- RELIGIOUS TOURISM
- religious site
Deir el Qamar, Chouf district
In the maze of old houses and narrow streets, a small staircase leads to the front of the church of Saydet Al Talleh or Our Lady of the Hill, in the heart of Deir El-Qamar, Chouf, within south central Lebanon. It was constructed on the ruins of a Phoenician temple dedicated to Astarte, a goddess of many things including fertility and war. Extended, restored and rebuilt, the church is dedicated to the miraculous Virgin Mary. It is one of the places most frequented by pilgrimage in Lebanon. The first Sunday of August is celebrated lavishly in this church enclosed by buildings of the convent of monks.