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Qadisha Valley and Cedars Forest: A Natural & Spiritual Sanctuary
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Known as the “Holy Valley,” the Qadisha has
been a place of refuge for those fleeing religious persecution
since the 5th century, and it houses some of the most
important early Christian monastic settlements in the world.
Rock-cut chapels, grottoes, and hermitages, many painted
with frescoes dating back to the 12th and 13th
centuries, are tucked into the steep walls.
Among the important monasteries located in the valley is Deir
Qannoubine, the seat of the Maronite patriarchs from 1400-1790
AD.Seventeen
Maronite patriarchs (the head of the Maronite church under the
Pope in Rome) are buried in a chapel near the monastery, their
names carved in Syriac script on a marble plaque identifying the
site. Other notable
Qadisha monasteries include Deir Mar Elisha, a 14th
century hermitage where the Lebanese Maronite Order was founded in
1695, and Deir Mar Antonios Qozhaya, home to Lebanon’s
first printing press in the 16th century.
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High above the Qadisha Valley and the red-roofed village of Bcharré are the ancient Cedars of Lebanon.
This small grove of Cedars, known as Arz
Ar Rab (“Cedars of
the Lord”), contains about 300 trees – all are at least 200
years old, and some are over 1,000 years old. These majestic trees stand as tall as 35 meters high, and
their branches form a green canopy that is especially striking
against a backdrop of winter snow.
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Lebanon’s cedars were highly prized in ancient times for their use in the construction of great palaces and
religious buildings, such as Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem and the temple of Seti I in Thebes (Luxor, Egypt).
The Phoenicians exported cedar wood to kingdoms throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East regions for use
in temples, palaces, and shipbuilding and for funerary
purposes in Egypt (building of sarcophagi and use of cedar
oil for mummification). |
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Cedar forests once blanketed Lebanon, and the tree stands as a symbol of the country itself.
However, following centuries of deforestation, there are only a few highly protected reserves of cedars
remaining. In addition to the small cedar grove near Bcharré, there are
six cedar forests within the large Al-Shouf Cedar Reserve;
a large forest of trees in Tannourine; and smaller,
less accessible groves in the Horsh Ehden Reserve,
near the town of Hadeth al-Jubbeh, and in Jaj (near Laqlouq). |
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