The Romaïan Cultural Society’s trip to the Batroun and Douma districts in July 2024

The social committee of the Romaïan Cultural Society, accompanied by fifty people, embarked on a cultural and recreational trip on July 6, 2024, to some villages in the Batroun district, reaching the city of Douma, which is considered a major and famous tourist center in northern Lebanon. The delegation left the city of Beirut on the morning of Saturday, July 6, in a large, air-conditioned bus, heading towards Jounieh and Byblos, reaching the Madfoun Bridge, where they stopped at Bread House Bakery for breakfast, giving the participants a chance to meet and socialize. The delegation was accompanied by the association’s president, Dr. Negib Geahchan, who explained throughout the trip the geography of the area intended for the journey and its history, highlighting its most important religious, heritage, and civilizational landmarks.

The bus departed, after breakfast, to the town of Rashkida, passing through Ejdabra and Ebreen. The residents of Rashkida, whose name means “the high head” in Aramaic, are Shia Muslims, and the two main families are Hamada and Aladdin. But this village includes the ancient St. George’s Church, which dates back to the Middle Ages and is now under the care of the Maronite Church. The delegation disembarked from the bus in the town center and headed directly to St. George’s Church. The church consists of two parts: the first is built in the basilica style and composed of two rows of columns and three aisles, while the second church is located behind the first and is column-free. Its ceiling, made up of two arches, rests on the first church. The two churches preserve remnants of wall paintings, of which only small parts remain. The Association for the Restoration of Church Wall Paintings in Lebanon has been overseeing their care since 2012. The restoration revealed a magnificent scene of the Virgin and Child flanked by Saints Peter and Paul in the inner church. As for the first apse, a painting of the Prophet Abraham sacrificing his son Isaac was revealed after the cleaning process. In the second apse, an image of supplication appears with Christ sitting on the throne, flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist. In the space between the two apses, there is a scene of the crucifixion of Christ, which had been hidden under a layer of accumulated lime on the church walls for hundreds of years.

In the second phase of the journey, the delegation moved to the town of Kfarhay, which is 14 kilometers away from the city of Batroun. Among the most prominent landmarks, there, is the Monastery of St. John Maron, which was originally the Monastery of the Head of St. Maron (Monastery of Rash Moran in Syriac). Conflicting information exists regarding the founding date of this monastery, but the official position of the Maronite Church states that the first Maronite patriarch, John Maron, built it when he was the bishop of Bostrys, and then moved to it after being elected patriarch in the year 685, following the vacancy of the Antiochian patriarchate due to the death of Patriarch Theophanes II. It is said that the first four Maronite patriarchs resided in Kfarhay (John Maron, Kyros, Gabriel, and Daniel Shamaty) before the patriarchal seat was later moved to Yanouh. In the year 1130, the Crusaders carried the relics of Saint Maron from this monastery in Kfarhay to Rome, and the relics remained there until 2000 when the Vatican returned them to the Monastery of Saint John Maron. The delegation from the Romaïan Cultural Society visited this monastery, specifically the Church of St. Maron where the saint’s head is located, and met with H.E. Bishop Mounir Khairallah, the Maronite Bishop of Batroun, who welcomed the delegation and explained to them the history of the monastery and the region. After the monastery, the delegation moved to the parish churches of St. Saba and Notre Dame, which are adjacent to each other in the center of the town of Kfarhay. These two churches, dating back also to the Crusader era, are distinguished by their thick walls and the presence of Greek inscriptions on their stones and ancient sarcophagi.

In the third stage of the journey, the participants moved to the town of Baqsmaya, which is located next to the al-Jawz river that separates the Batroun district from the Koura region. It is a town facing the village of Kaftoun, where the famous Our Lady Monastery is located. The town of Baqsmaya is famous for its presses, troughs, basins, pottery, open and closed wells, and a path that leads to the banks of the Al-Jawz River. One of the most important landmarks in Baqsmaya is the Church of Saint Simeon Stylites, which the delegation visited directly upon their arrival in the village. It is a church that was originally Romaïan Orthodox and was transferred to the Maronites after the emigration of the Romaïans from the town in bygone centuries. The remains of the Temple of Bacchus and the Palace of Maya, which once stood on the town’s heights, were used in its construction. Above the church door, the temple threshold, engraved with three lion heads, was placed. The stones of the palace and the temple were also used in the construction of the Church of the Virgin Mary adjacent to the Church of Saint Simon. The delegation then descended to the banks of the Al-Jawz River, where they paused for a moment at the watermills scattered along the river’s course and at the Roman paths and bridges that served as a trade route for the muleteers who would visit those mills to grind their products, especially wheat. This tour was an opportunity to sip coffee and take commemorative photos.

In the fourth stage of the journey, the delegation headed to the town of Kfarhelda, which is famous for the nearby Al-Jawz River that sources its abundant waters from the Dalla Spring. The Dalla spring and the Al-Jawz River irrigate all the lands of Kfarhelda and the entire Batroun area. On the banks of the Al-Jawz River, there are about ten restaurants that attract tourists. The participants in the visit observed the waterfalls located at the end of the Dalla spring in Bassatteen El Issy orchards area. The delegation passed through the church district where many churches are located, the most important of which is St. Peter’s Church, whose altar has been built on a rock more than one hundred and fifty years ago.

In the fourth and final stage of the trip, the delegation moved to the city of Douma, where they spent about two hours wandering through the town’s ancient markets, which had become a tourist destination known for its old buildings, historic churches, and numerous shops.
The trip ended in a lunch at the Esculapio restaurant, consistent of a variety of Lebanese mezze. A singer, accompanied by a Lebanese musical band, celebrated this occasion.

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