Souk El Gharb
Souk El Gharb is located in Aley District in Mount Lebanon Province. Its name goes back to the fact that it has been a market where all the people of the west towns and villages meet.
Its first municipal council was formed in 1890. Souk El Gharb is 25 km away from Beirut, capital of Lebanon; it rises 750 meters above sea level and covers an area of 5 km2. The town of Souk El Gharb is characterized by its beautiful nature, the diversity of its crops, and its mild weather. It is a well known summer area. Its neighboring towns are Aley, Kayfoun, Atyat, Bmakine and Bhouwara. Its families are Al Salibi, Baroudi, and Hajjar …
The number of residents of the town is about 3,000 people. The number of permanent residents is about 2,000 but this number increases in the summer. There is a high percentage of expatriates, most of them have left to the Gulf countries, America, Australia and Europe. The number of housing units in the town is almost 578 while the non-residential buildings are the municipal building, the church, the infirmary and University of Balamand. The rural character dominates in the shapes of its buildings. There are in the town educational institutions, University of Balamand and one school, in addition to a health institution, which is a dispensary.
The green cover constitutes a large proportion of the territory of the town since the percentage of built areas is relatively low and does not exceed 20% of the total area of the town. This may be due to the migration of the population.