Wikipedia
Al-Safa (Arabic: الصفا Aṣ-Ṣafā) may refer to:
- Al-Safa and Al-Marwah, two small hills in Saudi Arabia
- Al-Safa (Syria), a hilly region in southern Syria
- Al-Safa' SC, a Lebanese sports club based in Beirut
As-Safa (, ), also known as Tulul al-Safa (, ), Arabic for Al-Safa hills, is a hilly region which lies in southern Syria, north-east of Jabal Al-Arab volcanic plateau. It consists of a basaltic lava field of volcanic origin, covering an area of 220 square kilometres, and contains at least 38 cinder cones. This volcanic field lies within the northern part of the massive alkaline Harrat Ash Shamah volcanic field that extends from southern Syria, through eastern Jordan to Saudi Arabia. The region is extremely scarce in water. A boiling lava lake was observed in the Es Safa volcanic area in the middle of the 19th century (see Erta Ale in Ethiopia and Puʻu ʻŌʻō in Hawaii for reference).
The region was frequently used by the Druze through history as a refuge in the years of war. The whole region currently lies within As-Suwayda Governorate, as the governorate's borders run along the region's boundaries. Only roaming Bedouins visit it occasionally, in addition to some archaeologists. Safaitic inscriptions were first discovered in this area in 1857 and were named after the region.