Etymology

The word Al-Qasr means a beautiful and fancy mansion. The town has most likely assumed its name due to the large houses it used to have in the past. Today though, the majority of houses in Al-Qasr are small and modest.

Location

Al-Qasr is located in the Qada’a of Hermel in the Mohafaza of Beqa’a, 150 km from Beirut and 12 km from Hermel, at an altitude of 1000 m above the sea level. It may be reached through the following road: Beirut- Dahr El-Baydar- Chtoura- Zahle- Hermel- Al-Qasr.

Population and Houses

The registered population of Al-Qasr is estimated at 11 000 people of whom only 4000 live in the town. They are predominantly Shia’a with a few minorities belonging to the Sunni (3%) and the Alawite (1%) communities. There are around 600 houses in Al-Qasr.

Voters

There were 4571 registered voters in Al-Qasr in 2000 of whom 1903 cast their ballots. The number rose to 6296 in 2009 with 3349 casting their ballots and further to 7100 in 2013 with 7100 casting their ballots.

Voters are distributed over the following families:

• Zoueiter: 950 voters
• Qataya: 660 voters
• Medlej: 570 voters
• Al-Jamal: 470 voters
• Nasser El-Dine: 440 voters
• Sakr: 400 voters
• Drees: 250 voters
• Salman: 155 voters
• Al-Nemr: 150 voters
• Al-Badawi: 150 voters
• Al-Masri: 130 voters
• Matar: 120 voters
• Msarra: 120 voters
• Mandawa: 110 voters
• Sahmarani: 110 voters
• Jaafar: 110 voters
• Wraydan: 105 voters
• Chamas: 84 voters
• Fahdi: 75 voters
• Oubeid: 72 voters
• Ghourab: 66 voters
• Allam: 63 voters
• Al-Zein: 60 voters
• Al-Fawaani: 60 voters
• Harmoush: 58 voters
• Assaf: 56 voters
• Anqa: 55 voters
• Al-Helou: 55 voters
• Noun: 55 voters
• Samaha: 55 voters
• Zeineddine: 52 voters
• Al-Saymi:47 voters
• Mansour: 40 voters
• Al-Aziz: 40 voters
• Moubarak: 35 voters
• Abou Daher: 28 voters
• Rahal: 25 voters
• Toufaily: 24 voters
• Al-Mestrah: 23 voters
• Raad: 23 voters
• Al-Kerdiyeh: 20 voters
• Safwan: 18 voters
• Ghazzawi: 17 voters
• Mehrez: 16 voters
• Sharaf: 15 voters
• Al-Shawi: 10 voters
• Al-Shadi: 10 voters
• Hamshou: 10 voters
• Chahine: 10 voters
• Al-Qshat: 10 voters
• Bayram: 10 voters

Sunni

• Al-Eid: 45 voters
• Abou El-Jabal: 25 voters
• Al-Zoghbi: 25 voters
• Al-Ouqaydi: 23 voters
• Nouri: 20 voters

Alawi

• Hawrani (Al-Hawrani): 60 voters
• Melhem: 53 voters
• Rashed: 20 voters

Local Authorities

A municipality was established for the towns, Al-Qasr and Fisan, by virtue of Decision No. 38/Ad dated August 23, 1965. The municipal council consisted of 18 members and its share of the Independent Municipal Fund amounted to roughly LBP 645 million in 2011. Decision No. 260 issued on February 19, 2010 stipulated the separation of the two towns and the establishment of an independent municipality for the town of Fisan. Al-Qasr is home to 5 Makhatir.

NGOs

There are two non-governmental organizations in Al-Qasr:

• The Social and Development Association of Qasr Al-Wafaa established in 2010
• The Chamas Charity Association established in 2009

Educational Institutions

Al-Qasr is home to two schools:

• Al-Qasr’s Official School housing 319 students and 34 teachers and staff
• Al-Horriya private free school housing 268 students and 14 teachers and staff

Economic Profile

Agriculture is the main source of income in Al-Qasr. Some residents make their living by smuggling goods from Syria and others are enrolled in Lebanon’s armed and security forces. A number of artisan shops also provide employment to Al-Qasr’s community.