The spiritual Lebanon

Trip Description

Accomodation

Stay program

• day 1

  Arrival in Beirut

  

  Arrival at Beirut airport. Check-in at the hotel and overnight stay in Beirut.

• day 2

  Beirut and the Chouf

  

  Visit to the National Museum of Beirut, housing a prestigious collection of archaeological pieces from all over the Lebanese territory. Stop on the corniche in front of the Pigeon Grotto, then stroll through downtown Beirut to discover Place de l’Étoile and Martyrs' Square, as well as the archaeological sites: the Garden of Forgiveness and the Roman Baths. Also discover the various places of worship such as the Mohammad Al Amin Mosque, the Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral dating from the 18th century, and the Saint Louis Church of the Latin community, built in the 19th century. Continue towards the Chouf mountain, a region of coexistence between the Druze and the Maronites. Visit the Beiteddine Palace, a little gem of Lebanese architecture built at the beginning of the 19th century by Emir Bechir II Chehab. Stroll through the alleys of Deir al Kamar, once the capital of the Ottoman province of Mount Lebanon, walk through its streets and visit the mosque and the Saydet al Tell church. Overnight in Beirut.

• day 3

  Cana, Tyre, Sidon, Maghdouché

  

  Route to South Lebanon, land trodden by the footsteps of Christ. Visit of Cana, located in the hinterland of Tyre, the place where, according to the first historians of the Church, Jesus, invited to a wedding, performed his first miracle. Visit of Tyre, the prestigious city of Phoenicia. Its archaeological remains testify to its importance in classical times. Route to Maghdoucheh, the village overlooking Sidon, where the sanctuary of Our Lady of Awaiting is built around a cave where the Virgin Mary waited for her Son during his journeys to Tyre and Sidon. Visit of Sidon, the ancient Saida of the Phoenicians. The city experienced its golden age during the first millennium before Christ. Today, one admires its monuments dating back to the times of the Crusaders and the Ottomans: the sea castle, stroll through the old souks, Khan el Franj, the Audi soap factory, the mosque, Saint Nicholas Cathedral, the Jewish quarter… Night in Beirut.

• day 4

  Harissa, Bzommar, Annaya, Byblos

  

  Route to Jounieh, visit to the sanctuary of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, a major Marian pilgrimage site in Lebanon, overlooking the bay of Jounieh. Route to the convent of Our Lady of Bzommar, Armenian Catholic patriarchal seat since the 18th century. Continue to Annaya, where the hermitage and convent where the great Maronite saint Charbel Makhlouf lived are located. In the late afternoon, visit the archaeological site of Byblos, one of the oldest cities in the world. Then, stroll through the old town and visit the Crusader church of Saint John-Marc. Overnight in Byblos.

• day 5

  Batroun and the road of the Saints

  

  Route to the hinterland of Batroun, the region was part of the County of Tripoli. The fortifications and frescoed churches bear witness to a certain prosperity during the Frankish period. Visit to the Smar Jbeil fortress and the village churches: Mar Nohra (or Saint Licius), Saint Thecla, and Our Lady of Help. In Eddé, the walls of the Church of Saint Saba preserve fragments of frescoes from the 12th and 13th centuries, recently restored. The route of the Saints of the Lebanese Maronite Order leads us to Jrebta to visit the tomb of the Maronite Saint Rafqa and the tombs of Saint Neemtallah Hardini and Blessed Stephan Neemeh at the Monastery of Saint Cyprian and Saint Justina in Kfifane. In the late afternoon, visit the old town of Batroun and its church Saydet al Baher overlooking the Phoenician wall. Overnight in Byblos.

• day 6

  Sunday, the Cedars, Bcharreh and the Qadicha

  

  Departure to North Lebanon. Visit to the church of the Maronite Patriarchal See in Dimane, with its frescoes painted by Saliba Doueihy. Continue to Bcharré, on the magnificent road overlooking the deep Qadicha valley (the Holy Valley in Syriac), with photo stops along the way before arriving at the Forest of the Cedars of the Lord at 2000 m. The Cedar of Lebanon, once so renowned (cf. Kings 19.23, Isaiah 40.16), made Lebanon "the mountain of perfumes." A one-hour hike in the shade of these trees, emblems of the country. Continue on a road that descends to the bottom of the valley to visit the Saint Anthony Qozhaya Monastery, a living witness to monastic and ascetic life in the Maronite church. The first printing press in the Middle East. Overnight in Byblos.

• day 7

  Departure

  

  Transfer to Beirut airport for departure.