Niha Bekaa

Niha نيحا
The Lower Great Roman temple in Niha, Bekaa
Coordinates: 33°53′41″N 35°57′49″E / 33.89472°N 35.96361°E / 33.89472; 35.96361Coordinates: 33°53′41″N 35°57′49″E / 33.89472°N 35.96361°E / 33.89472; 35.96361
Country	Lebanon
Governorate	Beqaa Governorate
District	Zahle District
Area
• Total	3.7 sq mi (9.7 km2)
Elevation	3,600 ft (1,100 m)
Population (2008)
• Total	3,400 (est.)

Niha (Arabic: نيحا‎‎ [ˈniħa]) is a village in the Bekaa Valley about 8 km (5.0 mi) North of Zahlé. It is famous for its Roman archeological ruins, and in particular two lower Roman temples that date back to the 1st century AD.

The name Niha is used by four Lebanese towns or villages: Niha, Zahlé in the Bekaa; Niha, Batroun; Niha, Tyre and Niha, Chouf. The word neeha is Syriac and denotes to the place the character of calm, peaceful

The village is located about 65 km East of the Lebanese capital Beirut off the main road that leads to Baalbeck. It is 8 km North of Zahlé and nearly 2 km North-East of the town of Ablah. The village sits in a small canyon at an average altitude of 1,100 m (3,600 ft). It is surrounded by fast rising hills with vertical drops of 150 m (500 ft). The canyon narrows and rises to the back country of Niha also known as the "Hosn" (in Arabic, hosn means fortress) at an approximate elevation of 1,350 m (4,400 ft). The mountains continue to rise over some ten kilometers to reach the top of Mount Sannine at 2,628 m (8,622 ft).

Niha is bordered to the West by the high rising mountains of Mount Lebanon and the peak of Mount Sannine, to the North by the village of Tamnine, to the South by the villages of Nabi Ayla (Arabic: نبي أيلا) and Forzol (Arabic: ألفرزل), and to the East by Ablah and the fertile plains of the Bekaa. Niha's climate is arid and temperate. Temperatures average 27 C (80 F) in the dry summer season, with occasional heat waves that can reach 40 C (105 F). Winters are cool and tend to be wet. Annual rain fall is approximately 500 mm (20 in) and snow fall can reach 1 m (3 ft). Winter temperatures average 5 C (40 F) but occasionally dip to -10 C (15 F).