Faraya ( ar, فاريا) is a village and municipality in the

Keserwan District Keserwan District ( ar, قضاء كسروان, transliteration: ''Qaḍā' Kisrawān'') is a district ('' qadaa'') in Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, Lebanon, to the northeast of Lebanon's capital Beirut. The capital, Jounieh, is overwhelmingly Maro ...

of the

Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate Keserwan-Jbeil ( ar, كسروان - جبيل) is the most recently created governorate of Lebanon. It consists of the districts of Jbeil and Keserwan. Keserwan-Jbeil covers an area of and is bounded by the North Governorate to the north, the B ...

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 lie ...

. It is located 46 kilometers north 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 ...

. Elevation start from 1290 meters to 2000 meters above sea level and its total land area is 870

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre i ...

s. Faraya's inhabitants are predominantly Maronite Christians.

History

According to the 17th-century historian and Maronite patriarch

Istifan al-Duwayhi Estephan El Douaihy ( ar, اسطفانوس الثاني بطرس الدويهي / ALA-LC: ''Isṭifānūs al-thānī Buṭrus al-Duwayhī''; french: Étienne Douaihi; la, Stephanus Dovaihi; it, Stefano El Douaihy; August 2, 1630 – May 3, 1704) ...

, Faitroun was settled by Shia Muslims from

Baalbek Baalbek (; ar, بَعْلَبَكّ, Baʿlabakk, Syriac-Aramaic: ܒܥܠܒܟ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In Greek and Roman ...

in the 16th century. Ottoman tax records, which did not differentiate between Muslim communities, indicate the village had 45 Muslim and 17 Christian households and one imam in 1523, 29 Muslim and 9 Christian households in 1530, and 43 Muslim and 16 Christian households in 1543. During the civil war Faraya was a

Lebanese Forces The Lebanese Forces ( ar, القوات اللبنانية '')'' is a Lebanon, Lebanese Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-based political party and Lebanese Forces (militia), former militia during the Lebanese Civil War. It currently holds 19 o ...

(LF) stronghold. In 1989 it was reported that the LF had a secret base in Wadi Chabrouh, north of Faraya, where they held a number of Frog missiles.Middle East International No 351, 26 May 1989, Publishers Lord Mayhew, Dennis Walters MP; Jim Muir pp.11,12 In 2017, Lebanon's largest statue of Saint Charbel was inaugurated making it one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in Lebanon.

Geography

The name "Faraya" stands for "The land of fruits and vegetables" in Phoenician due to its soil fertility. Faraya is located in the Keserwan District in Lebanon, 42 km away from Beirut, and 20 km away from

Jounieh Jounieh ( ar, جونيه, or ''Juniya'', ) is a coastal city in Keserwan District, about north of Beirut, Lebanon. Since 2017, it has been the capital of Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate. Jounieh is known for its seaside resorts and bustling nightli ...

, Faraya has an altitude ranging from 1200 m to 2000 m. The road to Faraya from the coastal highway passes through

Ajaltoun Ajaltoun ( ar, عجلتون) is a town and municipality in the Keserwan District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate in Lebanon. It is located 24 km (15 miles) north of Beirut. Ajaltoun's average elevation is 850 meters (2800') above sea level ...

, Ashqout, Faytroun, Mairouba, and Hrajel and 5 min to mzaar ski resort In 2007, the

Chabrouh Dam The Faraya-Chabrouh Dam is a dam above the village of Faraya Lebanon, 40 kilometers northeast of Beirut that was inaugurated in 2007. The dam has a height of 63 metres. The reservoir has a capacity of some 8 million cubic meters and is some 1300 ...

was inaugurated creating one of the highest

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contr ...

s in the Middle-east region, but as a result, flooded more than three quarter of the orchards.

Climate

In winter, Faraya has a cold climate with snow accumulations that can reach more than and temperature drops to or lower in winter. In summer temperatures can reach over in

References

Bibliography

* {{Keserwan District Populated places in Keserwan District Maronite Christian communities in Lebanon