Bayda[a] or Elbeida[b] (Arabic: البيضاء, romanized: al-Bayḍāʾ, pronounced [al.bajˈdˤaːʔ] ⓘ), known as Beda Littoria[4] under Italian colonial rule, is a commercial and industrial city in northern Cyrenaica, eastern Libya.

[9][10][11][12] One of the greatest attractions in the city is the tomb of a famous companion (sahabah) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Ruwaifi bin Thabit al-Ansari.

After the arrival of Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi in the area in the 19th century, and the construction of a white-painted zāwiyah (located on top of a high hill and clearly visible from a distance), the city was renamed az-Zāwiyat al-Bayḍāʾ (الزاوية البيضاء, "the White Monastery").

[9][13] The zāwiyah still exists, but it is in a neglected state and sits near Omar Al-Mukhtar University at the western entrance to the city.

[14] During the First Libyan Civil War, the city was the first to fall to anti-Gaddafi forces, on 17 February 2011, after the Battle of Bayda.

The region has many native plants closely related to those found in similar Greek, Italian, and Spanish coastal mountains and forests.

The forests are characterized by many species of oak, juniper, pine, carob, cypress, hawthorn, Luffa aegyptiaca, and olives.

Honey is also extracted from the chammari or strawberry plant, Arbutus unedo, which blooms in the months of December and January.

The altitude added to the northern location sustains the nival precipitation (even if hardly accumulates), different from other nearby coastal areas.

The region of Jabal al-Akhda is characterized by a moderate climate, being cooler in the winter with an average annual rainfall of about 540 millimetres or 21 inches.

The major manufactured goods include food products, fertilizers and agricultural products, food processing, and imported goods, and produce from villages near the city in the Akhdar region, including cereals, dates, olives, wool, and meat.

The people of eastern Libya, Bayda included, have in recent centuries been of predominantly Arab descent.

The Greek island of Crete is a short distance from Bayda, and many modern families in the city bear Cretan surnames.

The majority of Libyans in Bayda are of Arab, Berber and Greek descendants century, historically controlled a section of Libya.

During Muslim holidays such as Ramadan, most abstain from food; restaurants are usually empty during the day, with the exception of some expatriates and tourists.

The conservative Islamic nature of Bayda creates a strong sense of family life in the city: almost all teenagers and young adults live at home until they marry.

In recent years however, some people are beginning to practice schools of thought popular in Saudi Arabia such as Salafism, with an increase in the number of literalist-inclined Islamic television channels.

An efficient system of highways, flyovers, ringroads and underpasses serve the city, and allow for the transport of goods and vehicles.

In recent years, a rapid increase in car ownership has meant that traffic jams, lack of parking spaces and overcrowding are also common, especially on smaller streets.

Road accidents are also on the rise because of the increase in vehicles and the subsequent lax attention given by authorities to dangerous driving.