First of all, thanks for visiting my website. My name is Marwan Moustafa Rihaoui, I was born in Zahle' ( Bekaa Valley) .
Then I moved with my parents to Kab Elias a small town that is 20 km south of Zahle. It is a very nice place and so are the poeple of this town. Below are some pictures of my town .
I love Kab Elias, it is a very great town. people get a long with each other a lot and good food there :).
I came to USA in 2001 to pursue my education. First, I lived in Minnesota (Winona) where i got my B.S in physics from Winona State University, and then moved to New Mexico where I did my graduate training at LANL. In August 2004,
I moved to Dekalb Illinois where currently I am a physics graduate student. I got my M.S in physics in 2007 and currently I am a pursuing my phd in physics . I am doing my research at ANL and my mine topic is accelaerator physics.
I Love my home country Lebanon and the all the good people in Lebanon. I pray that things get better back home and people wake up and be side by side. I am big fan of Zajal, a lebanese sange folklore songs especially Mousa Zgaeb and Zain Sh3aeb.
A litttle to say about my hometown:
Kab Elias or Qab Elias is the third big city in size and population wise in the Bekaa valley after Zahle and Baalbek. The population of Kab Elias is estimated to be around 55,000. Kab Elias located in the center of the Bekaa region, it is around 15 Km south of Zahle and 45 km east of the capital Beirut.
The origin of the name Kab Elias is Qabr Elias (Elias grave), Elias is one of the saints that lived in that region and his tomb is located in Kab Elias. Kab Elias is known for its rich and vast land for agriculture. The city located on a mesa that touches a mountain from the west side and get flatter when going east. The people of the city grow lots of different kinds of fruits and vegetables in the fields. There are lots of water and natural springs; the two big ones are Ras el Ayen and Wade el Dolom which are located at the edge of the city. The water network system for the fields and for the houses is done from the springs. Ras el Ayen is also considered to be a tourist gathering for people of the town and outsiders too. Especially in the summer times, you find a lot of people from the coast barbequing, swimming and enjoying the pretty scenic.
Kab Elias has some old natural historical ruins. For instance, the Roman around century BC carved a monumental alter facing the east direction in a small mountain in the city for their God Helios that looks over the whole valley. Also the Assyrian God Ninurat graded on one of the tall rocks in Ras el Ayen. A castle ruin of a fortress that was built by the Druze in the twelve century resides in a small hill that looks over the city. Also a tomb for an unknown French soldier is there from the French mandatory period.
Most of the people who live in Kab Elias are farmers and own a land. There is a big fruit market that helps the farmers to export their products. There are a large percentage of Kab Elias residents who immigrated over the last half decades to all over the world, USA, Canada, Brazil and Africa as most people of Lebanon did. The town had done a festival every year in August for the immigrated people to honor and remember them (mhrajan el moghtarebeen). Lots of good food is served during this celebration and huge parades all over the town.
Kab Elias is a large village with a full complements of shops, souvenirs, and handicrafts. Kab Elias had a winery (Araq Touma) that brings good source of income to the city and work opportunities for people. There are two good high schools in the city that teaches French and English in addition to Arabic as first language and one technical school. The current mayor of the city Mr. Fayad Haidar had done a very good an intense job in making the city better. Over the last seven years, he had expanded the roads in the city, made a better water network for the houses, decorating the downtown, and much more.
Kab Elias had very nice scenic places to see and enjoy, it is also a center of transportation. Since early 90s the town advanced in buildings and new projects that make it center of attraction for investment from people who live in big cities like Beirut.
Finally, I hope that you get the chance when going back to Lebanon to visit Kab Elias. The people are hospital and great food, good places to see, and you will not get disappointed.
If you are Lebanese and would like to know me more, please feel free to contact me, I will be happy to answer you back. :)
Marwan M Rihaoui.