Ain Dara

For the archaeological site in Syria, see Ain Dara temple.

Ain Dara
Ain Dara Location in Lebanon
Coordinates: 33°47′N 35°43′E
Country	Lebanon
Governorate	Mount Lebanon Governorate
District	Aley District
Elevation	4,265 ft (1,300 m)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	+3 (UTC)

Ain Dara is a village about 30 km from Beirut, in the governorate of Mount Lebanon, in the Aley District. Ain Dara Municipality has an area of 2,586 hectares (25.86 km² - 9.98196 mi²), with a population of approximately 8000 persons (1700 emigrants). It had 3,874 registered voters in 2010.

Ain Dara is located on a southward facing slope overlooking the pine forests of the safa valley at an altitude of 1,300 meters. It is close to Mount Barouk, which is famous for its cedar forest. Its altitude gives it cool summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall.

Some well-known places surrounding Ain Dara are Hammana and Mdeirej to the north, Al Azzounieh and Bmuhrein to the south, Dahr-el-Baydar to the east and Sawfar to the west. Ain Dara is known for the famous Battle of Ain Dara that took place in 1711. It was a historic battle that changed the face of Lebanon at that time.

Ain Dara also contains five churches :

• Saint George (gerges) Maronite Church (The oldest church in the village 1890 AD)
• Saint George (gawergios) Orthodox Church, Father Ghassan Haddad.
• Saint Elie (elias) Orthodox Church
• Aindara Evangelical Baptist Church, Pastor Nabih Toufic Haddad.
• Saint Mary (al saydeh) Maronite Church

Natural and Cultural Attractions are:

• EI-Okeili Historical Square
• Ancient Churches: Mar Gerges - Maronite Church, Mar Gerges Orthodox Church
• Druze Khalwat: Khalwat Zeitouni, Atallah and Yehya Families
• Druze hermitage site: Makam Shaykh Badereddin El Enderi (The first Shaykh Akl of the Druze)
• Qoubat Al-Sitt
• Ancient village of Tayroush
• Natural water sources: Ain Birkeh, Ain Al Tarcha, Ain Majed, Ain Al-A'kiba, Ain Al-Tamatn, HafrAI Tannour, Bahsasa
• Al Dayaa Grotto
• Pine Forest

Some families whose hometown is Ain Dara are:

• Atallah
• Bader
• Bou Faysal
• Faisal
• Haddad
• Haydamous
• Wehbeh
• Yammine
• Yehia
• Zakharia
• Zeitouni

Schools : Ain Dara has 4 schools; 2 public schools and 2 private schools. 213 students are enrolled in the public schools, and 277 in the private schools.

Hospitals : There are no hospitals in Ain Dara.

Indicator of economic dynamism : There are 0 companies with more than 5 employees in Ain Dara. (Source: Localiban)