Blat
بلاط | |
---|---|
Municipality | |
Coordinates: 33°23′10″N 35°36′02″E / 33.38611°N 35.60056°E | |
Grid position | 136/161 L |
Country | Lebanon |
Governorate | Nabatieh Governorate |
District | Marjayoun District |
Elevation | 680 m (2,230 ft) |
Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Dialing code | +961 |
Blat (Arabic: بلاط) is a municipality in the Marjayoun District in southern Lebanon, located just north of Marjayoun.
In 1596, it was named as a village, Balat, in the Ottoman nahiya (subdistrict) of Tibnin under the liwa' (district) of Safad, with a population of 56 households and 2 bachelors, all Muslim. The villagers paid a fixed tax-rate of 25 % on agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, olive trees, vineyards, goats, beehives; in addition to occasional revenues, a press for olive oil or grape syrup and a water mill; a total of 6,000 akçe.[1][2]
In 1838, Eli Smith noted Blat's population as being Metawileh.[3]
On 27 December 1993, during the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, a Norwegian soldier was killed when an Israeli tank, stationed in neighbouring Aishiyeh, fired on his UNIFIL patrol outside Blat. The Indian Army contingent with UNIFIL had a small base camp in the village.[4]
In 2014 Muslims made up 88.35% and Christians made up 11.13% of registered voters in Blat. 84.89% of the voters were Shiite Muslims.[5]