Khaldah ( ar, خلدة) is a coastal town located south of

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. It is famous as a tourist destination in the summer, especially for its various beach resorts. The southern portion of

Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport (Arabic: مطار رفيق الحريري الدولي بيروت, (previously known as Beirut International Airport) () is the only operational commercial airport in Lebanon, which is located in the ...

is located in Khaldah, in addition to a

Lebanese Air Force The Lebanese Air Force (LAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية اللبنانية, Al Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Lubnaniyya) is the aerial warfare branch of the Lebanese Armed Forces. The seal of the air force is a Roundel with two wings and a Lebanese C ...

base. Also, the motorway connecting Beirut and Southern Lebanon passes through Khaldah. The town itself lacks any form of urban planning, and in the past few years, most of the green areas have been replaced by commercial and apartment buildings. Some vegetables and citrus trees can still be seen growing in smaller and dispersed areas. As for industries, there are aluminum and glass factories in this area.

Schools and universities

Besides commerce and industries, Khaldah also houses educational institutions such as one University and two Schools.

History

Archeological excavations, now covered over, evidence that the site has been occupied since at least the beginning of the first millennium BC. A few kilometers south of Khaldah is Khan Khaldah, where a major Roman-Byzantine settlement once existed. Here, two 5th and 6th century AD Christian basilicas were found, one built over the other and both were paved with mosaics. Another important landmark is the Dar Khaldah (or "Khaldah Palace"), which serves as the private residence of

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...

Prince

Talal Arslan Emir Talal Arslan ( ar, الأمير طلال أرسلان) is a Lebanon, Lebanese politician, Political Leader of the Druze sect. He is the chief of the Arslan family, who claim to be descendants of the Lakhmids. Early life Arslan was born in ...

from the leading

Arslan Arslan is a Turkic masculine given name and surname, used mainly in the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, Mongolia, and Western China. It is translated as "lion". The names , Arsalan, Aslan are other variants of the name. People Given ...

family. The highway to Beirut from the South at Khalde was the scene of an intense battle during the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. When the

Israeli army The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branc ...

arrived on 11 June, a coalition of

Amal Amal may refer to: * Amal (given name) * Åmål, a small town in Sweden * Amal Movement, a Lebanese political party ** Amal Militia, Amal Movement's defunct militia * Amal language of Papua New Guinea * Amal (film), ''Amal'' (film), 2007, directed ...

, LCP and PLO fighters, the latter led by Abdullah Siyam, fought a rearguard action which held up their progress towards Beirut for six days. During the civil war Khalde was used as an unregulated seaport run by Amal.Middle East International No 346, 17 March 1989, Publishers Lord Mayhew, Dennis Walters MP;

Jim Muir Jim Muir (born 3 June 1948) is a British journalist, currently serving as a Middle East correspondent for BBC News, based in Beirut, Lebanon. Education Muir is of Scottish heritage, but was born in Farnborough, Hampshire in England in 1948, a ...

pp.6,7

References

External links

* http://lebanon.com/tourism/khalde.htm * http://www.lebbeach.com/index.php?option=com_alphacontent§ion=12&cat=28&Itemid=47 * https://web.archive.org/web/20120226082906/http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/042175 * https://web.archive.org/web/20090314010434/http://www.beirutnationalmuseum.com/e-collection-fer.htm Druze communities in Lebanon Neighbourhoods of Beirut Populated places in Lebanon {{Lebanon-geo-stub

Schools and universities

History

See also

References

External links