Maghdusha

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Maghdusha
State : LebanonLebanon Lebanon
Governorate : South Lebanon
Coordinates : 33 ° 31 '  N , 35 ° 23'  E Coordinates: 33 ° 31 '  N , 35 ° 23'  E
Height : 215  m
 
Residents : 8,000
Time zone : UTC + 2
Maghduscha (Lebanon)
Maghdusha
Maghdusha

Maghduscha (مغدوشة Maghdūscha , DMG Maġdūša ; also Maghdouché , Maghdoucheh or Maghdousheh ) is a city in the governorate of southern Lebanon .

geography

Maghduscha is about 50 kilometers south of the capital Beirut , eight kilometers east of Sidon . The place is located on a hill about three kilometers from the Mediterranean coast, between 200 and 229 meters above sea ​​level .

The city has about 8,000 inhabitants, most of whom are Melkites . The population increases sharply during the summer months when emigrants spend their holidays in their homeland.

The place lives mainly from agriculture . There are primarily grapes and citrus fruit grown mainly oranges . In addition, fragrance essences are produced, partly from orange blossoms, partly from rose blossoms .

history

The name of the place comes from the Syrian language and means fruit collector . Legend has it that Mary, who accompanied Jesus when he preached in Sidon , waited for him on the top of the hill and spent the night in a cave . The cave was converted into a sanctuary for the Virgin Mary by the Emperor Constantine the Great and a tower was built on the site. This collapsed during an earthquake in 550. The cave was accidentally rediscovered by a shepherd in 1726 and the icon was still near the altar . Since then, the cave has been a destination for pilgrims from the denominations of Lebanon . In 1860 the Melkite Greek Catholic Church became the owner of the site.

At the beginning of 1960, Bishop Basile Khoury of Sidon built a hexagonal chapel with a 28 meter high spire adorned with a statue depicting the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus in her arms. The Virgin of Mantara is the patron saint of children and that is why many baptisms are celebrated here.

During the Lebanese civil war in 1986 the conflict between the Shiite Amal militia and supporters of the PLO reached the city ​​of Maghduscha, which is strategically important for Lebanese Christians and where bitter fighting was waged. Ultimately, the Christians were forced to leave the place. They only returned after four years in 1990 and began rebuilding.

Personalities