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 ...

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

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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