As one leaves Ammiq, a nature reserve rich in fauna and flora, and turns southwards in this valley plain between two mountain chains, where lush vines cover the warm red soil, one’s eye is drawn along a far perspective under a luminous sky that beckons the soul to prayer. This is Ana, a corner full of sacred associations, like so many other places in Lebanon. The name comes from a Syriac word meaning The Sheep; here there are no historic remains but nevertheless Ana is part of the historical heritage of Lebanon and of mankind.
It is situated in the Southern Beqaa, 58 Km from Beirut, at an altitude of 970 metres, and covers 1,500 hectares. Some cereals are grown but vines and fruit trees predominate. The inhabitants, who are Christians, number 2,000. The nationalist leader Raymond Edde, son of a former President of the Republic, used to own all the land but offered plots to the people on which to build their houses, as well as building a school and a church.
Of the two churches in the village, one is dedicated to St. Elias (Elijah) and the other to Our Lady. The prophet Elias, still very much alive in the minds of believers, and Our Lady are everywhere present throughout the mountains of Lebanon, where their sanctuaries abound.
The village is watered by a spring known as Shamsyne, the Two Suns. In all, this is a corner of Lebanon that one must visit if only to taste its good wine and its luscious fruit.
