Libbaya (لبايا) is a village in the
Beka'a Valley
The Beqaa Valley ( ar, links=no, وادي البقاع, ', Lebanese ), also transliterated as Bekaa, Biqâ, and Becaa and known in classical antiquity as Coele-Syria, is a fertile valley in eastern Lebanon. It is Lebanon's most important ...
of
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 ...
, situated in the
Western Beqaa District
Western Beqaa District ( ar, قضاء البقاع الغربي) is an administrative district in the Beqaa Governorate of the Republic of Lebanon. The capital is Joub Jannine which has a population of 12,000.
Main cities and towns
West Beqaa h ...
of the
Beqaa Governorate
Beqaa ( ') is a governorate in Lebanon.
Districts
Since 2014, Beqaa Governorate contains three districts:
* West Beqaa
* Rashaya
* Zahle
A law was passed in 2003 to separate Baalbek District and Hermel District from Beqaa Governorate to form a ...
. It lies southeast of
Sohmor
Sohmor ( ar, سحمر) is a small town in the Beka'a Valley of Lebanon, situated in the Western Beqaa District and south of the Beqaa Governorate. It lies south of Lake Qaraoun on the Litani River. It lies southwest of Machgara, northeast of ...
. There it is a roman temple.
During the war in the 1980s, four Israeli Cobra helicopters backing the attacking force strafed Libbaya and nearby villages, killing a Lebanese soldier.
History
There is a
Roman temple
Ancient Roman temples were among the most important buildings in Roman culture, and some of the richest buildings in Roman architecture, though only a few survive in any sort of complete state. Today they remain "the most obvious symbol of Ro ...
near the town that was called Ain Libbaya or Ayn Libbaya. It was classified amongst a group of
Temples of Mount Hermon
The Temples of Mount Hermon are around thirty Roman shrines and Roman temples that are dispersed around the slopes of Mount Hermon in Lebanon, Israel and Syria. A few temples are built on former buildings of the Phoenician & Hellenistic e ...
by
George Taylor.
[Taylor, 1971, p.?]
In 1838,
Eli Smith
Eli Smith (born September 13, 1801, in Northford, Connecticut, to Eli and Polly (Whitney) Smith, and died January 11, 1857, in Beirut, Lebanon) was an American Protestant missionary and scholar. He graduated from Yale College in 1821 and from Andov ...
noted Libbaya's population as being
Metawileh
Lebanese Shia Muslims ( ar, المسلمون الشيعة اللبنانيين), historically known as ''matāwila'' ( ar, متاولة, plural of ''mutawālin'' ebanese pronounced as ''metouali'' refers to Lebanese people who are adherents ...
.
[Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p]
138
/ref>
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
Localiban
Populated places in Western Beqaa District
Shia Muslim communities in Lebanon
Archaeological sites in Lebanon
Tourist attractions in Lebanon
Ancient Roman temples
Roman sites in Lebanon
{{Lebanon-geo-stub