Holy Valley

Introduction

The Holy Valley (Qadisha, from the Aramaic for 'holy') is a gorge carved by the Qadisha River near the town of Bcharre in northern Lebanon. Since the earliest centuries of Christianity it has been a sanctuary for hermits, and the cliff-side cave monasteries and prayer grottoes that dot its walls testify to over a thousand years of monastic tradition. In 1998 it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the adjacent cedar forest. The valley is deep, silent and green, where cedars mingle with olives and stone paths link sites such as the Monastery of St Anthony and the hermit caves. Bcharre is also the hometown of the Lebanese writer Kahlil Gibran, honoured by a museum in town. For hikers and pilgrims alike the Qadisha is both a natural wonder and a living fossil of Middle Eastern Christian civilisation; trails overlook the abyss and distant mountains, evoking the tranquillity and solemnity of the 'sacred valley.'

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