ABOUT RAS MASKA

The village is located in the Koura district on the hills overlooking the Mediterranean to the south of Tripoli.
It is divided into the northern and southern regions.

Northern Ras Maska, nearest to Tripoli, is the lowest part of the village, located at 60 meters above sea level. It witnessed an important economic development due to its excellent location that hosts many coastal beach resorts.

Southern Ras Maska is the highest part of the village, located at 200 meters above sea level. Southern Ras Maska is known for its olive cultivation.

MUNICIPALITY

Ras Maska Mayor

Mr. Simon Nakhoul

Municipal Council

Eng. Moustapha El-Hajj Youssef

Eng. Adel Abdo

Dr. Ghassan Antoun

Mr. Michael Fahed

Mr. Hassan Sharrouf

Mr. Michel Ghajar

Mr. Jalil Bou Shahine

Mr. Alec Dib

HISTORY OF RAS MASKA

Etymology

The name of the village is probably derived from the Aramaic language, Ras meaning top
and maska meaning drinking stream.” The equivalent meaning could be the top of the stream. Many believe that Ras Maska’s name is also derived from the Syriac word meaning the ascension and progress.”

The town maintains an old 3 km long tunnel called Al-Naqra, which is believed to have been constructed to irrigate the gardens of Tripoli. What appear to be tombs have been found in the area of Al-Khirbeh, and according to local legend the town’s land is filled with buried gold jars.

Population

Ras Maska first appears in the Ottoman census of 1519. It belonged to the Nahiyat Koura / Anfeh and was inhabited by 14 male adults. If we adopt the estimation of the Historians, the number of inhabitants of Ras Maska in 1519 would have been 70 persons.

In the Ottoman census of 1571, the number of male adults was 26. The population of Ras Maska practically doubled over the period, growing on average by 12 mil per year.

Currently, the population of Ras Maska is believed to be nearly 20,000 inhabitants.