Lebanon: Christianity in the Qadisha Valley
Categories: holidays, monasticism, other-churches, lebanon
Date: 04 March 2012 07:38:03
In my last post on Lebanon, I waxed lyrically about the natural beauty of the Qadisha Valley, the Holy Valley, the heartland of the Maronites; it also possesses a great spiritual beauty.
It is hard to define, but I truly felt 'at peace' for the four days I was up there; it was a jolt heading to bustling Tripoli (in Lebanon, not Libya I add!) after my time there. To me this sense of holiness, this sense of being apart, is a combination of the natural beauty, reading and learning about its history for the Maronites in particular, and knowing it is a place of great spirituality, with monasteries, churches, statues of saints and crosses spread throughout. All this gave me a feeling of peace, a feeling that I wanted to be in this place, a feeling I wanted to remain in this place, and a desire to to visit the holy sites.
I did a lot of walking. Buses were regular and cheap around the south side of the Qadisha Valley, but with the great views, and with time, I did not rush, I wanted to take it slow and walk -- even if it meant some tough uphill slogs and I did not get to all the places one could see: I do hope to return as there is still much for me to experience. Also, on holidays, I find walking does not seem as onerous as it does at home: different views, different experiences, and a good way to burn off all that wonderful Lebanese food! I did accept a taxi driver's insistence he drive me up from the valley; as we got a bit more than half-way the fare he was waiting for called him up to come back down so he let me out, no charge, and I walked back to Bcharre, where I stayed at the excellent Palace Hotel (of which more in a later post). Bsharre is the main town in the Qadisha Valley and birthplace of Khalil Gibran (again, more of which in a later post).
At an altitude of 1,650 metres, Bqaa Kafra is the highest village in Lebanon, and the home of the great Maronite 19th century saint, Saint Charbel. The father of a friend of mine is from that village, and showing the world is smaller than one knows, after hearing an Australian accent and saying "Hello" as I went to St Charbel's home (now a chapel, monastery and museum), it turned out the woman and her son knew my friend and his family very well!
Not from the turn-off up the hill to Bqaa Kafra is a path leading down to a small hermitage, believed to be originally inhabited in 1112 by Takla, a duaghter of a local priest, and then by St Simon from whom it gets its name. While you have terrific views across the valley, I can only imagine what it was like to be on a small cave on the edge of a cliff in winter! Candles and offerings, and a book which people have written prayers in, and which I did, are in the cave which you reach via a small ladder. As well there is as a concrete bell-tower with a rope that proved irresistible to me: the loud ringing echoed throughout the valley.
At the base of the Qadisha Valley, and one the sides of the cliffs, are numerable monasteries, currently populated and no longer populated. On the way down, there was a beautiful nativity scene built into the cliff in a natural cave. I walked off the road, reaching the old St Elisha monastery by a path named "The Way of the Cross", as all the Stations of the Cross had been placed at certain points along the path.
The old monastery of St Elisha was the seat of a Maronite bishop as far back as 1315, and artefacts uncovered suggest the monastery (replaced by one higher up) may have been in existence since the late 11th century. It it built into the side of the cliffs and had a wealth of historic information and artefacts and a beautful chapel in a grotto.
A beautiful walk through the floor of the valley, though some people took a ride in a vehicle that pulled a trailer with benches on it, passing a restaurant called "Greenland", leads you to, just after another restaurant, this one in the very small village of Qannoubine, the working women's monastery of Qannoubin. Some sources say this monastery, as a male monastery, was founded by Theodosius the Great in the late fourth century, and from 1440 until 1790 it was the permanent residence of the Maronite patriarchs. The tombs of the patriarchs are just west of the monastery, in the chapel of St Marina.
A combination of old and new existed at Qannoubin; as you approached, sensors mounted in trees triggered by your arrival started the playing of recorded announcements (the speakers being in the trees also), in Arabic, French and English, of the presence of the monastery and the need for silence. For those who could not speak Arabic, French or English, a series of signs were affixed to trees in the monastery indicating silence via a cross through the word "Blablabla". A large group of youth were generally compliant, though a few loud yells and conversations were heard; but it was no concern or bother, but rather a joy to see young people interested in their faith and at such a place. Religion is 'worn on the sleeve' in Lebanon and a source of conversation, at least with those I met; very different to how it is in Australia where it is generally a private matter.
As well as churches and monasteries, roadside shrines of many saints, St Charbel, St George, and the Blessed Virgin Mary being the most popular I saw, were also set alongside roads. Bcharre also has two functioning churches, St Saba and Our Lady of Diman. A third church is now a school. The church of our Lady of Diman, Diman being a vilage in the Qadisha Valley, was being renovated at the time I visited, but you could still go in and walk under the scaffolding.
All of the above, plus a sense I was at the top of the world, and so far away from the rush and busyness of city life, contributed to my time in the Bcharre and the Qadisha Valley being one of the spiritually blessed places I have ever had the blessing of visting; much like I felt as I visited holy sites in Georgia all those years ago.
I did visit other monasteries and churches in Lebanon, and saw some beautiful mosques; I will talk about that in the next post I make on Lebanon.