Product Code Database
Deir al-Qamar () is a city south-east of Beirut in south-central Lebanon. It is located five kilometres outside of Beit ed-Dine in the Chouf District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate at 800 m of average altitude.
Lady Hester Stanhope visiting Deir al-Qamar in 1812 wrote “I have traveled for nine hours together & never found a place to pitch a tent, except near one Village. The Vineyards are like stair cases, & every little flat place stuffed with mulberry trees for the silkworms, the roads are horrible, & the people savage & extraordinary, the women wearing a great tin trumpet on their heads & a veil suspended upon it, & seemingly very proud of these frightful horns.” Bruce, Ian (Editor) (1951) The Nun of Lebanon. The Love Affair of Lady Hester Stanhope and Michael Bruce. Their Newly Discovered Letters. Collins p.149 letter dated August 24th 1812
It was the first village in Lebanon to have a municipality in 1864, and it is the birthplace of many well known personalities, such as artists, writers, and politicians. It was the winter capital of the Druze Qaim-Maqamate of Lebanon (1840-1860), the summer capital being Baakleen. People from all religious backgrounds lived there and the town had a mosque, synagogue and Christian churches.
In the year 1860, Deir al-Qamar was destroyed during the civil war between Druze and Christians during which the town was set ablaze.See eg the 1860 discussion in the British Parliament Napoleon III sent a French contingent to rebuild it, recalling France ancient role as protector of the Christians in the Ottoman Empire as established by a treaty in 1523.
In 1864, Deir el-Qamar elected the first municipality in the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire.
A census undertaken in Deir al-Qamar by the Ottomans during the reign of Fakhr-al-Din II's father, Qorqmaz bin-Maan, counted 156 men, all Druze. Today, 85% of Deir al-Qamar's inhabitants are Maronites and 14% are Melkites.
In 1943 the Lebanese president Bechara Al Khoury declared Deir al-Qamar the summer palace for the Lebanese Presidents.
One of the mayors was Georges Dib Nehme who also represented the region at the Parliament.
/ref>
One of the most important historical and religious site in Deir al-Qamar is Our Lady of the Hill known as Saydet El Talle. This Maronite church goes back to the 15th century.
According to the Maronite Heritage web site
the legend says that there was a Druze Emir in Baakline looking at the hill of Deir al-Qamar. He saw a light coming out of the hill. He gathered his soldiers and ordered them to go in the morning and dig in the land. He said to them: "If you find an Islamic symbol, build a mosque. If you find a Christian symbol, build a church." The soldiers went in the morning, dug in the land and found a rock with a cross on it and under the cross there was the Moon and Venus. That was the sign that long time ago, there was a temple dedicated to the Moon and Venus and later it became a church. Earthquakes and wars might be the reason for its disappearance.
The rock discovered by the soldiers can be found above the old gate of the church. A Byzantine column can be found inside the church. The inhabitants honor a miraculous icon of our Lady of the Hill placed behind the altar. It was painted in 1867 by the Italian artist Guerra. On the feast of Our Lady of the Hill—the first Sunday of August—thousands of believers go in a big procession with the miraculous icon from the entrance of Deir al-Qamar to the Church.
The Church of Saidet et Tallé in Deir el Qamar is one of the most significant historical and religious sites in Mount Lebanon. The original church was destroyed by the Saracens and later rebuilt during the reign of Fakhreddine I Maan (1518-1544). For centuries, this church has been revered by both Druze and Christians in Mount Lebanon, reflecting the close ties between the two communities. According to Pierre-Marie Martin, writing in 1870, the Druze venerated the church even more than the Maronites, often traveling long distances to pray to the Virgin Mary in their own way and "witnessing numerous miracles". Historian Glenn Bowman further highlights that in the early nineteenth century, Druze leaders would seek the Virgin Mary's favor at Saidet et Tallé before going into battle. They would touch the image of the Virgin Mary with their flags and place dust from under the altar in their turbans. The profound veneration of this church by the Druze led local Maronites to dub it the "Church of the Virgin of the Druze".
Another important religious site in Deir al-Qamar is the Mount of the Cross where pilgrims visit the Lamb of God Shrine (built in 2007), Father Yacoub Church (restored and consecrated as a church on June 24, 2008) and the Cross (built by Fr. Yacoub in 1932).
Deir al-Qamar also had a well-established Lebanese Jews community, and a synagogue (built in 1638) which is today the site of the French Cultural Center.
Rabbi Joseph Schwartz provides additional insights into the Jewish community of Deir al-Qamar, estimating it consisted of around 80 householders, primarily engaged in trade. He reports that the Jews of Deir al-Qamar leased nearby mountains from the Emirs for iron production, exporting iron horseshoes throughout the country. The Jews of Deir al-Qamar are also known to be landowners of vineyards and olive plantations, participating in agriculture. A letter dated 1865 reveals that, following the hardships of 1859-1860, which compelled their departure from the village, the Jewish residents sold off all their fields and plantations to their Christian neighbors.
After the 1837 Safed earthquake, the Jewish sages of Safed sought assistance from the Jews of Deir al-Qamar. Thirty-five armed Jews responded, arriving in Safed to aid in clearing the debris, retrieving the deceased for burial, and potentially providing material assistance to those impacted by the disaster. In 1847, the Jews of Deir al-Qamar fell victim to a blood libel. Nine locals were falsely accused of murdering a Maronite child who had become lost and died of exposure, freezing to death in one of the vineyards. With the assistance of the British consul, they were ultimately released from custody.
The 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon marked the demise of the Jewish community in Deir al-Qamar. Alongside the Druze, the local Jews were compelled to depart, selling their homes and lands to the Christians. Initially, the synagogue remained under Jewish ownership, with the Jews blocking it with stones to prevent its desecration. The synagogue was eventually sold in 1893, against the advice of the sages of Jerusalem, who instructed that it should not be sold unless for the construction of a new synagogue.
==Image gallery==
|
|
