Chyah
Chiyah () is situated in the west region of the Lebanese capital of Beirut and is part of Greater Beirut. Location. Chiyah is located in the southwest suburbs of the capital Beirut, bordered by Haret Hreik, Ghobeiry, Hadath, Hazmiyeh, Furn-el-chebbak and Ain El Remmaneh. However, before 1956, it used to cover a larger area that included the current districts of Karm el Zeitoun, Hayy el Knissé, Bir Abed and Haret el Mjadlé, as well as Jnah, Ghobeiry, Furn-el-chebbak, Bir Hassan and Ain El Remanneh. The meaning of its name is vague, and many suppositions were found , with one saying that it means the processing of metal ("Shewah"). Another theory is the Arabic origin of the name means a kind of tree that is used for silk production (a flourishing industry in this former village). The city was once covered with citrus orchards and extending to the Mediterranean Sea. Today, it is a full part of the demographically huge Beirut outskirts totalling around 60,000 inhabitants. Demographics. Historically, Chiyah was a predominately Christian town, but it became partly inhabited by Shia Muslims. The major surnames or families in Chiyah are Rahme, Mahmoud, Nasr, Srouji, Maarouf, Kassem, Kanj, Farraj , Sous, and El-Khatib. History. During the Ottoman period, Chiyah used to be ruled by the Druze Arslan family, but later it was passed on to the Shihab dynasty. In May 1988 following three weeks of intense fighting between Amal and Hizbullah, Ghobeiry and Chiyah were the only districts of Beirut that Amal was able to retain control of, the rest of Southern Beirut coming under Hizbullah control. On 21 December 1994 a car bomb in Chyah killed Fuad Mughniyeh, one brother of Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh. Two other people were killed in the explosion and sixteen wounded. The current  head of the municipality is parliament member hopeful Edmond Gharios. Roland Rahal headed the municipality for the time of the parliamentary elections. Naji Gharios, a native of Chiyah, was elected in June 2009 as member of the Lebanese Parliament representing the Baabda district.