Mashghara is my hometown where I was born, grew, and lived for twenty years.
In my memory ,Mashghara is a wonderful childhood. I remember it from "Mtal" to "Mihanieh" , from "Haret el Fawka" to "Haret el Tahta", from Nabi Noon to "Ain el Daiaa", etc .Now you brought this memory back, not only you brought it back but I had the chance to show my kids the wonderful Mashghara. This site allows me to know more about Mashgharanians: classmates, friends, relatives, teachers, people I was wondering where they live. Your site is a reunion to all; even we live far all over the world, we still extremely united under one umbrella (Machgharahhhhhhh)!!!!! Hassana and Nasser I believe Mashghara is proud of you, your loyalty to it is tremendously valuable to every Mashgharanian. We need more people like you. God bless you all. Keep up the wonderful work. Salutations to every Masgharanian.    
Rabia Ismail Masri, Ottawa, Canada Rabiamasri@hotmail.com  03 Feb 2002

Thanks Hassana and Nasser. Great to see Machghara online and connect with its people thanks to your efforts. Keep the good work.  Loutfi and Hind Hajjar, Ottawa, Canada.  03 Feb 2002

أخوتي ناصر وحسّانة.     لو لم تكن ارادتكما قويّة وحبّكما لمشغرة عظيم لما قدرنا وأهلنا اليوم أن نروي غليل نفوسنا وأشواقنا من خلال مشروعكما الجدير بالتقدير والاحترام. لكما منى كل التّهانى والتّمنيات بالقدرة على اكمال الطريق وهنيأ لأهالى مشغرة بأجمل الذكربات. قريبا جدّا سيكتمل كتابي مشغرة امارة القمر ويكون هدية لمحبيّ الزّجل اللبناني وكلّ أبناء مشغرة ومحبّيها

It takes lots of guts to achieve such a great project. Many of us would not have done the extra effort to make this dream come true.
Dear friends, Nasser, Hassana & Houssein consider that you have all our support and lets get in touch.
Jean Loutfi Hajjar, Aylmer, Quebec, Canada.  03 Feb 2002

Proud of you, proud to be from Machghara. What a great idea to create such a link between Machghara and Machgharanians and make our little hometown one as before. Many thanks to Nasser, Hassana, Hussein and all those who are contributing to the success of this project.
 Issam Richdi Abboudy, Aylmer, Quebec, Canada. abboudy@videotron.ca  03 Feb 2002

Chapeau! Quelle idée géniale de créer ce merveilleux site qui a rallumé en nous cette flamme de nostalgie et réveillé au fond de nos coeurs un jardin de souvenirs d’enfance! Votre travail est un chef d’oeuvre exceptionnel qui va certainement continuer a grandir et rassembler les gens de notre village autour d’un seul intérêt, Machghara.
Bahia Abboudy, Hajjar, Québec, Canada. abboudy@videotron.ca  03 Feb 2002

Way to go Cousin Lutfi Hanna Hajjar And Family, you speak all languages and most of all the language of love for Machghara.     Bassil Hajjar.  03 Feb 2002

Good on you Joseph Charara, love those poems keep them coming.  Ziad Gazal.   04 Feb 2002

 مشغره زينة المصايف مشغره   واللي يحب الكيف يقصد مشفره
                      عدنان حسين حسين,  سلطنة عمان

ctarshid@hotmail.com   04 Feb 2002

I was so happy, when I heard about the very beautiful website and I am so happy to be in touch with the machgharians people. I left Machghara 1954 to Beirut and 1960 to Germany. Now after more than 41 years I got the chance to have contact with the machgharians who do not know me but only as one person from Machghara. It is really a wonder to have the chance now to see the beautiful pictures of Machghara so I can dream of the years I spent there and hope to go there soon. I will thank Nasser and Hassana for the great idea to sponsor the website and I wish them good luck. The comments of the guestbook are so wonderful especially the poems of Joseph Charara.    Bechara Khalil Raffoul, Germany. Email: B.Raffoul@t-online.de  05 Feb 2002

MACHGHARA IS IN MY HEART, MY EYES, MY FEELING AND IN MY DREAMS. HOWEVER SHE IS AND SHE WILL ALWAYS BE THE BRIDE OF THE BEKAA. THE CHURCHES ARE WAITING FOR US. VIRGIN MARY (ALA EL METALL) IS MISSING US. NADI EL CHABIBA EL RIADI  IS WAITING FOR US. WE'RE COMING BACK TO YOU MACHGHARA, SOMEDAY IN THE FUTURE WITH OUR CHILDREN. THANKS TO THE PEOPLE WHO PUT THE PICTURES AND ALSO FOR THE PEOPLE WHO STILL LIVE IN MACHGHARA, WHO STILL LIVE THERE AND WHO SAVOURED OUR NAMES ON THE WALLS OF OUR SCHOOLS. MY EYES ARE FULL OF TEARS AND I HOPE MY DREAMS WILL COME TRUE WHICH IS TO SEE MY BEAUTIFUL HOMETOWN.   EBNAT MACHGHARA.   05 Feb 2002

Congratulations on the wonderful presentation of your site. The pretty and delightful pictures remind me of the beauty that Machghara has to offer. Hopefully soon, I will return to my hometown and re-live the pleasant lifestyle Machghara withholds.
Merhi Richdi Abboudi,   Perth, Western Australia. Merhi_Abboudi@hotmail.com  05 Feb 2002

I dedicate this to my late childhood friend Camil.
Sweet Machghara.
Sweet Machghara loveliest village of the plain,
where health and plenty cheered the laboring swain.
your blooming spring its earliest visit paid,
and parting summer's apple orchards delayed.
Dear village of innocence and ease,
Seats of my youth, when every moment could please.
How often, have I ran down your alley,
Where humble happiness kept us in the valley.
How often have I paused on every charm,
Looked at villagers cultivate their farm.
Your water spring operating round stones in the wheat mill,
Right below the church and school that top the hill.
While many passed their time beneath the shade,
The young played and the old surveyed.
Sweet virgin love but you can't see its face,
While secret laughter snickered around the place.
|How happy he who lived in times like these,
A youth of labor and an ageless love at ease.
Sweet was the sound when the day closes,
Sweeter was the smell of village roses.
I long for scenes where men never stopped,
A place where women always smiled & hardly wept.
I long the landscape drawn in grape monotone,
There's something in my very blood I own.
Bare hills in cold winters but the sky is blue,
Plenty of water, sun rays, flowers blossomed and birds flew.
We lived happy between the months of cherries and peaches
Then soon came the frosty river beaches.
The scenes are instilled in the marrow of my bones,
Looking back at the "KROOM" fenced with stones.
Summer was so much too beautiful to stay,
Then came those skies, their blue or snowy gray.
My home where once the garden smiled,
Then for years the thorns grew wild.
There was a few torn shrubs my home disclosed,
Along the lawn, dirt, rocks, the trash rose.
When our world turned completely upside down,
We said let's emigrate far away from this town.
We'll live among the civilized on the western shore,
Scattered from Scotia, to Vancouver, to Baltimore.
After the confusion sweet memories still in the shade,
Cuts deep down my throat like a sword's blade.
Now the sounds of population fall,
Can't tell the difference between summer and fall.
All the bloomy flesh of life has fled,
We left young widows searching for bread.
A young man was to his Machghara dear,
He is an unknown face in the land of deer.
A broken soldier wouldn't dare to stay,
Sits by the fire and talks the night away.
He crutches in his bed like an innocent child and sleeps,
But, for the lost years, memories of a dead childhood friend he weeps.
thank you for reading... JOSEPH CHARARA ohiousaman@aol.com  06 Feb 2002

A couple of years ago, I was trying, half heartedly, to convince my dear aging mother to stay with us in Canada. I told her that she wanted to go back to Machghara because she missed my sister and her family. I continued, but once you’re there you will miss us.
She replied with tears rolling down her rosy cheeks: I don’t just miss your sister and her family.. I miss Machghara! I miss her water, her staircases, her moon, her mountains.. and her apple orchards ..
With tears now rolling down my cheeks.. I said to her: You win big time.. I can’t compete with that, and I don’t want to compete with it either.
Yes, Machghara, and her people -all of her people- suffered much, but so did the rest of Lebanon. I certainly hope we all learned from our mistakes, so these mistakes are not repeated again! The healing started in May 2000. Let it continue.. Let it engulf us with its wings. These wings are spread wide.. It’s up to us to let them shelter us..
Simon Ibrahim.. Ottawa.. Canada.  07 Feb 2002

THIS MESSAGE IS DIRECTED TO JOSEPH CHARARA, WE KNOW YOU HAVE A LOT TO OFFER, PLEASE SLOW DOWN AND BELIEVE ME WE NEED YOUR TALENT AT A LATER STAGE.  BASSIL HAJJAR.  09 Feb 2002

We are from Machghara and we would like to know more about our beautiful country. Too bad we live in U.A.E that we cant see Machghara a lot, we could only see it for 1 month or so...Plz who knows more information about Machghara send it to us on:
Romy, lay_zee4@hotmail.com ,  Chantal, chantal_hajjar@hotmail.com 
and Nathalie, baby_bug30@hotmail.com     10 Feb 2002

Congratulations on this  beautiful website, it has refreshed our memory of Mashgara, the town we always loved. Keep up the good work and all the best for the future! 
Amine Abou-Haidar (AUSTRALIA)   aminehaidar@hotmail.com   10 Feb 2002

This message is to Bassil Hajjar ... I don't think that Joseph Charara needs to slow down, he needs to express his feeling and what a better place to do it than Machghara.com where all Machgharanies can feel what he is feeling! Keep them coming Joseph!
This is from a Canadian Born Machgharanie!  10 Feb 2002