Ain Aata, Ain Ata, 'Ain 'Ata or Ayn Aata is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

situated southwest of

Rashaya Rashaya, Rachaya, Rashaiya, Rashayya or Rachaiya (), also known as Rashaya al-Wadi or Rachaya el-Wadi (and variations), is a town of the Rashaya District in the west of the Beqaa Government of Lebanon. It is situated at around above sea level ...

, south-east of

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, in the

Rashaya District Rashaya District () is an administrative district in the Beqaa Governorate of the Republic of Lebanon. Most of Rachaya's population are Druze with a Sunni and Shia and Christian minority. Many people of Rachaya have left for larger cities in Leb ...

of the

Beqaa Governorate Beqaa ( ') is a governorate in Lebanon and one of the eight districts of the country. It is located in the eastern part of Lebanon and borders with Syria. The capital of the district is the city of Zahlé. Districts Since 2014, Beqaa Governorate ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

.Kitto, 2003, p
344
�� The name is thought to mean 'gift spring'.Royal Geographical Society (Great Britain), 1837, p
98
�� There is a remarkably cold

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...

in the area.Harvey, 1861, p
145
ff

History

In 1838,

Eli Smith Eli Smith (September 13, 1801 – January 11, 1857) was an American Protestant missionary and scholar. Biography Smith was born in Northford, Connecticut, to Eli and Polly (née Whitney) Smith. He graduated from Yale College in 1821 and from A ...

noted Ain 'Ata's'' population as being

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

and "Greek" Christians. By 2014, Druze residents made up 88.52% of the 1,795 registered voters, with almost all the remainder being

Greek Orthodox Christians Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Roma ...

Roman temple

Recent

epigraphic Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

surveys have confirmed the ruins of a

Roman temple Ancient Roman temples were among the most important buildings in culture of ancient Rome, Roman culture, and some of the richest buildings in Architecture of ancient Rome, Roman architecture, though only a few survive in any sort of complete ...

and cult site in the village that are included in the group of

Temples of Mount Hermon The Temples of Mount Hermon are around thirty Roman shrines and 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 era, ...

.Kaizer, 2012, p
76
ffMouterde, 1951–1952, pp. 19–89Robinson and Smith, 1857, p
438
ffStanley, 1871, p
408
ff

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * *

External links

Ain Aata on Localiban'Ain 'Ata on geographic.org
* ttp://www.discoverlebanon.com/en/panoramic_views/roman-temples-lebanon.php Roman Temples on discoverlebanon.combr>Ain Ata on wikimapiaAin Ata on geody.com
{{Authority control Populated places in Rashaya District Archaeological sites in Lebanon Ancient Roman temples Roman sites in Lebanon Tourist attractions in Lebanon Druze communities in Lebanon Eastern Orthodox Christian communities in Lebanon

History

Roman temple

See also

References

Bibliography

External links