Riyaq
Location | 500 metres (0.31 mi) north of Rayaq, Lebanon |
---|---|
Coordinates | 33°51′00″N 36°01′01″E / 33.850°N 36.017°E |
Type | Surface site |
History | |
Material | Alluvial soil |
Periods | Shepherd Neolithic |
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | 1965 |
Archaeologists | Lorraine Copeland, Frank Skeels |
Public access | Yes |
Rayaq - Haouch Hala (
Archaeology
Rayaq North is a
History
In 1838, Eli Smith noted both Reyak and Haush Hala as Christian villages in the Baalbek area.[3]
Prior to 1914 there was a broad-gauge railway from Aleppo through Hama and Homs which reached the Beirut to Damascus narrow-gauge line at Riyaq. Both railways were built and owned by French companies.[4]
During the First World War, the military airport was built by German troops. In 1918, the British army bombed the railway station and destroyed it.
On August 7, 1933, two French aviators (Maurice Rossi and Paul Codos), aboard a Blériot 110, broke the world record for straight-line distance. They landed in Rayak after covering a distance of 9,104 km without stopping, in 55 hours, from New York.
During the
The first Free French fighter squadron (Alsace Fighter Group) was created there on September 15, 1941.
In September 1942,
On October 10, 1943, the 3/3 Ardennes Fighter Squadron was born there. And the Lebanese Air Force was created on June 1, 1949.
A French
The Lebanese Civil War from 1975 to 1990 interrupted all railway traffic. In 2002, an attempt to restore the Rayak-Damascus link failed.
Notable People
- Charles Elachi, director of the American Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 2001 to 2016, was born in this city.
- Romain Gary, a French novelist, served as an aviator there in 1942.
- Elie Maakaroun, a writer and poet, was born there in 1945.
- Lydda (near Haifa).
- Jean Makaron, Lebanese diplomat and Ambassador was born in this city.
References
- ^ Lebanon Rapid Environmental Assessment for Greening Recovery, Reconstruction And Reform, United Nations Development Programme report, 2006.
- ^ L. Copeland; P. Wescombe (1966). Inventory of Stone-Age Sites in Lebanon: North, South and East-Central Lebanon, p. 51 & 52. Impr. Catholique. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
- ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. 145
- ISBN 978-0-86356-160-3p.264 n.27
Bibliography
External links
- Rayaq - Haouch Hala, Lebanon Tourist Guide
- Riyaq - Haouch Hala, Localiban
- Rayak on geographic.org
- Old Rolling stock in Riyak yards
33°51′04″N 35°59′17″E / 33.851°N 35.988°E