Beit Mery ( ar, بيت مري ; also Beit Mer, Beir Meri) is a Lebanese town overlooking the capital

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

. The town has been a summer mountain resort since the times of the

Phoenicians Phoenicia () was an ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient thalassocracy, thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-st ...

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 The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

First Aid Center.

Culture

The town is the site of the annual Al Bustan festival, held in the theatre of the

Al Bustan Hotel Myrna Emile Bustani ( ar, ميرنا إميل البستاني) (born 20 December 1937) is a Lebanese businesswoman, philanthropist, socialite and former parliamentarian. Daughter of Emile Bustani, she was the first woman to serve in the Lebanese p ...

. 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 Julian Lloyd Webber (born 14 April 1951) is a British solo cellist, conductor and broadcaster, a former principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the founder of the In Harmony music education programme. Early years and education Julian ...

(cellist), Gautier Capuçon (cellist), Gianluca Marciano (conductor),

Virginia Tola Virginia Tola (born 1976) is an Argentine operatic soprano. While studying music at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, she won first prize in Oslo at the Queen Sonja International Music Competition in 1999. She made her début at the Teatro Colón ...

(soprano),

Inva Mula Inva Mula (born 27 June 1963) is an Albanian opera lyric soprano. She began her soprano career at a very early age. Her father (Avni Mula) and mother () were also opera singers. She is also known for providing the voice of the diva Plavalaguna in ...

(soprano), Helikon Opera, Stile Antico, Evelyn Glennie (percussions), Boris Berezovsky (pianist), Khatia Buniatishvili (pianist), Alondra de la Parra (conductor), Oliver Poole (pianist),

Anna Tifu Anna Tifu (born 1 January 1986) is an Italian classical violinist who has made an international career. She won the George Enescu International Competition in 2007. Career Anna Tifu was born to a Romanian father and Italian mother in Cagliari ...

(violin),

Cuarteto Latinoamericano Cuarteto Latinoamericano is one of the world's most renowned string quartets and, for forty years, the leading proponent of Latin American music for the genre. Founded in Mexico in 1982, the Cuarteto has toured extensively throughout Europe, Nort ...

(string quartet).

Demography

The residents of Beit Mery are mainly

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

(

Maronite The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the larges ...

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...

Greek Catholic The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...

, Armenian Orthodox) and

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...

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.

Archaeology

There are two

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

archaeological sites in Beit Mery where

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

industries Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial secto ...

have been found by

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

s: 1) Beit Mery I is on the right bank of the

Beirut River Beirut River ( ar, نهر بيروت, ''Nahr Bayrūt'') is a river in Lebanon. The river runs east to west, then curves north, separating the city of Beirut from its eastern suburbs, primarily Bourj Hammoud and Sin el Fil. According to popular le ...

, south southwest of the town at an altitude of approximately 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 Saint Joseph University of Beirut ( French: ''Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth'', abbreviated to and commonly known as "USJ") is a private Catholic research university located in Beirut, Lebanon, which was founded in 1875 by French Jesuit mis ...

by the French Faculty of Medicine. 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. 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.

Tourism

The town has ancient Roman and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

ruins as well as the historic

Monastery of Saint John the Baptist, (Deir el Kalaa) which was built in 1750.Beit Mery
The town, which is only 16 km from

, 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.

Climate

Beit Meri has a Hot-summer mediterranean climate (Csa) with cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers.

References

External links

Beit Mery
Localiban *https://web.archive.org/web/20080705115753/http://www.beitmery.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Beit Mery Populated places in the Matn District Maronite Christian communities in Lebanon Eastern Orthodox Christian communities in Lebanon Melkite Christian communities in Lebanon Heavy Neolithic sites Neolithic settlements Archaeological sites in Lebanon Society of Lebanon Coloniae (Roman) Tourist attractions in Lebanon