Geography:
The town of Amchit lies in the heart of Mount Lebanon district, Caza of Jbeil. It rises gradually to 160 m above sea level; it is 38 Kms away from Beirut and 40 Kms away from the center of the district. Its population is actually 27000, as to the voters, they are 3000 in number. Its boundaries touch the limits of the sea; they extend towards the East, reaching gradually the town of Gharfin. Surrounding Amchit from the North and the South are the two rivers of Baachta and Fartouch that flow during the winter season in its valleys. Amchit is located in the Northern side of Jbeil; it is guarded by the Lady of Amchit (Saydet Amchit) which was renovated in 1782. The name of “Amchit” may be composed of AMCHIT, which is the tribe, people, family and relatives of CHIT. Chit is a Hebrew name; it is also the Adam’s third son’s name. It may also be derived from the Syriac language (EMASH= dive and plunge).

Said about amchit:
The French archaeologist, Ernest Renan, mentioned in one of his writings: “we admit, me, my wife and my sister that Amchit was a paradise”. Moreover, many famous figures such as Colonel Churchill and Mary Harry, Bordeaux have visited Amchit, and many others, such as Al Sheikh Ibrahim Al Yazaji and Amin Al Rihani (The Heart of Lebanon), have talked about the overwhelming hospitality and generosity of its people.

Ruins and patrimony:
According to some books and historical references, there are no ruins in Amchit, as to the illustrations and inscriptions, they were all moved to Jbeil.
In the town, there is a grotto called the “Grotto of Saleh” (Magharet Saleh) that overlooks the village of Edde. It ramifies into 6 high and long passages, with 30 meters height each, leading to many natural cells engraved in the rocks.
Amchit is a very old town, inhabited in the past by Jewish people, and in fact there is still an area called as the Jewish Graves (Koubour Al Yahoud) on the ancient sea road.
Some of the most important ancient monuments in Amchit are the Church of Saint Zakhia, which dates back to the sixth century, Lady of Naya (Saydet Naya) which dates back to the Age of the Crusades, the Church of Saint Sophia which is built on the ruins of a Phoenician construction, in addition to many Romanian sarcophaguses near the Church of Saint Georges (Mar Gerges), and the Grave of Henriette, the sister of the French writer Renan. In fact, the house where Renan lived is actually owned by the late deputy Zakhia Toubia Zakhia.

Families:
The principal families in Amchit came from the Northern town Ehden. The first families who settled in Amchit were Kallab, Karam and Obeid.
From the family of Kallab came the following families: Suleiman, Khoury, Wehbe, Zakhia, Abi Antoun, Abi Rizk
From the family of Obeid came: Lahoud, Saab, Badawi, Merheb, Estfan, Nassar, Zakariya, Yazbeck, Khoury, Daoud
Karam remained without any ramifications.

In additions to the principal families, there are other ones:
Issa, Khalifeh, Rouhana, Zghandi, Koussayfi, Matta, Al Aram, Daher, Moussa, Bou Jebrael, Abi Ramia, Khoury, Moawwad, Abi Issa ( some of these were knows as Ahamija, i.e. coming from the town of Ehmej).
Families coming from many other Lebanese villages:
Wakim, Moussa, Mrad, Akel, Gharios, Nacouzi, Sakr, Awwad, Farah, Rechdane, Najem, Zakka, Semaan, Bambino, Nader, Al Helou, Abi Habib, Nassour, Bou Saad, Al Kazzi, Siranoussian, Nassar, Haydar Ahmad, Chamess.

The Grotto of Saleh:
It rises to 130 meters above the sea level, it is located one the right side of the Edde Valley, the way leading to it is bumpy and sloped. You can only walk to it, for 15 minutes. Its entrance rises to 6 meters, and its width is about 4 meters. It includes a beautiful cell bounded by Stalagmites, it is known as the Queen’s Room.
It is said that a man called Saleh got affected by an irremediable disease, so he sheltered in the grotto in 1914, during the World War I. The grotto attracts the area’s dwellers, explorers, researchers and archeologists; in 1947, the first… وكانت اول زيارة
لهؤلاء في العام 1947…………………………
The grotto is historically important, since it was the refuge of Amchit’s and the neighboring towns’ dwellers in periods of hunger during the war. The inner walls are decorated with ancient Latin and Arabic inscriptions. In 1951, a scientific expedition visited the grotto, in order to study the insects, Teleostei and the environmental conditions that led to its formation. 

The Bridge of Jaj:
The bridge was built by the French 70 years ago, in 1931, when Charles Debbas was President of the Republic, and under the request of Gibran Tueni, who was then a minister.

The luxurious buildings:
Amchit is known for the luxurious and beautiful houses which are built by its dwellers, thanks to their hard work. Each house has its own style and architecture, reflecting the taste of its owner. The town’s notables entrusted foreign architects to build the nicest houses, insisting however on preserving the Lebanese style.

Streets names:
The Square (Assaha)
Al Maabour
Saint Maroun (Mar Maroun)
Saint Alichaa (Mar Alichaa)
Kfarsalat
Assiran
Al Tineh
Al Rihani
Al Chaeb
Saint Sophia (Mar Sophia)
Siant Mikhael (Mar Mikhael)
Kfar Kakhle
Saint John (Mar Youhanna)
Al Kateh
Saint Barbara (Al Kadissa Barbara)
Assaydeh
Al Tayouneh
Al Kiram
Al Charweh
Al Branieh
Al Nadi
Al Houkoul
Al Kassiss
Saint Georges (Mar Gerges)
Dhour
Maasser
Al Mafrak
Al Arbeh
Wata Kfarsaleh
Zarouba
Baachta
Troul
Wadi Hosrayel
Wadi Edde
Bnakra
Zemmar

Amchit’s greatest men:

Politics:
• Fares Afandi Karam (elected twice as a member of the board of the directors)
• Assad Bek Lahoud (member of the board of directors)
• Michel Youssef Lahoud (first Lebanese officer تابع سان سير and with many military inventions)
• Anis Francis Al Khoury (deputy and writer of the code of obligations and contracts)
• Zakhia Toubia Zakhia (deputy)
• Doctor Chahid Tanious Al Khoury (deputy and public health physician)
• Roufael wadih Lahoud (deputy)
• Najib Tanios Al Khoury (deputy, and Internal Security Forces Colonel)
• Youssef Al Hakim Karam (Minister of Justice in the Syrian Government)
• General Michel Suleiman ( Present Army Commander)
• Nazem Chahid Al Khoury (former deputy)
• Doctor Walid Al Khoury (deputy)

Public Institutions:
• Nazih Wadih Lahoud (retired ambassador)
• Joseph Fares Yazbeck (consul)
• Bahjat Antoine Lahoud (ambassador)
• Habib Karam Karam (Judge)
• Mikhael Fares Lahoud (Judge)
• Antoine Nouhad Suleiman (Judge, Mouhafez of Bekaa)
• Lahoud Yazbeck Lahoud (Secretary of the General Security)
• Joseph Assad Karam (PhD in political science, director of the Faculty of Law and Political Science at the Lebanese University, legal consultant in the presidential palace, when Elias Hrawi was president)
• Youssef Abdallah Lahoud (director general of MEA)
• Colonel Mansour Fares Lahoud (consultant of the President Bechara Al Khoury).
• General Victor Khoury (former Minister of Defense and Army Commander)
• General Michel Nouhad Suleiman (present Army Commander)

Clergy:
• Patriarch Armia Al Amchiti
• Reverend Boutros Karam
• Reverend bishop Youssef Al Amchiti (former secretary of the Patriarch)
• Reverend Elias Ayyoub Al Kallab (poet and writer)
• Father Louis Khalifeh (spiritual philosopher, founder of Biblia magazine)
• Prelate Antoine Khalifeh (former president of the USEK)
• Father Youhanna Wehbe

Media:
• Salim Whebe (he built Assilimiyeh, the first printing works in the area of Jbeil, he also issued Al Hekmeh newspaper, the editor in chief of which was the writer Maroun Abboud)
• Afifeh Karam (journalist and emigrant writer)
• Paul Yazbeck (journalist and founder of Orient/Orion Press)
• Armand Tannous Wehbe (journalist in foreign magazines)

Literature and poetry:
• Mikhael Lahoud (theatre poet, composer of Amchit’s genealogical tree and of the National School – Al Madrassa Al Wataniyya)
• Writer and poet Emile Jebrael Lahoud
• Lawyer Abdallah Youssef Lahoud
• Writer Lahoud Yazbeck Lahoud
• Writer and linguist Fares Ghatass Suleiman
• Writer Antoine Adib Lahoud
• Poet (Zajal) Adel Kallab
• Poet (Zajal) Riyadh Suleiman
• Poet (Zajal) Alicha Karam