Bakka بكّا Beka, Bekka | |
|---|---|
Village | |
![]() Interactive map of Bakka | |
| Country | |
| Governorate | Beqaa Governorate |
| District | Rashaya District |
| Area | |
• Total | 2.36 sq mi (6.12 km2) |
| Elevation | 4,860 ft (1,480 m) |
| Alternative name | Akbeh, Aqbe, Akbe, Aqbeh |
|---|---|
| Location | 85 kilometres (53 mi) east ofBeirut |
| Region | Rashaya |
| Coordinates | 33°35′36″N35°55′28″E / 33.593334°N 35.924442°E /33.593334; 35.924442 |
| History | |
| Cultures | Roman |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Ruins |
| Public access | Yes |
Bakka,Bekka orBeka (Arabic:بكّا) is avillage andmunicipality situated 85 kilometres (53 mi) east ofBeirut in theRashaya District of theBeqaa Governorate inLebanon.[1][2] The population of the village isSunni.[3]
TheWadi Bakka orWadi Bekka runs alongside the village. Thewadi was the scene of theBattle of Wadi Bakka where aDruze uprising was put down byIbrahim Pasha of Egypt during the1838 Druze revolt.[4]
There are the ruins of aRoman temple in the village that are included in a group ofTemples of Mount Hermon.[5] George Taylor classified it as aprostylos temple and noted that the north and south walls remained standing and the podium floor had survived. The site has been heavily damaged by local construction of houses over the site. The temple featured an undergroundcrypt that was accessible via one of the houses that had been built over it.[6]
George Taylor divided up theTemples of Lebanon into three groups, one group ofTemples of the Beqaa Valley lies north of the road fromBeirut toDamascus. Second, there is the group in the area south of the same road, including theWadi al-Taym and the western flank of Mount Hermon. Third, the group in the area west of a line drawn along the ridge of Mount Lebanon. There are relatively few temples along Lebanon's coastal plain. The Temples of Mount Hermon in Taylor's second group included Bakka andAin Harcha,Aaiha,Deir El Aachayer,Dekweh,Yanta,Hebbariye,Ain Libbaya,Nebi Safa,Aaqbe,Khirbet El-Knese,Mejdal Anjar,Mdoukha.[citation needed]
Edward Robinson suggested that wordbakka could have derived from the laterArabic meaning ofcrowd. Others have linked it to theHebrew wordbikha meaningplain.[7]