Twain writes in chapter 42 as if this is the first camp site upon leaving Beirut but the Quaker City Itinerary places this on September 12, breaking camp on September 13 at 6:30am. The camping site may actually be further east.
From an entry in MTDBD: "Passed up the Valley & camped on l. side under the dews of Hermon. –first passing through a dirty Arab village & visiting the tomb of Noah, of Deluge notoriety [MTNJ 1: 417]."
From Bædeker: Route 30, 1876
Mu‘allaka, which belongs to the Syrian province of Damascus, lies contiguous to the large village of Zahleh, which belongs to Lebanon, being separated from it by a narrow street only.
Zahleh (3100 ft. above the sea) contains about 15,000 inhab., chiefly Christians, among whom the Maronites predominate, an English school, and a Turkish telegraph office. The village nestles amidst beautiful vegetation, lying partly on the slope. It is surrounded by orchards, is the most important wine-growing place in Lebanon, and boasts of busy manufactories. The brook El-Berdûni descends through a gorge from the Sannîn. The inhabitants are noted for their turbulence. In 1860 they suffered terribly, as the Druses took the town and concentrated their forces there.
The ascent of the Sannin (8557 ft.) may be undertaken from Zahleh With good guides. The route is precipitous. At the top are the ruins of a temple. Towards the W. the eye ranges over numerous valleys descending to the sea. The hills above Zahleh are partly wooded with Cypresses.
Zahleh is situated in the glen 1 m. above Mu'allakah. It is the largest village in Lebanon, containing a population of nearly 10,000 souls, all Christians, except a few families. The approach to it is splendid. The glen, at first narrow, opens out into.a basin, round the steep sides of which the houses are ranged in terraces; and being well built, and whitewashed, they have a gay and picturesque look. Through the midst the river flows, between borders of tall poplars, issuing from a dark cleft in the mountain side beyond. The whole acclivities above the village are carefully terraced and covered with vineyards. Here the traveller can see what Syria might become if it were only blessed with a government. The inhabitants of Zahleh are notorious for their pride, insolence, and turbulence. Priests are their advisers in peace, and sometimes their leaders in war. The whole place is swarming with monks and friars, and crowded with churches, convents, and ecclesiastical establishments, The effects of priestly rule here, as elsewhere, are not very encouraging. Family broils are incessant, and scarce a month passes without bloodshed.
Murray: ROUTE 38. BA’ALBEK TO BEYROUT DIRECT