Beit Mery

Beit Mery بيت مري
City
View over the hill
Beit Mery Location within Lebanon
Coordinates: 33°51′56″N 35°35′43″E / 33.8656°N 35.5953°E / 33.8656; 35.5953Coordinates: 33°51′56″N 35°35′43″E / 33.8656°N 35.5953°E / 33.8656; 35.5953
Country	Lebanon
Governorate	Mount Lebanon Governorate
District	Matn District
Elevation	800 m (2,600 ft)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Dialing code	+961-4-

Beit Mery (Arabic: بيت مري‎‎) is a Lebanese town overlooking the capital Beirut. The town has been a summer mountain resort since the times of the Phoenicians and later the Romans. The name derives from Aramaic and means "The house of my Lord". On one of the three hills of Beit Mery (Southern end of town) along the Lebanon Western mountain range are the ruins of the old Phoenician and Roman temples that were erected in the same general area in what is now known as Deir El-Qala'a (دير القلعة). At present, a Christian church and monastery sit on top of parts of the old Roman temple. Les Scouts Du Liban Groupe Sainte Marie Beit Mery is one of the biggest movement in town and it is located in College des Freres since 1969. Beit Mery is home to a Lebanese Red Cross First Aid Center.^[1]

Culture

The town is the site of the annual Al Bustan festival,^[2] held in the theatre of the Al Bustan hotel.^[3] The festival was created in 1994 by Myrna Al Bustani, owner of the hotel.

Among the artists who performed at the festival, Julian Lloyd Webber (cellist), Gautier Capuçon (cellist), Gianluca Marciano (conductor), Virginia Tola (soprano), Inva Mula (soprano), Helikon Opera, Stile Antico, Evelyn Glennie (percussions), Boris Berezovsky (pianist), Khatia Buniatishvili (pianist), Alondra de la Parra (conductor), Oliver Poole (pianist), Anna Tifu (violin).

Demography

The residents of Beit Mery are mainly Christian (Maronite, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic, Armenian Orthodox) and Druze.

Geography

Beit Mery occupies a hill, 700–750 meters above sea level, which gives the town views of the Beirut peninsula and part of Lebanon's Mediterranean coast. It has an area of 5.48 km2. Since 2000 Beit Mery started to be a suburban town and is 16 km away from Beirut.

History

The Roman rulers of Lebanon made Beit Mery their summer resort due to its high location and summer weather.^[4]

Archaeology

There are two prehistoric archaeological sites in Beit Meri where flint industries have been found by Jesuit archaeologists:^[5]

1) Beit Mery I is on the right bank of the Beirut River, south southwest of the town at an altitude of approximately 125 metres (410 ft) above sea level. It was found by Jesuit Father Dillenseger who determined it to be an Acheulean site. The material was donated to the Saint Joseph University by the French Faculty of Medicine.^[5]

2) Beit Mery II is east of the road from Beit Mery to Deir el Qala'a on a sloping plateau facing the junction of the Nahr Meten and Nahr Jamani. It was found by M. Gautier who recovered Heavy Neolithic flint tools from the surface. V. Hankey also recovered some retouched blades from this area.^[5]

But what makes very important Beit Mery -even for tourism- are the scattered ruins of the Roman era, that lasted five centuries plus the two of the byzantine era.^[6]

In Beit Mery there it is what’s left of a Roman temple that once matched the grandeur of Baalbek’s temples and Niha’s fortress. A church dedicated to St. John the Baptist, was built over the temple’s remains in the 18th century. You can still see the original stonework in the remaining columns that adorn the square at the church’s entrance. Though it suffered a great deal of damage during the Civil War, the site has since been dutifully restored and maintained for cultural and touristic events. The monastery has proved an ideal locale for concerts, competitions, art exhibitions, conferences, poetry nights, and social gatherings. In town, below the monastery, you will find smaller temples dedicated to various Roman deities, in addition to public Roman baths with their terra cotta pipes. There are also some remains of a Byzantine city that dates back to the 5th and 6th centuries.Lebanon Ministry of Tourism ^[7]

Tourism

The town has ancient Roman and Byzantine ruins as well as the historic Maronite Monastery of Saint John the Baptist, (Deir el Kalaa) which was built in 1750.^[8] The town, which is only 16 km from Beirut, continues to be a summer resort in Lebanon with a landmark hotel, the Al Bustan. Pine forests surround the town. Restaurants with views of the valleys and the sea make Beit Mery a favorite summer spot.

References

External links

• Beit Meri, Localiban
• https://web.archive.org/web/20080705115753/http://www.beitmery.com/

Matn District, Mount Lebanon Governorate
Capital: Jdeideh
Towns and villages	Ain Aar Ain el Safssaf Ain el Sendianeh Ain Saadeh Aintoura Amaret Chalhoub Antelias Aoukar Al-Ayroun Baabdat Baskinta Bauchrieh Beit Chabab Beit el Chaar Beit el Kekko Beit Mery Bhersaf Biakout Bikfaya Bkenneya Bourj Hammoud Broummana Bsalim Bteghrine Chaouiyeh Choueir Daher al Hosein Dahr el Sawan Daychounieh Dbayeh Dekwaneh Dik El Mehdi Dhour El Choueir Dora Douar Fanar Ghabeh Ghabet Bologna Hadirah Haret al Ballaneh Haret ech Cheikh Hbous Jal el Dib Jdeideh Jouar Jouret el Ballout Kaakour Kfarakab Kfartay Khenchara Majdel Tarchich Majzoub Mansourieh Mar Chaaya Mar Michael Bnabil Mar Moussa Mar Roukouz Marjaba Mazraat Yachouh Mchikha Mezher Mhaydseh Mkalles Mrouj Mtaileb Mtein Mzekkeh Nabay Naccache Ouyoun Qonaytrah Qonnabat Broummana Qornet Shehwan Rabieh Roumieh Sakiyat al Mesek Sed el Bauchrieh Sin el Fil Sfaileh Wata el Mrouj Zalka Zarooun Zekrite Zouk al Khrab
Notable landmarks	Mount Sannine
Notable touristic sites	Aqueduct of Zubaida Deir el Qalaa

Heavy Neolithic sites

Aadloun II Akkar plain foothills Akbiyeh Al-Bireh Amlaq Qatih Ard Saouda Baidar ech Chamout Beit Mery II Bustan Birke Dakoue Dekwaneh II Douris, Lebanon Douwara El Bire Flaoui Fadous Sud Hadeth south Jbaa Jdeideh I Jdeideh II Jebel Aabeby Kamid al lawz I Kefraya Kfar Tebnit Khallet Michte I Khallet Michte II Khallet el Hamra Mejdel Anjar I Moukhtara Mtaileb I Nabi Zair Plain of Zgharta Qaraoun I Qaraoun II Rayak North Sarepta Sidon III Taire II Tayibe Tell Ain el Meten Tell Khardane Tell Mureibit Tell Zenoub Wadi Boura Wadi Koura Wadi Yaroun Wadi al-Far'a Wadi Sallah

Archaeological sites in Lebanon

Aadloun Aaiha Aammiq Aaqbe Ain Aata Ain Choaab Ain Harcha Akbiyeh Akkar plain foothills Al-Bireh Amioun Amlaq Qatih Anjar, Lebanon Antelias cave Apheca Ard Saouda Ard Tlaili Arqa Baalbek Baidar ech Chamout Batroumine Batroun Bechamoun Beirut Beit Mery Berytus (Roman Beirut) Bustan Birke Byblos Canalizations of Zenobia Dahr El Ahmar Dakoue Deir El Aachayer Deir el Ahmar Deir Mar Maroun Dekwaneh Douris (Baalbek) Elaea (Lebanon) Flaoui Fadous Sud Hebbariye Hadeth south Haret ech Cheikh Hashbai Heliopolis in Phoenicia Hermel plains Iaat Jabal es Saaïdé Jbaa Jdeideh Jebel Aabeby Jeita Grotto Joub Jannine Jieh Kafr Zabad Kamid al lawz Kamouh el Hermel Karak Nuh Kaukaba Kefraya Kafr Tebnit Kfar Qouq Kfarhata Khallet Michte Khirbet El-Knese Kouachra megalith field Ksar Akil Labweh Lake Qaraoun (Ain Jaouze) Libbaya Lion Tower Majdal Anjar Mansourieh Maronite mummies Mayrouba Mdoukha (Jebel Kassir) Moukhtara Mtaileb Nabi Zair Nachcharini Nahle, Lebanon Neba'a Faour Nebi Safa Niha Bekaa Phoenician port of Beirut Plain of Zgharta Qaa Qal'at Bustra Qalaat Tannour Qaraoun Qasr el Banat Ras Baalbek I Ras Beirut Ras El Kelb Rashaya Roman Forum of Berytus Roman hippodrome of Berytus Sands of Beirut Saraain El Faouqa Shheem Sidon Sin el Fil Sarepta Stone of the Pregnant Woman Tahun ben Aissa Taire Tayibe Tell Aalaq Tell Ablah Tell Addus Tell Ahle Tell Ain Cerif Tell Ain el Meten Tell Ain Ghessali Tell Ain Nfaikh Tell Ain Saouda Tell Ain Sofar Tell Ayoub Tell Bar Elias Tell Beshara Tell Bir Dakoue Tell Deir Tell Delhamieh Tell Derzenoun Tell Dibbine Tell el-Burak Tell El Ghassil Tell El Hadeth Tell Fadous Tell Hazzine Tell Hoch Rafqa Tell Karmita Tell Khardane Tell Kirri Tell Jezireh Tell Jisr Tell Kabb Elias Tell Majdaloun Tell Masoud Tell Mekhada Tell Meouchi Tell Mureibit Tell Murtafa Tell Nahariyah Tell Neba'a Chaate Tell Neba'a Litani Tell Qasr Labwe Tell Rasm El Hadeth Tell Rayak Tell Saatiya Tell Safiyeh Tell Saoudhi Tell Serhan Tell Shaikh Hassan al Rai Tell Shamsine Tell Sultan Yakoub Tell Taalabaya Tell Wardeen Tell Zenoub Tell Zeitoun Temnin el-Foka Temple of Bacchus Temple of Eshmun Temple of Jupiter Tlail megaliths Toron Tripolis (region of Phoenicia) Tyre Necropolis Tyre, Lebanon Wadi Boura Wadi Koura Wadi Yaroun Yammoune Yanta Ain W Zain Zahlé