or Al-Bekaa ancient Coele-Syria
Broad valley of central Lebanon.
Located between the Lebanon and Orontes and Litani rivers, it is an agricultural area. The ruins of the ancient city of Baalbek are located there. The majority of the population is Shīʽite Muslim. The valley was the scene of some factional fighting during the Lebanese Civil War (1975–91), and during that time Israel intermittently fought there against forces of the {{link=Palestine Liberation Organization">Palestine Liberation Organization and the Syrian army. Since the 1980s the valley has been a stronghold of the Shīʽite militant organization, Hezbollah.