Kadisha Valley

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**Ouadi Qadisha (the Holy Valley) and the Forest of the Cedars of God (Horsh Arz el-Rab)**¹
**UNESCO World Heritage Site**

State Party	Lebanon
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iii, iv
Identification	#850
Region²	Arab States
Inscription History
Formal Inscription:	1998 22nd WH Committee Session
WH link:	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/850
1 Name as officially inscribed on the WH List 2 As classified officially by UNESCO

The Kadisha Valley (also known as Qadisha Valley, Wadi Qadisha, Ouadi Qadisha, or وادي قاديشا in Arabic) is located in Northern Lebanon. The valley is a deep gorge created by the river, Kadisha, that is also known with the name of Nahr Abu Ali when it reaches Tripoli, Lebanon. The most scenic section of the valley is stretched for approximately twenty kilometers between Bsharri (بشري), the hometown of Kahlil Gibran, and Tourza (طورزا).

1 Holy Christian Site
2 World Heritage Site
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Holy Christian Site

Kadisha literally means "Holy" in Aramaic, and the valley hosts some of the most ancient Christian monastic communities of the Middle East, including Deir Qannubin (دير قنوبين), which used to be the See of the Maronite Patriarch, Deir Mar Elisha (دير مار ﺃليشع) and Deir Mar Antonios Qozhaya (دير مارانطﻮنيوﺱ ﻗﺰحيا) which can be accessed from the town of Arbet Qozhaya.

The monastery of Mar Elisha is perched on the cliff.

Maronite communities found a shelter in the Kadisha Valley, when they fled their original areas of settlement in the Orontes Valley. At that time, they feared persecutions from the Byzantines, who accused the Maronites of supporting the Monothelite doctrine.

The Kadisha Valley is nearby the Forest of the Cedars of God, survivors of the ancient Cedars of Lebanon, the most highly prized building materials of the ancient world.^[1]

[edit] World Heritage Site

In 1998, the UNESCO added the valley to the list of World Heritage Sites because it is one of the most important early Christian monastic settlements in the world.^[2] Historians believe that the Kadisha Valley has had monastic communities continuously since the earliest years of Christianity. UNESCO considers the monasteries of the Kadisha Valley as the most significant surviving examples of early Christian faith.^[3]