Rashaya راشيا Rashaya al-Wadi, Rachaya el-Wadi, Rachaiya | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Rashaya as seen from the citadel | |
  Rashaya Location in Lebanon | |
| Coordinates:33°30′05″N35°50′40″E / 33.50139°N 35.84444°E /33.50139; 35.84444 | |
| Country |  Lebanon |
| Governorate | Bekaa Governorate |
| District | Rashaya District |
| Elevation | 4,430 ft (1,350 m) |
| Population (2007) | |
• Total | 8,500[1] |
Rashaya,Rachaya,Rashaiya,Rashayya orRachaiya (Arabic:راشيا), also known asRashaya al-Wadi orRachaya el-Wadi (and variations), is a town of theRashaya District in thewest of theBeqaa Government ofLebanon.[2] It is situated at around 1,200 metres (3,900 ft)above sea level on the western slopes ofMount Hermon, south east ofBeirut near theSyrian border, and approximately halfway betweenJezzine andDamascus.[3][4]
Rachaya is known for theRashaya Citadel whereBshara El Khoury was jailed in 1943. It's the symbol of independence.[5]
Rashaya has a population of around 6,000 to 7,500 that are mostlyDruze.[1] It is still considered to be a traditionalLebanese town with its old cobbled streets and small shops, even though it witnessed in recent years a slight expansion of buildings. It retains a distinguished character of traditional stone houses with red tiled roofs.[1]
The smallsouk in the middle of the town offers various shops selling local crafts and inexpensive goods. There is a recently renovatedgoldsmiths selling an assortment ofgold andsilver jewelry inByzantine and other styles.[6]
The nearbyFaqaa forest is classified as a protected area andPine nuts from the localconifer trees are used in traditional cooking.[1][7]
The Al-Aryan family was a prominent part of the Druze community in Rashaya in the 19th century and a branch, now called the Aryain family still inhabit the town.[8] Rashaya has fourchurches and a dozen of Druzekhalwaat. There is aGreek Catholic Church and aSyriac Catholic Church along with theSaint NicholasGreek Orthodox Church.
There have been findings ofPaleolithic andHeavy NeolithicStone Age tools near the town ofQaraoun along withTrihedral Neolithic material recovered nearby atJoub Jannine, both in the Western Bekaa province.[9] The remains of aRomantemple can be seen on the left side of the road leading from Rashaya to the village ofAaiha, one of severalTemples of Mount Hermon.[10]Neolithicflints were also found in the hills 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) north of the town.[11] There is also a significantNeolithic site nearby at Kawkaba where fragments of agricultural tools such as basalthoes have been found with very faded dating suggesting the 6th millennium or earlier.[12][13][14]
TheRashaya Citadel, also known as the Citadel of Independence, has been declared a national monument,[15] having been first built as apalace by theShihab family in the 18th century.[16] It is now stationed by theLebanese Armed Forces and can be visited and seen under the army's surveillance.[17]
In June 1860, the town was the scene of a massacre, where two hundred and sixty fiveChristians were killed by Druze forces, some within the citadel.[18][19] Around one thousand victims were killed in the areas ofHasbaya and Rashaya between 10 and 13 June.[20]
In November and December 1925, the town was engulfed and nearly obliterated by one of the largest battles of theGreat Druze Revolt, when four hundred and twenty nineChristian homes were either damaged or destroyed. Three thousandDruze underZayd Beg besieged the citadel of Frenchlegionnaires under a Captain Granger between 20 and 24 November.[21] The Druze eventually suffered their first major defeat toFrench reinforcements, with heavy casualties marking a turning point in the Druze invasion of southern Lebanon.[16]
Under theFrench Mandate and on 11 November 1943, Rashaya witnessed the arrest and the imprisonment of the Lebanese national leaders in its citadel by theFree French troops (Bechara El Khoury (the first post-independencePresident ofLebanon),Riad El-Solh (thePrime Minister),Pierre Gemayel,Camille Chamoun,Adel Osseiran). This led to a national and international pressure in demand for their release, and eventually obligingFrance to obey. On November 22, 1943, the prisoners were released, and that day was declared theLebanese Independence Day.
Rashaya is situated on akarst topography of grey or creamy-white,jurassiclimestone with a thickness of up to 1 kilometre (0.62 mi).[7] TheRashaya Fault has been defined as a left-lateral strike-slip fault that cuts intoMount Hermon and is an extension of the Banias Fault. It suggested to be pre-Pliocene and may be active. The danger of earthquakes is not high and there have been none on record.[22] It runs a few kilometers east of theHasbaya Fault, which in turn runs parallel to theJordan valley.[23] The Rashaya Fault may have experienced up to 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) ofQuaternary horizontal movement and small breaches on the associated strands from it have developed small basins.[24] The danger of earthquakes is not high and there have been none recorded from the fault.[7]
Rashaya receives between 650 millimetres (26 in) and 750 millimetres (30 in) ofrainfall each year with around two fifths of this amount falling between November and March. It has an average annualtemperature of 15 °C (59 °F), varying between 35 °C (95 °F) in thesummer season down to −5 °C (23 °F) inwinter. The dominant wind direction is east to west from which the town is somewhat sheltered by the mountains.[7]
Theeconomy of the town is primarily based onagriculture, the services and tourism industries. The town has twoolive oil presses and threegrapemolasses factories. Rashaya was designated one of ninepoverty areas within Lebanon in a survey of 2002. TheWorld Bank andU.S. Aid has financed development projects in the area with the assistance of theYMCA and otherNGOs. Projects have included a $500,000waste water treatment plant and redecoration of the town'sguesthouse in 2007.[7][25]
Commonly grown crops includecherries,olives,apricots andgrapes. Some wildcucumbers are also grown, howevervegetables are less frequently grown due to low rainfall.Animal husbandry is also practiced, mainly withgoats, of which theLabneh variety is a popular staple food for locals. Tree species such asoak, wildpistachio andsumac grow in the area. A variety ofjackals andfoxes,snakes,lizards androdents live in the area along with various species ofmigratory birds.[7]
In 2014Druze made up 58.84% andChristians made up 40.12% of registered voters in Rashaya. 30.69% of the voters wereGreek Orthodox.[26]
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Capital:Rashaya | ||
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