Kaftoun

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The Village of Kaftoun (Arabic: كفتون ) is a small Lebanese village located along the north bank of the Nahr el Jaouz (Walnut River), in the Koura District, North Lebanon. The houses of Kaftoun number seventy-four. Its inhabitants number about three hundred. They are mostly Antiochian Orthodox Christians. The name "Kaftoun" in the ancient Aramaic language means "dug from" or "sculpted from" a cliff. In the ancient Syriac language (Kftuna) it means "the domed". Both roots of the word lead us to believe that the village of Kaftoun was named after the domed Theotokos Monastery which is carved in the red rock cliffs by the banks of the Jaouz River.

Kaftoun has three historic churches: Saint Phokas Church (Mar Foka's), the Church of Saint Sergius and Bacchus (Mar Sarkis) 6^th century, and the most famed Theotokos Monastery, which houses a two-sided Byzantine icon from the 11^th century.