Khalwat al-Bayada

The Khalwat al-Bayada' ('White Khalwat'; 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 El Sheikh Hamad Kais. 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. 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.