Aley  Aley (), is a major city in Lebanon. It is the capital of the Aley District and fourth largest city in Lebanon. The city is located on Mount Lebanon, 15 km uphill from Beirut on the freeway to Damascus. Aley has the nickname 'Bride of the Summer resorts' (عروس المصايف) due to its cooler climate during the summer touristic season. Other nicknames include: 'Capital of the Mountain' (عاصمة الجبل); and the 'Lebanese City of Fog' (مدينة الضباب), due to its montane foggy weather. Aley is characterized by having a very wide variety of residents, representing all the Lebanese inclusively. The permanent residents of Aley are predominantly Druze people. It can be claimed to be the City with the largest Druze population in the world. There also are residents of the Melkite, Eastern Orthodox, and Maronite Christian minorities, and Armenians. Many seasonal residents, especially from Arab Persian Gulf countries, own summer homes here to escape the extreme heat and humidity of the Persian Gulf Region. The word "Aley" means "high place" as well in Arabic as in Aramaic, referring to the City's high altitude above sea level. (from 600m up to 950m)  Aley gained prominence upon the completion of the Beirut–Damascus Railway in the mid-1890s. The railroad provided the residents of Beirut easy means of transportation to the mountains, and this made Aley a popular destination to spend the summer months and enjoy its pleasant climate. It was the site of a serious accident on 12 April 1904, when part of the locomotive exploded and the train fell backwards down the 7% grade, killing 8 and seriously injuring another 21. The city was for a while the summer capital of the Ottoman governors of Mount Lebanon. Kamil Pasha made Aley his capital and organised a Diwan, where he executed a large number of Lebanese and Arab martyrs who sought independence from the Ottomans. Also, a Jewish community once frequented this multi-cultural city, and they maintained a synagogue in Souk Aley, but it has since been abandoned. In 2001, the municipality of Aley began renovating the downtown area, especially its historic souk, and the city quickly revived its role in Lebanon's tourism. Aley has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, with warm and rainless summers, mild autumns and springs, and cool rainy winters.