Europeans visiting Beirut often compare the Lebanese capital with Paris. The same aromatic coffee and fresh croissants are served on the verandas of outdoor cafes, and the street style of local fashionistas is in no way inferior in elegance and grace to the French. A fan of antiquities also has something to see in Lebanon. For example, the oldest city on the planet Byblos or the ruins of Baalbek, whose megalithic architecture thrills even modern engineers and builders. Lebanese cuisine will impress the gourmet, and the Mediterranean beaches - the sun lover. There are even ski slopes in Lebanon, and therefore rest under the flag, which depicts the famous cedar, can turn out to be very diverse and exciting.
Top 15 attractions in Lebanon
Baatara Falls
The Baatara stream falls from a height of 225 meters and is unusual in that it falls inside a limestone cave that was formed at a time when the Earth was inhabited by prehistoric dinosaurs. The cave is called the "Abyss of the Three Bridges", because when the Baatar water falls, they fly past the huge natural stone arches formed by nature itself. The waterfall is located in the Jaybel region in northwestern Lebanon.
National Museum of Beirut
The collection of the largest museum in the capital of Lebanon allows you to understand the intricate history of the country and see with your own eyes ancient artifacts of considerable value.
For the first time, a private collection of historical rarities was put on public display in 1919. Since then, it has been constantly replenished, and in 1942 the collection took its place in the halls of a specially built mansion.
The most ancient exhibits of the museum date back to the III millennium BC. In the halls, visitors will find antique statues, bas-reliefs of the ancient Roman era, wall paintings.
Ticket price: 2, 5 euros.
Baalbek
The ancient city of Baalbek is located 80 km north-east of the capital - one of the most mysterious places on the planet. Ballbeck's mystery is that the technologies for the construction of his buildings have not yet been solved, the sizes of stone blocks and the methods of their processing are impressive even for modern specialists, and therefore the opinions of scientists about the age of the buildings and their authors still differ.
In Baalbek you will find:
- The ruins of the temple of Jupiter, which surpasses the pyramid of Cheops in the size of its individual constituent blocks.
- Terrace of the Temple of Jupiter, at the base of which three huge slabs are laid. The Lebanese claim that Baalbek's Trilithon is sacred.
- The South Stone is a huge 1,050-ton block that has never been finished.
- Temple of Venus with a portico of four columns.
In the 13th century, the territory of Baalbek was turned into a fortress, as evidenced by the remains of walls and defensive towers.
Soap museum
The list of advantages and inventions that drove progress includes the soap invented by the Lebanese. The exposition of a small museum in the old part of the seaside town of Sidon is dedicated to this. The exhibits tell the history of soap production, acquaint visitors with the process technologies.
The second important part of the exhibition is dedicated to olive oil. The guests of the museum will learn about how people first discovered the possibilities of the olive tree, get acquainted with the peculiarities of obtaining various types of oils. In the Soap Museum, located in the building of an old soap factory, you can learn about the right hammam and get acquainted with the traditions of the oriental bath.
Roman Baths
You can see traditional Roman baths in the center of the Lebanese capital. They were discovered during excavations in the middle of the last century. On the site of modern Beirut, Berius was located - the capital of Phenicia during the Roman Empire and the Roman baths are completely identical to their counterparts in other places.
Roman Beritus had four paired complexes, his heating system allowed air to circulate freely between the walls, marble-lined pools received hot water, and stone ones - cold. The public spaces of the thermal baths were used as a platform for performances.
In modern Beirut, acoustic concerts are often held in Roman baths. The sites also serve as an exhibition of plants that were used as medicinal plants during the Roman Empire - a kind of apothecary garden on ancient ruins.
Virgin Mary of Lebanon
An important pilgrimage center in the city of Jounieh, 10 km from Beirut, is dedicated to the icon of the same name. The statue was made at the beginning of the twentieth century in France and since then Mount Harissa has become famous. The statue of the Virgin Mary of Lebanon is cast in bronze. The height of the sculpture is 8.5 meters, the pedestal is another 20 meters. The base is made in the form of a cone-shaped tower; a staircase leads upward, along which pilgrims climb to the foot of the Virgin Mary of Lebanon.
Wadi Kadisha
In the province of North Lebanon, you will find another Christian shrine of particular value and as an object of natural value. Pilgrims and fans of sports and a healthy lifestyle come to see the Wadi Kadisha valley, and UNESCO protects the area as the place of formation of one of the earliest monastic settlements. The Sacred Valley has housed a community of Christians for hundreds of years.
Wadi Kadisha stretches for 50 km along the river of the same name. The steep cliffs and gorges surrounding the Sacred Valley are full of natural beauty - waterfalls and cedar groves. The largest monastery in Wadi Kadisha is the Deir Mar Antinius Kozkhaya carved out of the rock, founded in the 10th century.
Sidonian fortress
The entrance to the port of Sidon in the Middle Ages was protected by the walls of the city fortress. Sidon, which had an important political, commercial and religious significance, required reliable fortifications, and in the 13th century they were built by the Crusaders on a small island connected to the mainland by a narrow spit.
The Mamluks severely destroyed the fort during the attack on Sidon, and it was only rebuilt in the 17th century.
Modern visitors to the Sidonian fortress can see two defensive towers connected by a stone wall. In the vaulted hall of one of them, the remains of old carved columns have been preserved, and on the roof there are the ruins of a small mosque. Climbing the tower is also worth it because of the panoramic views of Sidon and the sea.
Rauschi and Pigeon Rock
The promenade in Beirut is called Raushi. The elite residential area impresses the traveler with beautiful sea views, opulent mansions and restaurants serving traditional Lebanese cuisine. In the western part of the embankment there is a view of a stone rock called Golubina by the people. There is a legend that in ancient times wives convicted of treason were thrown off the cliff, and now the stone arch serves as an attraction for tourists: local boys jump from a great height into the sea for the fun of visitors.
Sweet factory
In 1881, a family business was opened in Tripoli, which is nicknamed the Palace of Sweets. The Abdul Rahman Hallab & Sons factory produced local confectionery. Today, the family business is still flourishing, and a factory tour will help you not only get acquainted with the Lebanese traditions of making oriental sweets, but also buy gifts and souvenirs.
Abdul Rahman Hallab & Sons is considered the best confectionery establishment in Lebanon and here you can not only watch the process, but also taste your favorite products in the restaurant at the factory.
Mont Pelerin
The fortress of Raymund Saint-Gilles or Mount of the Pilgrims was built in Tripoli. The first stone for the construction was laid at the very beginning of the 11th century on the Hayazh hill. The construction was supervised by the count, after whom the citadel was named. Previously, the garrisons of the Persians were located here, because the place was of great strategic importance.
The citadel was rebuilt more than once, partially destroyed and restored. Its modern dimensions are 140 meters long and half the width. The building reflects the typical features of similar defensive structures erected by the Crusaders.
Mussalaikha Castle
A medieval fortification called the "Stronghold of the Connetable" is located north of the modern city of Batrun. The fortress was built in the 17th century to guard the route from Beirut to Tripoli. It seems to float above a high rocky terrace above the Nahr el-Yauz river. The walls of the citadel, built on the site of an earlier fortification, are made of stone blocks. The walls are sometimes 2 meters thick.
The rock on which the fortress rises has served as a military observation and defensive post since ancient times. The restoration work of recent years has made the fort safe for visitors. Several entrances and exits were organized, staircases were reinforced, sewerage and water supply systems were installed.
Palm islands
The Palm Islands Biosphere Reserve in the Mediterranean Sea, 6 km off the coast of Tripoli, is particularly popular with tourists visiting the country. On the islands, you can look at half a thousand palm trees, each of which is equipped with its own irrigation system, ride boats, dive from the rocks and arrange a photo session against the backdrop of the ruins of the old lighthouse.
Cedar forest
The cedar depicted on the flag of Lebanon has been a symbol of the country since time immemorial. The forest of cedars in the Khorsh-Arz-el-Rab reserve is called the forest of God and is protected at the state level. In the reserve, there are individual trees, whose age is several centuries, and in order to embrace them, it will take several people closed in a ring. The oldest trees of the Divine Forest are about 35 meters high. The circumference of their trunks is 12-14 meters.
Balamand monastery
One of the oldest in Lebanon, this monastery was built in the 12th century by Bernandine monks. The abbey in the style characteristic of the order was founded on a picturesque plateau on the seashore. The buildings were soon abandoned and fell into disrepair. The restoration began in the 17th century, when an Orthodox monastery was founded in Balamanda.
The carved iconostasis of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Church of St. George are worthy of special attention. The monastery houses the richest collection of ancient manuscripts and church utensils.
Find: 10 km southeast of Tripoli.
