Saadnayel ( ar, سعدنايل) is a town in the

Bekaa 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 ...

in the

Zahlé District Zahlé District ( ar, قضاء زحلة, links=no) is an administrative district of the Beqaa Governorate of the Republic of Lebanon. Its capital and largest town is the town of the same name. A reed-roofed town set among the eastern foothills o ...

of Lebanon. It has a population of around 52,500, mostly

Sunnis Sunni Islam () is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia ...

. Saadnayel lies away from Beirut. The town is located strategically near the crossroads between the

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 ...

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

highway and the main road connecting the northern and southern Beqaa.

History

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 Saadnayel's population being

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...

. The town has been the site of sporadic Sunni-Shia violence. Up to 35,000 refugees of the Syrian Civil War have also settled in the town.

References

Bibliography

* {{Zahle District Populated places in Zahlé District Sunni Muslim communities in Lebanon