The Qadisha Valley

Situated in the peaceful North of Lebanon, the Qadisha Valley is a beautiful 35km long steep-sided gorge carved out by the Nahr Qadisha, or Holy River. (Qadisha is an Aramaic term meaning “Holy” and the Qadisha Valley is the “Holy Valley”). The river flows from a cave just below the revered Cedars, on Mount Lebanon, down between steep-sided cliffs, all the way to Tripoli and the sea. The steep-sided cliffs contain many natural caves and for centuries, these caves have been a place of refuge for early Christian sects, and other minorities, often fleeing persecution. Today the valley is populated with many ancient Christian communities, even individual hermits seeking total isolation.

As this is the site of some of the earliest Christian monastic settlements in the world, UNESCO added the valley to the list of world heritage sites in 1998.

The Greek Orthodox monastery of the Theotokos of Hamatoura, situated at a point where the valley widens out considerably, is one such community.