The Khalwat al-Bayada (, 'White Khalwat';Khalwat is the name of the prayer-houses of the Druze. also romanized Khalwet el Biyad, Khalwat al-Biyyada) is the central sanctuary, and theological school of the Druze, located in Lebanon and founded in the 19th century by Sheikh Hamad el-Qais. Located near Hasbaya, the khalwat is the location where Ad-Darazi is supposed to have settled and taught from during the first Druze call.
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. In 1838, copies of the Epistles of Wisdom were taken from the site by invading Egyptians.
See also Cemevi Jama'at Khana Majlis
References
External links Laurence Oliphant. The land of Gilead, with excursions in the Lebanon Photographs of Khalwat al-Bayada and the circular bench on www.panoramio.com Khalwat al-Bayada on www.discoverlebanon.com