Khalwat al-Bayada

Part of a series on Druze

Beliefs Al-Muwahhidun-Ahl at-Tawhid Reincarnation Theophany Esotericism Divine Call Seven Druze pillars Taqiya Walayah
Important figures Shu'ayb Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah Hamza ibn Ali Al-Darazi Baha al-Din al-Muqtana Al-Tanukhi
Texts Epistles of Wisdom (Rasa'il al-Hikma)
Holy places Mount Druze Shrine of Shu'ayb Khalwat
Holy days Eid al-Adha Ziyara
History Tanukh (Buhtur) dynasty Ma'n dynasty 1585 Ottoman expedition against the Druze Druze Power Struggle (1658–1667) Battle of Ain Dara 1838 Druze Revolt 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus Hauran Druze Rebellion Jabal Druze State Jaysh al-Muwahhidin Qalb Loze massacre
Druze communities Syrian Druze Lebanese Druze Israeli Druze Jordanian Druze
Related topics Persecution of Druze List of Druze Religious symbols Christianity and Druze
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Khalwat al-Bayada (Arabic: خلوات البيضاء, romanized: Khalwat al-Bayaḍāʾ) is the central sanctuary and theological school of the Druze, located in Lebanon and founded in the 19th century by Shaykh Hamad Kais.^[1]^[2]^[3] Located near Hasbaya, the khalwat is the location where al-Darazi is supposed to have settled and taught from during the first Druze call.^[4]^[5]

It features a large, circular, stone bench next to an ancient oak tree known as Areopagus of the Elders that is secluded amongst nature and trees. The Kalwaat provides around forty hermitages for Al-ʻuqqāl (the initiated) at various times of the year.^[6] In 1838, copies of the Epistles of Wisdom were taken from the site by invading Egyptians.^[3] Visitors are politely requested to seek permission from the resident sheikh before entering the site and female visitors are requested to cover their heads as a courtesy.

References

^ Mordechai Nisan (2002). Minorities in the Middle East: A History of Struggle and Self-Expression. McFarland. pp. 98–. ISBN 978-0-7864-1375-1. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
^ Nissîm Dānā (2003). The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status. Sussex Academic Press. pp. 38–. ISBN 978-1-903900-36-9. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
^ ^a ^b Laurence Oliphant (28 May 2010). The Land of Gilead - With Excursions in the Lebanon. Read Books Design. ISBN 978-1-4460-0407-4. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
^ Karl Baedeker (Firm); Albert Socin; Immanuel Benzinger; John Punnett Peters (1912). Palestine and Syria, with routes through Mesopotamia and Babylonia and the island of Cyprus: handbook for travellers. K. Baedeker. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
^ Khalwat is the name of the prayer-houses of the Druze.
^ Robert Boulanger (1966). The Middle East, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Iran. Hachette. Retrieved 11 September 2012.