Anti-Lebanon

Anti-Lebanon or Anti-Liban (Greek Antilibanus; Arabic Jabal ash Sharqi, “Eastern Mountain”), mountain range located in southwestern Syria and eastern Lebanon, 145 km (90 mi) long. The crest of the range forms much of the border between the two countries. The range extends from the plain around the Syrian city of Ḩimş in the north to Mount Hermon in the south. The Anti-Lebanon is separated from the Lebanon Mountains to the west by a fertile valley, the ancient Coele-Syria (now Bekáa Valley, or Bekaa Valley), which lies in both Lebanon and Syria. Some geographers refer to the two ranges together as the Lebanons. The Anti-Lebanon has few trees and its northern section is barren and rocky. The highest peaks are Mount Hermon (2,814 m/9,232 ft), which is the source of the Jordan River, and Tal at Musa (2,669 m/8,755 ft). East of the Anti-Lebanon range is the site of the Old Testament city of Ḩelbūn.