Ashqout
عشقوت | |
---|---|
Municipality | |
Coordinates: 33°59′14″N 35°42′27″E / 33.987353°N 35.707626°E | |
Country | Lebanon |
Governorate | Keserwan-Jbeil |
District | Keserwan |
Area | |
• Total | 7.88 km2 (3.04 sq mi) |
Elevation | 1,250 m (4,100 ft) |
Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Dialing code | +961 |
Ashqout (Arabic: عشقوت; also spelled Ashkout, Achqout, `Ashqut) is a town and municipality in the Keserwan District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. It is located 31 kilometers north of Beirut. Ashqout's average elevation is 1,000 meters above sea level and its total land area is 588 hectares.[1] Its inhabitants are predominantly Maronite Catholic, with Christians from other denominations in the minority.[2]
Ottoman tax records indicate Ashqout had 43 Christian households in 1523, 43 Christian households and seven bachelors in 1530, and 33 Christian households and 14 bachelors in 1543.[3]
The town has three schools, one public and two private, in the town, with a total of 739 students as of 2008.[1] The El-Hajj Hospital, which has 28 beds, is located in Ashqout.[1] It is the birthplace of Ahmad Faris Shidyaq (1804–1887); Paul Peter Massad (1806–1890); and Rayyane Tabet (born 1983).[4]