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History |
Historical Timeline |
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Qadisha Valley in History
The word Qadisha comes from a Semitic root meaning “holiness;” consequently,
Wadi Qadisha means the “Holy Valley.” This name may have its roots long before the Christian era. It is possibly related to “The Holy Baal,” a Semitic god to whom a large temple in Tripoli was dedicated during the Roman era. In this Tripoli temple, “The Holy Baal” was known as “The Holy Zeus.”
From the prehistoric periods to the Roman era, people lived in the caves
and rock shelters scattered all over the Qadisha Valley. At the dawn of
the Christian era, when the new Christian religion was introduced into
the valley, these caves and rock shelters were transformed into chapels,
hermitages, and monasteries. Generations of monks, hermits, and ascetics
found asylum here. |
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These religious men belonged to various confessions that grew out of controversies over the nature of Christ during the early Christian era. Among them were the Nestorians, the Monopysites, the Chalcedonians, and the Monothelites. The Nestorians believed that Christ had a human nature until his baptism in the Jordan River, thus refusing the attribute of Mary as the “Mother of God” and only accepting her attribute as the “Mother of Christ.” The Monopysites, or Jacobites, believed that Christ has a unique nature in which the divine almost prevails over the human. The Chalcedonians believed that Christ incorporates two natures, the divine and the human, and consequently Mary can be considered the “Mother of God.” Others, called Monothelites, believed that Christ has only one will, which is the Divine Will. These different communities were always arguing and fighting about the meaning of religious terminologies, which differed according to each group’s language. |
In addition to the Christians, Muslim Sufis also lived in the Qadisha Valley. According to Ibn Joubeir, an Andalusian traveler who visited the area during the 12th century A.D., the Christians of the mountains provided food and provisions to the Muslims who chose to isolate themselves from the world in the valley. At that time, the valley used to echo the prayers of its inhabitants, each one in his own language: Greek, Arabic, Syriac, and Ethiopian.
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Visiting the Valley
At the town of Tourza the Qadisha Valley divides into two branches, each named after a monastery: the Wadi Qozhaya branch leads to Ehden and the Wadi Qannoubine branch leads to the Cedars. A path runs along the bottom of the Qadisha Valley through an area called
Bain an-Nahrain (“Between the Two Rivers”), where Wadi Qozhaya meets Wadi Qannoubine. From here, trails lead to various sites inside the valley. You can also start from the top of the valley and take one of the numerous paths to the bottom. |
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Visiting all the sites in the Qadisha Valley may take several days. This brochure invites you to spend one day visiting the major sites in the valley and its immediate surroundings.
You can drive a car from Tourza to
Haouqa via Ehden, then on to the Monastery of Mar Antonios
Qozhaya (A). After visiting the monastery, drive back to Haouqa
and park your car near the village church. A trail begins at
Haouqa, leading down to the medieval Monastery and Oratory of
Saydet Haouqa (B), then to the Church of Saint Marina (C), and
the Monastery of Qannoubine (D).
After visiting the Monastery of Qannoubine, you can stop at a small restaurant situated at the bottom of the valley to the right side of the trail. Ask there for a taxi to drive you back to Haouqa. On the way up, you can visit the Monastery of Mar Elisha (E), the Museum of Gibran Khalil Gibran and the Oratory of Saydet el-Derr (F) in Bcharré, and the village of Hadchit. |
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