Sin el Fil

Sinn al-Fīl سن الفيل
City
Sinn al-Fīl Location within Lebanon
Coordinates: 33°52′N 35°32′E / 33.867°N 35.533°E / 33.867; 35.533Coordinates: 33°52′N 35°32′E / 33.867°N 35.533°E / 33.867; 35.533
Country	Lebanon
Governorate	Mount Lebanon Governorate
District	Matn District
Government
• Time Zone	GMT +2 (UTC)
• – Summer (DST)	+3 (UTC)
• Area Code(s)	(+961) 1
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Dialing code	+961

The former "Metropolitan Hotel", currently a Hilton Hotel

Sin el-Fil (Arabic: سنّ الفيل‎‎ / ALA-LC: Sinn al-Fīl) is a suburb east of Beirut in the Matn District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon.

Etymology

The name literally means 'ivory': "tooth" (sinn) of "the elephant" (al-fīl). Being geographically closer to the ancient city of Antioch and far remote from natural elephant habitat, it is believed that the town name may have been a derogation of Saint Theophilus of Antioch.

Geography

With a rich red soil and moderate precipitation (but available ground water irrigation) the agricultural land of Sin el Fil in the early 20th century sprawled into a densely populated suburb. The natural landscape of the late century was dominated by stone pine. The Beirut River runs west of Sin el Fil and separates the town from the capital, Beirut.

Demographics

Family names from this village are: Abdullah, Antoun, Ayoub, Barakat, Bazzi, Berberian, Chadessi, Chidiac, El-Hage, El-Hakem, Hamdan, Hennessi, Hijazi, Karam, Kahalé, Khoury, Lahood, Mannah, Mansour, Massaad, Saad, Sahyoun, Saadi,Amhaz, Chaoul

Archaeology

Collections of archaeological material from this limestone "hogsback" were made from the gullies to the south of the main road on the slopes of forested hills. The recovery areas were described as "ravines sinueuses" by Raoul Describes after making a collection in 1921.^[1] Other Jesuits who made collections from the area included Godefroy Zumoffen in 1908, Paul Bovier-Lapierre and Auguste Bergy as well as Mouterde, Gigues, Lorraine Copeland and Peter Wescombe. E. Passemard suggested that two of the trihedral pieces collected by Paul Bovier-Lapierre were Chalossian.^[2][3] Describes published some of the material as Acheulean but the bulk of the material was very mixed including lots of indeterminate Neolithic pieces including Trihedral Neolithic and Heavy Neolithic forms. There was also a Roman occupation on the flat fields above the slopes. Some archaeological material from Sin el Fil is in the National Museum of Beirut and the Museum of Lebanese Prehistory.^[4]

Twin towns — Sister cities

• Prato, Italy, since 2008^[5]

References and footnotes

External links

• Sinn El Fil, Localiban
• Municipality of Sin el Fil (Arabic)

Matn District, Mount Lebanon Governorate
Capital: Jdeideh
Towns and villages	Ain Aar Ain el Safssaf Ain el Sendianeh Ain Saadeh Aintoura Amaret Chalhoub Antelias Aoukar Al-Ayroun Baabdat Baskinta Bauchrieh Beit Chabab Beit el Chaar Beit el Kekko Beit Mery Bhersaf Biakout Bikfaya Bkenneya Bourj Hammoud Broummana Bsalim Bteghrine Chaouiyeh Choueir Daher al Hosein Dahr el Sawan Daychounieh Dbayeh Dekwaneh Dik El Mehdi Dhour El Choueir Dora Douar Fanar Ghabeh Ghabet Bologna Hadirah Haret al Ballaneh Haret ech Cheikh Hbous Jal el Dib Jdeideh Jouar Jouret el Ballout Kaakour Kfarakab Kfartay Khenchara Majdel Tarchich Majzoub Mansourieh Mar Chaaya Mar Michael Bnabil Mar Moussa Mar Roukouz Marjaba Mazraat Yachouh Mchikha Mezher Mhaydseh Mkalles Mrouj Mtaileb Mtein Mzekkeh Nabay Naccache Ouyoun Qonaytrah Qonnabat Broummana Qornet Shehwan Rabieh Roumieh Sakiyat al Mesek Sed el Bauchrieh Sin el Fil Sfaileh Wata el Mrouj Zalka Zarooun Zekrite Zouk al Khrab
Notable landmarks	Mount Sannine
Notable touristic sites	Aqueduct of Zubaida Deir el Qalaa

Archaeological sites in Lebanon
Aadloun Aaiha Aammiq Aaqbe Ain Aata Ain Choaab Ain Harcha Akbiyeh Akkar plain foothills Al-Bireh Amioun Amlaq Qatih Anjar, Lebanon Antelias cave Apheca Ard Saouda Ard Tlaili Arqa Baalbek Baidar ech Chamout Batroumine Batroun Bechamoun Beirut Beit Mery Berytus (Roman Beirut) Bustan Birke Byblos Canalizations of Zenobia Dahr El Ahmar Dakoue Deir El Aachayer Deir el Ahmar Deir Mar Maroun Dekwaneh Douris (Baalbek) Elaea (Lebanon) Flaoui Fadous Sud Hebbariye Hadeth south Haret ech Cheikh Hashbai Heliopolis in Phoenicia Hermel plains Iaat Jabal es Saaïdé Jbaa Jdeideh Jebel Aabeby Jeita Grotto Joub Jannine Jieh Kafr Zabad Kamid al lawz Kamouh el Hermel Karak Nuh Kaukaba Kefraya Kafr Tebnit Kfar Qouq Kfarhata Khallet Michte Khirbet El-Knese Kouachra megalith field Ksar Akil Labweh Lake Qaraoun (Ain Jaouze) Libbaya Lion Tower Majdal Anjar Mansourieh Maronite mummies Mayrouba Mdoukha (Jebel Kassir) Moukhtara Mtaileb Nabi Zair Nachcharini Nahle, Lebanon Neba'a Faour Nebi Safa Niha Bekaa Phoenician port of Beirut Plain of Zgharta Qaa Qal'at Bustra Qalaat Tannour Qaraoun Qasr el Banat Ras Baalbek I Ras Beirut Ras El Kelb Rashaya Roman Forum of Berytus Roman hippodrome of Berytus Sands of Beirut Saraain El Faouqa Shheem Sidon Sin el Fil Sarepta Stone of the Pregnant Woman Tahun ben Aissa Taire Tayibe Tell Aalaq Tell Ablah Tell Addus Tell Ahle Tell Ain Cerif Tell Ain el Meten Tell Ain Ghessali Tell Ain Nfaikh Tell Ain Saouda Tell Ain Sofar Tell Ayoub Tell Bar Elias Tell Beshara Tell Bir Dakoue Tell Deir Tell Delhamieh Tell Derzenoun Tell Dibbine Tell el-Burak Tell El Ghassil Tell El Hadeth Tell Fadous Tell Hazzine Tell Hoch Rafqa Tell Karmita Tell Khardane Tell Kirri Tell Jezireh Tell Jisr Tell Kabb Elias Tell Majdaloun Tell Masoud Tell Mekhada Tell Meouchi Tell Mureibit Tell Murtafa Tell Nahariyah Tell Neba'a Chaate Tell Neba'a Litani Tell Qasr Labwe Tell Rasm El Hadeth Tell Rayak Tell Saatiya Tell Safiyeh Tell Saoudhi Tell Serhan Tell Shaikh Hassan al Rai Tell Shamsine Tell Sultan Yakoub Tell Taalabaya Tell Wardeen Tell Zenoub Tell Zeitoun Temnin el-Foka Temple of Bacchus Temple of Eshmun Temple of Jupiter Tlail megaliths Toron Tripolis (region of Phoenicia) Tyre Necropolis Tyre, Lebanon Wadi Boura Wadi Koura Wadi Yaroun Yammoune Yanta Ain W Zain Zahlé