Lady of Cliff

The Church of Our Lady (Saydet-Chir) is considered to be built on the ruins of an ancient pagan temple of which no substantial trace remains nowadays. It takes its name from the fact that it is located on a cliff which dominates the course of the Fidar river and the region known as “Ain el-Deir” (the source of the monastery), in the village center. The oldest mention of the church dates back to the year 1623, when a Christian community came to settle around the church and hung in it a painted canvas which was in their possession. This first church was burned, with the rest of the village as well as a group of surrounding villages in 1676 following the orders of Hussein Pasha, governor of Tripoli, as part of a conflict which opposed him to the Hamadeh clan. It was rebuilt shortly after. The monument was then enlarged at the beginning of the 20th century through donations made by the inhabitants of the village and its emigrants. Currently the church, built in ocher limestone, is composed of a single nave accessible by a door which opens in its west wall and framed by two windows under triangular pediments. This nave is made up of two bays covered by edge vaults supported by projecting pillars and ends with an apse with narrowings and a flat bottom. This apse is framed by two smaller ones whose shape is similar to that of the central apse.

• Route : Typical ottoman period Maronite churches circuit
• Village : Ehmej