Where is my connection with Beino?

I am Asaad Khoury ( I spell my name Assad not Asaad) a 46
year old male born in Alexandria Egypt in January of 1959. My parents met in
Alexandria Egypt in 1955 where they both were born and lived. My mother is
100% Greek parents whose parents had emigrated from Greece to Alexandria
during the Ottoman Empire. My father was Lebanese, whose parents had
immigrated from Beino to Alexandria during the Ottoman Empire. Both my
parents were born in Alexandria in 1927. In 1957 my parents moved to Beirut
and married in Beirut and established a home in the Sanayiee neighborhood of
West Beirut. My mother traveled to Alexandria to give birth (me) by her
parents and returned with me as an infant 40 days later/ I lived with my
family (1962 my sister Anastasia Khoury now married Christianson) i West
Beirut until 1967 and following the 7 day war in June of 1967 we moved to
East Beirut, in Ashrafieh/Fassouh neighborhood, by the Jeitaoui Hospital.
About 1968-1969 my father transferred our (Family SIJIL) from Beino AKKAR to
El Remeil in Beirut and since my (IKHRAJ EL KEID) belongs in El
Remeil/Beirut rather than in Beino. In 1978 during the heat of the civil
War I left Beirut and traveled to New York City and hence to New Jersey,
where I have been residing since.

Where is my connection with Beino: My Paternal grand
father is Asaad Zaioud El Khoury, whose father Zaioud El Khoury immigrated
during the late 1800's from Beino Akkar to Alexandria Egypt. My father
Mikhael Nicolas El Khoury. I am registered in Lebanon as Asaad Mikhael
Nicolas El Khoury, which I chose to simplify to Assad M. Khoury. Zaioud El
Khoury had other off springs, one of which I know is Rhoda Zaioud El
Khoury, who married Touffic Shamoun. These Shamouns are from Akkar also, who
in the 1800's immigrated to Basra Iraq who somehow happened to migrate to
Alexandria and then immigrated to NY in 1913. She had 5 children Touffic,
George, Michel, Virginia and William my father's first cousins, all Brooklyn
NY citizens, the only current survivors left are Virginia Shamoun married
Debbas age 87 and William Shamoun age 92.

As of 1972, I know my father had a first cousin from the
Khoury side, his name was Touffic Khoury, he was a chef who worked in the
hotels in West Beirut and following the 1974 civil war departed to Beino and
we never kept in touch. I have been to Beino three times in my life. Once in
1967, once in 1972, both times to visit my father's cousin Touffic Khoury
and his family and once in July of 2000 on the day of National Elections. In
July of 2000 I returned to Lebanon for the first time since I left in
October of 1978 and visited for a period of 10 days. During that time they
were holding National elections and I was invited by a family of friends
from Akkar to go to Beino. They prepared papers for me and we voted at the
time, and we were served a lavish luncheon in a paradise like taverna on
top of a mountain and returned to Beirut. My father passed away 23 years ago
at the age of 55 .

I am looking forward to getting the full story and to
completing a longtime dream of reuniting with my roots of Beino. See
everyone I know has some root and home in their villages. I have none. If I
was to go to Lebanon today I would stay in a hotel like I did in 2000

Written By: tbitar
Date Posted: 12/4/2005
Number of Views: 499