Caves and monuments Close to the northern entrance of the Barja, a few dozens of caves and burial cemeteries can be seen carved out inside of rocks hills, which dates back to the
Neolithic period. The urban expansion has destroyed a lot of it but some paintings and engravings and remains of a population that lived in this region can still be found from time to time, such as
Mesopotamia,
Persians,
Greece,
Romans and
Byzantines. When the
French Renan mission visited
Lebanon in 1863, it described Barja as the “buried city -
Necropole”. Residents of Barja has also seen this expedition taking back to the French consulate in Beirut a monument bearing a Greek inscription. “Khorstos Al-Sharif Salam, he left prematurely, lived 27 years, died in 228. In the modern age, that area is called by “Qasr bu Hanin", attributed to the name of the landowner. The castle of Al-Nawawais, next to a college building, which overlooks the valley of a town named "Siblin", is wrongfully called “Ajran El-Dibs”, but in fact, it is Nawawais, which means
sarcophaguses, originally made for
Phoenician priests and other of pagan peoples.
Ottoman era In 1838,
Eli Smith noted it as
Burja, a village located in "Aklim el Kharnub, North of et-Tuffah, next the coast".
Twentieth century During the
Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), hundreds of young men and women emigrated from Barja to various countries such as Australia, Brazil, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, contributing to the
Lebanese diaspora.
Contemporary period The town has houses that demonstrate traditional architecture. Since the turn of the millennium, Barja has experienced westernization. As public transportation and mass transit become more abundant, locals are commuting to the capital city
Beirut in search for job opportunities. ==Climate==