ITINERARY

• Qadisha valley is one of the most important settlement sites of the first Christian monasteries in the world, and its monasteries, many of which of great age, are set in an extraordinarily rugged landscape. The Qadisha Valley comprises all the caves, monasteries and cultivated terraces that are associated with the activities from a very early phase of Christianity.
• Bcharre is the town of the only remaining and preserved original Cedars of God, and is the birthplace of the famous poet, painter and sculptor Khalil Jubran who now has a museum in the town to honor him. Moreover, Bcharre is home to the oldest skiing area, the Cedars Ski Resort and to Lebanon’s first ski lift, built in 1953. Bcharre is sometimes called "the city of churches" as it houses some 37 churches.
• The Gibran Museum, formerly the Monastery of Mar Sarkis, is a biographical museum in Bcharre, Lebanon. It is dedicated to the Lebanese writer, philosopher, and artist Kahlil Gibran. Founded in 1935, the Gibran Museum possesses 440 original paintings and drawings of Gibran and his tomb. It also includes his furniture and belongings from his studio when he lived in New York City and his private manuscripts.
• The Forest of the Cedars of God with its 375 trees, is the last remains of antique forests and one of the rare sites where the Cedars still grows. It was highly prized in ancient times and was one of the most valued construction materials of great religious buildings and cited 103 times in the Bible. The Cedar is the symbol of the country, its pride, and features prominently on the Lebanese flag.
• The Monastery of Saint Anthony the Great is situated at a height of 950 meters above sea level in the celebrated Valley of Qozhaya. The pine trees and oak trees cover the great hills surrounding it. Fruit trees of every description grow all along the valley, which extends into the Valley of Qannubin to form the great Qadisha Valley, thus bearing witness to the history of eremitic life and the quest for holiness in Lebanon. Historians and scholars suppose that this Monastery was first built and began to be occupied by hermits at the beginning of the fourth century. It was several times looted, set on fire and razed to the ground, but there still remain vestiges dating back to the seventh century.