The Kadisha (Holy) Valley is the site of some of the most ancient Christian monastic communities of the
Middle East. The valley's natural caves, being comfortless, scattered, and difficult to access, provided monks and hermits sufficiently isolated and inhospitable conditions to live out Christian solitude, contemplation, and devotion. Many of the caves and irregularities in the cliff-sides were adapted to serve as individual dwellings (cells), chapels, and monasteries, and such buildings were further carved out of the cliff faces of the valley. Some have interiors covered with frescoes and facades. Around the caves there are terraced fields made by the hermits for growing grain, grapes, and olives. While there are numerous monasteries in the valley, there are several main monastic complexes:
Qannubin Monastery The
Qannubin Monastery (Deir Qannubin (دير قنوبين)), is on the northeast side of the Qadisha Valley. Although its foundation is often attributed to the Emperor
Theodosius the Great in 375AD, it is more likely that it was established by a disciple of St Theodosius the Cenobite. For the most part it is cut into the rock cliff side - monastic cells, church, cloister, and accommodation for travelers.
Monastery of Our Lady of Hawqa Saydet Hawqa is situated at an altitude of 1150m between Qannubin and Qozhaya Monasteries, at the base of an enormous cave. It was founded in the late 13th century by villagers from
Hawqa. The hermitage appears to have been located on a wide platform at mid-level, where there is a water reservoir fed by channels. The upper level, only accessible by ladder, is a cave some 47m long, where the wealth of medieval pottery and arrowheads that have been found suggests its use as a refuge. Traces of fortifications have also been found in the Aassi Hauqqa (cave) at 1170m altitude. Archaeological finds show that this cave was in use in
Palaeolithic,
Roman, and
Medieval times.
Monastery of Mar Sarkis The
Monastery of Mar Sarkis, also called Ras Al Nahr, overlooks
Ehden,
Kfarsghab,
Bane and Hadath El Jebbeh. Given its exceptional location overlooking the valley at an altitude of 1500m, the monastery is called
the Watchful Eye of Qadisha. It is dedicated to
Saints Sarkis and Bakhos (Saints Sergius and Bacchus). The name
Ras Al Nahr means
the top of the river as it is in the vicinity of the Mar Sarkis source, the main contributor to the Qlaynsieh River which joins the Qannubin River in the valley. The first church of Saints Sarkis and
Bakhos was built in the mid 8th Century A.D. on the ruins of a
Canaanite temple dedicated to a god of agriculture -
Dagan. Next to it, another church dedicated to Our Lady was constructed in 1198 A.D. Several buildings were added from 1404 till 1690, when Patriarch
Estephan Douaihy restored part of the buildings.
Monastery of Mar Lishaa Mar Lishaa or St Elisha (دير مار ﺃليشع), mentioned first in the 14th century, is shared by two communities, a Maronite solitary order and the Barefoot
Carmelite order. It consists of three or four small cells, a refectory, and some offices; the communal church includes four chapels cut into the rock-face.
Other monasteries Other monastic establishments in the Qadisha are the Monastery of Mar Girgis, with the Chapel of Mar Challita, the Monastery of Mar Yuhanna, the Monastery of Mar Abun, with the Hermitage of Mar Sarkis, and the Monastery of Mart Moura,
Ehden and others. There is another group of monasteries in the adjoining
Hadchit Valley (Ouadi Houlat). They include the hermitage-monastery complexes of Deir es-Salib, Mar Antonios, Mar Semaane, and Mar Assia, along with the isolated chapels of Mar Bohna and Mar Chmouna. ==Towns, villages, and monasteries==