Dhour El Choueir

Dhour El Choueir () is a mountain town in Lebanon ('dhour' meaning 'summit, top [of a mountain]') located in the Matn District. It lies slightly north of the main Beirut - Damascus highway, overlooking the city of Beirut and the Mediterranean sea, some 30 km from Beirut and 42 km from Beirut International Airport in Khalde. This mountain town is one of Mount Lebanon's favored summer resorts, known for its extraordinary fresh air and is also important for its August yearly carnival, honoring Lebanon's emigrants. It is linked to Beirut via the Matn Express Highway, also known as the M90 through Baabdat.
Demographics.
The inhabitants of Dhour El-Choueir are predominantly Christians, with half of the population being Eastern Orthodox, while the other half is mostly Melkite and Maronite.
History.
The Greek Catholic monk Abdallah Zakher set up an Arabic language printing press using movable type at the monastery of Saint John at Choueir, the first homemade press in Lebanon. He personally cut the type molds and did the founding of the elegant typeface. He created the first true Arabic script type in the Middle East. The first book off the Zakhir press was printed in 1734; this press continued to be used until 1899.
It is also the birthplace of Antun Saadeh, the founder and historical leader of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) and of Tanios Bou-Nader Khneisser, the father of the Sword & Shield Folkloric Dance.
The town was on the front line during the Lebanese Civil War from 1975 to 1990.