Faraya () is a village and municipality in the

Keserwan District Keserwan District (, 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 Maronite Christian. The area ...

of the

Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate Keserwan-Jbeil () 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 Baalbek-Hermel Governorate to ...

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 ...

. It is located 46 kilometers north 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 ...

. 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), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s. Faraya's inhabitants are predominantly

Maronite Christian Lebanese Maronite Christians (; ) refers to Lebanese people who are members of the Maronite Church in Lebanon, the largest Christian body in the country. The Lebanese Maronite population is concentrated mainly in Mount Lebanon and East Beir ...

History

According to the 17th-century historian and Maronite patriarch

Istifan al-Duwayhi Istifan al-Duwayhi or Estephan El Douaihy ( / ALA-LC: ''Isṭifānūs al-thānī Buṭrus al-Duwayhī''; ; ; ; 2 August 1630 – 3 May 1704) was the 57th Patriarch of the Maronite Church, serving from 1670 until his death. He was born in Ehden, L ...

, Faraya was settled by

Shia Muslim Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...

s from

Baalbek Baalbek (; ; ) 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 1998, the city had a population of 82,608. Most of the population consists of S ...

in the 16th century. Ottoman tax records, which did not differentiate between Muslim communities, indicate the village had 44 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 ( ') 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 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's Parliamen ...

(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 ''Middle East International'' was a bimonthly magazine published in London from 1971 until 2005, reaching a total of 761 issues. It was established by Christopher Mayhew and a group of senior British politicians and diplomats. The original publish ...

No 351, 26 May 1989, Publishers Lord Mayhew, Dennis Walters MP;

Jim Muir Jim Muir (born 3 June 1948) is a British journalist, currently serving as a Middle East correspondent for BBC News, based in Beirut, Lebanon. Education Muir is of Scottish heritage, but was born in Farnborough, Hampshire, in England in 1948, a ...

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 (, 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 nightlife, as well as it ...

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

Ajaltoun Ajaltoun () 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 and its total lan ...

Ashqout Ashqout (; also spelled ''Ashkout'', ''Achqout'', ''`Ashqut'') is a town and municipality in the Keserwan District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. It is located 31 kilometers north of Beirut. Ashqout's average elevation is 1,000 meter ...

, Faytroun, Mairouba, and Hrajel and 5 min to mzaar ski resort In 2007, the Chabrouh Dam was inaugurated creating one of the highest

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

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