The Saydet Zgharta Hospital have announced that, Professor Edward Chalouhi, an Urologist at the Beirut hospital, Hotel Dieu de France, is holding consultations every Saturday morning from 9.30 p.m. at the Saydet Zgharta Hospital.

For further details or to make an appointment contact the hospital on: 06 - 66 05 75; 66 05 76; 66 35 75; 66 35 76.

Happy New Year.

It seems that the site over indulged during the lead up to the Christmas and New Year period, as the main tab links and quick links on the home page are not working.

To view such pages as - New Photos - Specials - News Digest - go to the right hand side menu or the links at the top of the home page. From such pages you can navigate to the other main pages, such as - Zgharta Zawie - Heritage - Culture.

UPDATE The zgharta.com elves have worked their magic and the links are now working. There are a multitude of pages to read and enjoy.

This year has seen momentous events in Lebanon and as no community can be immune from such consequences, Zgharta Zawie was also affected. The year started with great optimism for Lebanon and Zgharta Zawie, with people particularly looking forward to the vital summer season for Ehden. Such hopes were dashed and even now the aftershocks of the summer are still upon us.

At this time of the year there is always the sense of hope, with the anticipation of the birth of the Saviour. So as Christmas Eve draws near we express our hope that our community remains united as one, is at peace with itself and works together for the common good of all.

We wish you a very Happy Christmas & Prosperous New Year.

zgharta.com team

Ehden's newest hot spot, Ehdenchaos, where the young in-crowd party the night away, has announced its Christmas - New Year programme.

Friday, 22nd December -"Oldies Night"
Saturday, 23rd December - Resident DJ
Friday, 29th December - Karaoke
Saturday, 30th December - Resident DJ
Sunday, 31st December - "New Year's Chaotic Eve Party"

The nighclub opened in July 2006 and is owned by Jimmy Frangieh and Halim Mouawad. It plays "electro house" and Arab pop music. Normal opening hours are from 10 pm to dawn on Friday and Saturday.

The nightclub is at the Ehden Saydet el Hosn junction - phone number 03 67 57 02 - www.ehdenchaos.com

As one year draws to an end and another is about to begin we thought we let you know about Lebanon's various civic and religious public holidays for next year. So start planning when you are coming over to visit us. Easter is only some three months and a bit away! We can hear mothers across the world saying, as they wrap the present for aunty number six, for goodness sake man let's get Christmas over first before we talk about Easter bunnies.

In 2005 a new law relating to public holidays in Lebanon was passed whose aim was to reduce the number of public holidays celebrated in Lebanon. The Decree, which was gazetted on 6th October 2005, provided that public administrations, institutions and municipalities would close for only one day on the occasion of: New Year's Day, Christmas Day for Orthodox Armenians, St Maroun's Day, Hijra New Year, Ashoura, Good Friday for Maronites and Orthodox (one day each), Prophet Mohammad's Birthday, Labour Day, Assumption Day, Independence Day and Christmas Day.

Where the Good Friday's for the Maronite and Orthodox Churches coincide ( as they do in 2007) institutions close on Friday and Saturday. In respect of Eid al Fitr and Eid ad Adha, institutions close for two days. The Decree further provided that Martyr's Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of May and that Liberation Day is celebrated on the second of May. Where Labour Day (1st May) falls on a Sunday or another holiday the day after will be a holiday, except for hospitals and pharmacies.

As will be seen, Easter in 2007 will be celebrated on the same day by both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Due to the way Easter Sunday is determined each year, it falls between 22nd March and 25th April.

We have set out on the Full Story page, the notable dates and public holidays of 2007.
Full Story

The Lebanese Emigration Research Center (LERC), at the Notre Dame University has sent us the below email request. Should you wish to take part please contact them direct.

Dear Lebanese Residents and Migrants,

LERC is calling upon you again in support of its current research project entitled Insecurity and Migration: The Case of Lebanon in Post Summer 2006 War.
This survey is a vital part of an ongoing project undertaken by The Lebanese Emigration Research Center (LERC), Lebanon in partnership with the Euro-Mediterranean Consortium for Applied Research on International Migration (CARIM) in Italy to collect, analyze and produce an authoritative analysis on the key issues impacting emigration in the post Summer 2006 War period. CARIM has been set up in order to implement the EuroMed Migration project of the European Commission.
LERC is sending a questionnaire by e-mail to Lebanese migrants interested in participating. Once filled, the questionnaire would provide us with information about the perception of Lebanese migrants regarding the economic, societal, and political insecurities in Lebanon and their impact on their decision to return.
The results of the survey will provide a benchmark assessment of the emigration situation in Lebanon for which future policies can be introduced.
It is our greatest hope that the questionnaire should be answered by as many Lebanese migrants as possible worldwide as an opportunity for them to voice their opinions and views. The questionnaire is straight forward and easy to fill out.
To protect the anonymity of people and the integrity of the survey, we request that you keep the blank questionnaire as well as the one completed fully confidential.
Therefore, our invitation extends first to all of you. Please respond if you would like to participate in order for us to send you the questionnaire. Please indicate if your preference is English or Arabic.
We would also appreciate it if you could share with us the names and e-mails of your family members, friends, alumni, and colleagues who could or would care to participate in this survey. Please note that our time limit to complete the electronic survey is a week as of today.
Please note that there is another questionnaire for Lebanese who live in Lebanon. Should any Lebanese resident be interested in participating in the part of the survey that concerns the residents, please have them contact me or Ms. Guita Hourani at ghourani@ndu.edu.lb.
Your efforts will be of great help to LERC and immense value to the project.

Guita G. Hourani, MA, MURP
Associate Director & Researcher
Lebanese Emigration Research Center (LERC)
Notre Dame University (NDU)
P. O. Box 72 Zouk Mikayel, Lebanon
Tel. 961-(0)9-218950-55 ext. 2328
Fax 961-(0)9-224803

The El Marada party are providing free transport on Friday, 10th November 2006, for those who wish to attend the Beirut concert of the Lebanese singer, Julia Boutros. The concert at the Forum De Beyrouth is part of a five nation tour - Dubai, Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon and Syria - to raise funds for those families who lost members in the 34 day conflict this summer in Lebanon. The tour is called "Ahibaii" ( My Loved Ones) which is also the title of her new single. The music of the song is by her brother, Ziad Boutros, lyrics by the poet Ghassan Matar and arranged by Michel Fadel.

Those wishing to avail themselves of the free transport, which is also open to non members, should be outside Saint Joseph's Church by 6 p.m.

The singers' official website is at http://www.juliaboutros.net/ and there is also a website at http://www.julia.ws/. They explain her reasons for the tour in more detail, the inspiration behind the lyrics as well as providing biographical information on her and of her records.

Yesterday evening, Wednesday 8th November 2006, zgharta.com was offline for a couple of hours due to technical difficulties.

Members who use our domain email addresses - @zgharta.com and @ehden.com - may find that some emails sent yesterday were not delivered.

Should you wish to contact us please use our email address - postmaster@zgharta.com for the next 24 hours.

We apologise for the interruption and any inconvenience caused.

Did you miss us :)

zgharta.com team

On the occasion of

Eid al-Fitr

we send to the Muslim community of

Zgharta Zawie

our traditional greetings and best wishes

zgharta.com



The photo is of the "Masgid Al Taqwa" Mosque in the village of Iaal

The Rahban Hospital in Zgharta has its own website, www.rahbanhospital.com

The site is in English and Arabic and features its history (in French), the services it provides and a list of the doctors who practice there.

Although the site ( History - French version) does not refer to its founder, the hospital was founded by Dr Youssef Rahban.

We are told that since this afternoon, Friday 13th October 2006, there has been a forest fire near the villages of Seraal and Aitou. We understand that the fire started near Seraal and progressed towards Aitou. Both villages are not immediately near the fire.The Lebanese army and the rescue services are at hand helping to put down the fire. Local inhabitants are also helping.

Our latest information at 20.35p.m (Zgharta time ) is that the fire continues and large parts of the forest has been damaged.

This is all we know at the present time. The cause of the fire and the precise area affected is not known.

The village of Seraal is located on the eastern slope of the Mountain ( Jabal) of Aitou, facing the Holy Valley of Qannoubine.The village of Aitou is on the north-eastern slopes of the Mountain of Aitou.

The contact details of the Presidents of the Municipal Council's are: Seraal, Youssef Bou Elias - 03 27 04 09; Aitou, Youssef Saliba - 03 32 01 61. Please respect the time difference and the circumstances both Presidents are working under.

To see the location of both villages see the map of Zgharta Zawie on the Full Story page.

Please send us any information concerning the fire to contactus@zgharta.com


Full Story

A new website has been launched promoting Lebanese employment called, Hire Lebanese. It is a free service open to both employers and employees. The site partners are Lebanon Expats, Lebanese International Business Council and Leb Global Services.

We are told that there will be a marketing campaign next week for the launch of the site so it would be a good idea to put your CV or job offer on site now to ensure increase exposure. The site also contains a section for assisting the writing of CV's.

The website is found at http://www.hirelebanese.com

The Press Release for the launch stays that the site "is an internet based job board recruiting agent with a goal to market the Lebanese workforce as one. "Lebanese have built a reputation for brains and productivity so let's capitalize on our reputation and centralize our efforts to succeed. Our goal is to gather resumes for Lebanese citizens worldwide and then market our talent as one group," said Rabih Mogharbel, co-founder.

It goes on to explain that it is also "dedicated to servicing businesses in Lebanon, corporations in Middle East and Lebanese managers worldwide who seek Lebanese candidates" and that the site is being launched "at critical times when the country is rebuilding and seeks expertise in many fields. This is also a critical time for young professionals seeking to gain international experience.

We remind our readers that zgharta.com has its own section on helping those seeking employment in our Forum, Networking Plus. The section contains a template for a CV, advice on interview preparation and technique together with other job seeking related advice and news. It has over 10,000 hits since its inception.

The René Moawad Foundation is holding its 13th Annual Benefit Dinner in America this year on 28th October 2006 under less happy circumstances than in previous years. The dinner is helping to raise funds to support the Foundation's recovery and rehabilitation work in Lebanon as a result of the 34 day conflict this summer.

To read more about the Foundation and the concerns and reasons for holding this years Benefit Dinner click the Full Story tab.


Full Story

The Association of Zgharta (Youssef Bey Karam Batal Lebnan), in Australia has asked zgharta.com to nominate twelve photographs of Zgharta - Ehden, from the Galleria for consideration for their 2007 calendar. We are truly honoured to be asked .

We would like to give the opportunity to our members and readers to suggest their favourite photographs. Please quote the ID number of the photograph when you send your list to us at contactus@zgharta.com

The current Association is the successor of the first association formed in 1951 by Mr Semaan Mikhail Bou-Semaan Mowad, known as Simon Symond. He is considered by many as the Father of the Zgharta community in Australia. The association called itself, The Association of Zgharta (Youssef Bey Karam Batal Lebnan).

The association's aims were to keep the then small Zgharta community together and assist each other. Especially, it saw as one of its major roles, helping new arrivals from Zgharta to settle and assimilate themselves in Australia.

The current Association was the result of the merger in 1962 of the above association and "The Zgharta Union Club in Australia", which was formed in 1957. The new association agreed to retain the name, The Association of Zgharta (Youssef Bey Karam Batal Lebnan). In 1963 it was officially registered as an charity.

The Association continues to serve the Zgharta community in Australia.

zgharta.com

wishes all Zgharta Zawie fathers in Australia & New Zealand

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

on Sunday, 3rd September 2006

The Lebanese Minister of Education, Dr. Khaled Qabbani, announced on Monday that both public and private schools will start their respective new academic years on Monday, 9th October 2006.

In September 2005 the Zgharta Ehden Municipal Councul released a summary of the European Commission's report on the Municipal Union of Zgharta District. The report included statistics concerning the number of schools , teachers and students. It recotrded that there were 57 educational establishments of which 19 were public and 38 private; 1169 teachers; and 10,948 students. To see a fuller summary go to the Full Story page.


Full Story

Ever since the beginning of zgharta.com the Galleria has been one of its most popular features. Today we have passed the 6000th photograph being posted online.

There are fourteen main folder categories: Architecture & Places; Art & Design; CG's Portfolio; Civic Buildings & Images; Cultural & Civic Events; La Dolce Vita; MK's Portfolio; Nature & Environment; Past Zghartawiens & Historic Events; People & Faces; “Postcards” from Overseas; PR2's Portfolio; Zgharta Zawie; Zghartawien Books .

Within such folders and sub folders there are a multitude of photographs posted by the zgharta.com team and members. Use the “New Photo” tab to see what photographs have been posted recently.

To be able to post your photographs all you need to do is to become a member of zgharta.com. See the "Become a Member" box on the Home Page.

At the same time take the opportunity to create your own unique email address using the domain names of either@zgharta.com or @ehden.com

From 31st August 2006, the oral part of the Lebanese driving test will be replaced by a computerised test. There are transitional measures for those failing the computerised test who will be able to re-take the test before a committee until the end of the year. From then onwards this option will not be available.

The introduction of the computerised test is to avoid abuses of the oral test system and is part of a campaign to reduce the number of deaths caused by bad drivers in Lebanon. A recent study showed that in the developed world, between 30% and 60% of drivers sitting the theory part of the driving test passed, whereas in Lebanon there is a 100% pass rate.

According to the Lebanese Driving Schools Syndicate, 40,000 drivers in Lebanon are given a driving licence that does not fulfil international standards. The official age for driving is 18 years of age but in many parts of Lebanon there are many under age drivers. Sadly there has been cases in Zgharta Zawie where under age drivers have been killed.

The current law relating to driving is some 37 years old. The computerised test is part of a campaign to introduce internationally recognised driving tests comprised of both theoretical and practical elements.

***
zgharta.com
wishes all its American friends and readers
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY
4th July 2006
***

We are happy to announce that our friends, The Lebanese Emigration Research Center (LERC) , are celebrating the 3rd Anniversary of their foundation and the 1st Lebanese Philatelic Exhibition at the Swiss headquarters of the Universal Postal Union, by a public lecture called, “Visualizing Lebanese Migration: Lebanese Postage Stamps as Political Messengers”.

The lecture will be delivered by Mrs. Huda Taleb-Srage, Researcher in Postal History and Philatelic Iconography, on Wednesday, 24th May 2006 at 6:00 p.m. Auditorium - Pierre Abou Khater Hall - Notre Dame University - Zouk Mosbeh. Discussion and Refreshments will follow. Entry free.

The photograph shows the stamp issued in 2005 by the Mexican Government to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Lebanese presence in Mexico.

The press release for the lecture says that it will discuss the part played by postage stamps in the official visual culture. To read more about the lecture and Mrs Srage, click on the Full Story tab.

Readers will recall that in August 2004, Ehden was the venue of LERC‘s first ever Migration Workshop. Held in conjunction with the Parish and Municipality of Zgharta Ehden, it was reported at the time that the President of the Zgharta Ehden Municipal Council, General Joseph Maarawi announced that the Municipality had entered into a five-year partnership with the LERC.
Full Story

Today, zgharta.com, celebrates being online for eight years, serving the worldwide Zgharta Zawie community.

The site is a celebration of that community, past and present, and its achievements in all fields of endeavour, throughout the world. zgharta.com is also the independent voice for the community, neutral and respected by all, which it sees as integral to its continuing existence.

What does the future hold for the site ? The answer to an extent lays with the Zgharta Zawie community itself. It is the community which gives the purpose and role to zgharta.com. The site is forever conscious that if it does not fulfil them, then it has no purpose or role, and that others should take over the mantle.

Since its beginning on 8th May 1998, zgharta.com has always seen its major role as bringing the whole Zgharta Zawie worldwide community together. Over the years it has sought to achieve this by : introducing daily reportage of local news and events; providing the means to see present day Zgharta Zawie through the Galleria; having features on diverse subjects of general and specific interest; as well as being the venue through the Forum , for members to raise topics of interest and discussion.

Never complacent, zgharta.com, continues to strive to develop and expand its horizons, yet forever focus on the some 185 square kilometres metres of land and its people, in North Lebanon, which is Zgharta Zawie. In response to members wishes it has began a cautious process of highlighting non-political subjects which are of concerned to the local community for public debate.

So we say, Happy Birthday zgharta.com and thank you, our readers,
for your continuing support.

Credit Card Donations

The Lebanese phone authorities have introduced new international tariffs as from 15th April 2006.

The Discounted tariff (off peak) are for calls made between 10pm and 7am. Examples of the tariff in Lebanese pounds per minute, for peak & off peak calls are:

Australia/Canada/USA - 700 & 500
France/Germany - 700 & 500
Nigeria /South Africa - 900 & 700

The full tariff can be viewed from this PDF link.

The College De La Salle, affectionaley called Al Frére, is holding a reunion for its past students and staff on Sunday, 7th May 2006 at 6pm.

The roll call of past students include past Presidents, Sleiman Kabalan Frangieh and René Mouawad, Ministers, including, Hamid Kabalan Frangieh, Members of Parliament, including, Jawad Simon Boulos and many more in all walks of life.

The College started in Tripoli, moving its students and staff during the Lebanese Civil War to Zgharta Zawie. First to Saint Antonious School, Saha Zgharta , which is located in front of the Saydet Zgharta Church. The College then moved to the public school known as Takmiliyat Tony Frangieh, Al Abe, where the College used its facilities in the afternoon,during the first years of the Lebanese Civil War. Thereafter it moved to a convertred chicken farm at Al Akbe, next to the the new Church of Mar Maroun. In 1984, the College built and moved to its present location at the village of Kfaryachite.

The College is named after Saint John Baptist de la Salle , the founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, Patron of Christian Teachers. He was born at Reims, France 30 April 1651, ordained priest 9 April 1678, and died 7 April 1719. He was beatified 19 February 1888 and canonized on 24 May 1900. He was proclaimed Patron of Christian Teachers 15 May 1950.

The College's phone numbers are (6) 55.51.09 and (6) 55.51.12

The photograph shows part of the College building at Kfaryachite.We would be happy to post photographs of past students during their time at the College.

zgharta.com has renamed its multimedia section today as the ZBox.

The idea of the ZBox is to build up, in an multimedia format - sound - video - animation - graphics - a collection, which can be viewed, listened to and downloaded, from one "box" ! As the name suggests, the emphasis of the collection will be on Zgharta Zawie subjects and themes, as well as things nostalgic. Fortunately, Zgharta is not spelt with an "X" !

To date on ZBox there is, the sound of the classic Nai, played by Zgharta born, Sarkis Bassim and the songs of Georges Yammine. As well as old proverbs, spoken in local Zghartawien dialect, by Philip Frangieh. There is also a video of a car journey made by Alex Maccise, called "Ride to North Lebanon", which records his journey to Zgharta. Plus a screensaver, whose theme is, Ehden in winter.

zgharta.com welcomes hearing from anyone who wishes to contribute to ZBox. In particular we want to create an oral bank of old stories and sayings, spoken in the vernacular. By this way we can preserve our history, in its own tongue, before the encroachment of the soft vowels of Beirutian, becomes common place! Photos and films of the past will be also be welcomed.

It is hoped that you will enjoy the ZBox, the latest of zgharta.com innovations to the site.

We reported on 15th March 2006, "Property Tax Exemption", Zgharta Ehden Municipal Council's announcement concerning exemptions to late payment penalties for Municipal Property Tax.

Having made further inquiries with another municipal council it appears that the 90% deduction of penalties for the years 1998 - 2005 has three conditions attached to the concession: (1) the arrears of the tax have to be paid by instalments within a period of three years (2) the reduced penalties have also to be paid by instalments within the same period (3) agreement to pay such arrears between the Council and the tax payer has to be finalised within three months of the passing of the law. Decree 715 section 109, dated 3rd February 2006.

Once again we suggest you contact the Zgharta Ehden Municipal Council to ascertain your position, if applicable. The Council's telephone number is 961 6 66 02 48. The Chairman of the Council's Finance Committee is Mr Joseph Makary.