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Panoramic Views > Mount Lebanon > Baabda > Araya

Araya, the bare, arid lands

The name Araya is Phoenician in origin and means great cold, frost. As Araya is not a region of extreme cold, the name would seem rather to indicate bareness and aridity. The village of Araya stands about eight miles east of Beirut. If one goes along the main Beirut-Damascus highway, to reach it one should turn left just before the important summer resort of Aley. Facing Mount Sannine, Arays is between six and fifteen hundred feet above sea level, in a mountainous region where olive trees, almond trees and vines flourish.

The village is entirely Christian and was burnt down during the tragic inter-communal violence of 1860. It has a number of luxurious and functional residential buildings surrounded by greenery. The infrastructure is thoroughly modern, because of the proximity to Aley, a major center full of life and activity, with notable festivals, and therefore much sought-after by tourists. The inhabitants of Araya include farmers, technicians, craftsmen, business employees, doctors, engineers and officials in close proximity to each other, working in their various sectors for the development of their village. Many young people have gone abroad, especially to Arab countries, drawn by the possibilities of well-paid work.

Araya has been twinned with the town of Chelet in France, represented by its mayor, the parliamentary deputy of Manine and Loire. There are frequent exchanges between the two municipalities.

What draws our attention at Araya and the nearby villages such as “Shouit” is the railway line laid down between 1891 and 1893. It is narrow-gauge and the only line crossing the heights, winding over the slopes and passing through several small tunnels. One tunnel at Araya itself is a hundred yards long and is used to attract tourists, who can take their cars through. There is lighting that is operated electronically with synchronized passage lights on both sides. This gives Araya a unique charm to draw tourists and also the taste of a heritage that awakes nostalgia.

The narrow-gauge track stretches from Beirut to the Beqaa valley and to Syria, while another line touching Beirut, of standard gauge, runs from Istanbul in Turkey along the Lebanese coast towards Cairo in Egypt. A train which could climb the heights oof Mount Lebanon supposed considerable science and technology and had to advance slowly. When the line was inaugurated on 3rd August, 1895, people came from villages all around to welcome the first arrivals.

If one follows the route to Aley, Zahleh and on to Damascus, one may see the little tunnel which has been so well preserved and also visit the snall station which once assured the transport of passengers and merchandise.

Joseph Matar - Translation from the French: Kenneth Mortimer

- Araya railway - road: >> View Movie << (2018-01-07)
 

 


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