Bikfaya
|
Bikfaya بكفيا |
|
|---|---|
| Town | |
 Bikfaya
|
|
| Coordinates: 33°55′N 35°41′E / 33.917°N 35.683°ECoordinates: 33°55′N 35°41′E / 33.917°N 35.683°E | |
| Country |
 Lebanon
|
| Governorate | Mount Lebanon Governorate |
| District | Matn District |
| Highest elevation | 1,000 m (3,000 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 900 m (3,000 ft) |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
| Dialing code | +961 |
Bikfaya (Arabic: بكفيا, also spelled Bickfaya, Beckfayya, or Bekfaya) is a town in the Matn District region of Mount Lebanon. Its stone houses with red-tiled roofs resting amidst pine and oak forests make Bikfaya one of the most sought-after suburbs of Beirut and one of Lebanon's most popular summer resorts.
La Fête des Fleurs à Beckfayya or the Festival of Flowers has attracted tourists since 1934 when Maurice Gemayel started the festival to attract attention to the mountainous town. Each year, a variety of vehicles decorated with thousands of colorful flowers and fruits parade through Bikfaya's tree-lined main street. Live music bands, bazaars, and the election of three beauty queens: the Queen of Flowers, the Queen of Fruits and the Queen of Sports, are held in the public squares and gardens.
Bikfaya is home to 20,000 Lebanese who are followers of the Maronite Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Baptist and other Christian churches. Bikfaya is also the summer seat of the Armenian Catholicos of Cilicia.
The name Bikfaya is contraction of the Aramaic (Syriac) compound phrase "Beit Kiifa", בית קיפיא, with "Kifayya" being the relative adjective of the word "rock" or "stone" in Aramaic. And so, Bikfaya would mean the "house of stone" or "the rocky/stony house" with the semantic connotation of "the place, location of stones, or stone quarry."
Bikfaya is nestled in the mountains overlooking the Mediterranean with an elevation ranging from 900 to 1000 meters above sea level. It lies 25 km from Beirut and only a short drive to the Mzaar-Kfardebian ski resort. Summers in Bikfaya are cool and characterized by periods of fog in the afternoon.
The Greater Bikfaya consists of the towns of Bikfaya بكفيا, Mhaydseh المحيدثة, Sakiyat al Mesek ساقية المسك, Bhersaf بحرصاف and Al Aayroun العيرون.
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Wikipedia