Kafarakab

Kafarakab () (also spelled Kfarakab or Kfar Akab and pronounced "Kfara-ab" in Arabic) is the francophone spelling of the name of a village in the mountains of Lebanon. In Arabic, it means the home (Kfar: كفر) of the hawk (Akab: عقاب). The village, which is located in the Matn District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate, is of particular significance because it is one of the various historic points of origin of the Maalouf family. It was founded c. 1560 AD when three families of the Maalouf clan, living at the time across the valley in the village of Mhaydse, received permission from the ruling emir to establish the village. The family history is traced back to the beginnings of Christianity in the Middle East beginning with the Ghassanid tribe, which converted to Christianity nearly 2,000 years ago. The family name is now widespread worldwide.

The village is of no great size, consisting of only a few dozen old homes built on terraced mountainsides lined with grape vineyards and many varieties of fruit trees. The population swells during the summer as people leave the heat of the Lebanese coastline for the freshness of the mountains. Its weather is moderate, with temperatures ranging near in the summer, and near in the winter season. Snowfall is common in the winter, with snow accumulations reaching .