Al-Bayḍā'

Bayda lies in the green uplands of Cyrenaica, west of ancient Cyrene. The site was known in antiquity as Balagrae, whose remains survive beneath and around the later settlement. A tomb associated with Ruwayfi ibn Thabit al-Ansari, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad, gave the place the name Sidi Rafaa. The hills form part of Jebel Akhdar, a well-watered contrast to the dry plains stretching away to the south.