Riyaq

Rayaq North
Rayaq air strip in Lebanon
Riyaq is located in Lebanon
Riyaq
Shown within Lebanon
Location500 metres (0.31 mi) north of Rayaq, Lebanon
Coordinates33°51′00″N 36°01′01″E / 33.850°N 36.017°E / 33.850; 36.017
TypeSurface site
History
MaterialAlluvial soil
PeriodsShepherd Neolithic
Site notes
Excavation dates1965
ArchaeologistsLorraine Copeland, Frank Skeels
Public accessYes

Rayaq - Haouch Hala (Arabic: رياق), also romanized Rayak, is a Lebanese town in the Beqaa Governorate near the city of Zahlé. In the early 20th century and up to 1975 and the outbreak of the civil war, it was Lebanon's most important railway center, where the 1.05-m Beirut–Damascus line met the standard-gauge line north to Baalbek, Homs, and Aleppo. It now has an air base and a hospital. Rayak Air Base was bombed by the Israeli Air Force during the 2006 Lebanon War. The landing strip was severely damaged as a result.[1]