame Museum which contains fifty silicone models of famous celebrities, several of them animated.^[4] It is also home to the Christ the King Convent and the headquarters of the Association for the Protection of the Lebanese Heritage.

History

In the 17th century, the monastery of al-Luwaya (Dayr Sayyidat al-Luwayza) was founded near the town. The awlad Abi Nawfal supervised the monastery though it was administered by the Lebanese Order.^[5] The Lebanese Council of the Maronite Church took place at this monastery in 1736.^[6] Another synod took place in 1808 to discuss and formally ratify the reform proposals by Gandolfini.^[5]

In 1838, Eli Smith noted Zuk Musbah as a village located in Aklim el-Kesrawan, Northeast of Beirut; the chief seat of the Maronites.^[7]

Industrial Zone

The city is known for its industrial zone which contains numerous shops. It was hit with an explosion in 2007, causing one death and 3 injuries,^[8] but was rebuilt and started operating properly since then.^[9]