Located in the middle of the Bekaa Valley to the east, between the towns of Zahlé and Anjar, it symbolizes the Lebanese Air Force best, and is home for most of the aircraft types that have seen service and the final resting place for almost all retiring planes.

After its liberation by the allies, Armee d'l'air personnel trained Lebanese Air Force technicians in aircraft maintenance.

The base had many entertainment facilities, luxuries, flowering gardens, and central heating, which at that time were not found in military sites elsewhere in the region.

He, as part of a formation of Royal Air Force Hawker Hurricane fighters, attacked the Rayak airfield, which was being used by Vichy pilots.

It was a Sunday morning and the Frenchmen were evidently entertaining their girlfriends and showing off their aircraft to them, which was a very French thing to do in the middle of a war at a front-line aerodrome.

Every one of us held our fire on that first pass over the flying field and it was wonderfully comical to see the girls all dropping their wine glasses and galloping in their high heels for the door of the nearest building.

We went round again, but this time we were no longer a surprise and they were ready for us with their ground defences, and I am afraid that our chivalry resulted in damage to several of our Hurricanes, including my own.

The French Air Force evacuated the base in 1949, and it was abandoned for a long time, which contributed to turning it into a miserable condition, especially after being looted by its own guards.

The army command later decided to rebuild the air base, a reconstruction that took two months and which included the construction of new buildings and infrastructure.