Rock-cut hermitage of Saint Simon the Stylite & Monastery of Saint George, Berqasha, Bsharreh

The site History

This rock-cut religious monument was probably built during the Crusader period. According to the maronite patriarch Estefan Doueihy (17th century), we know that a church dedicated to Saint George and Saint Doumit was built in Bqorqasha in 1112 by Takla, daughter of priest Basil of Bsharreh. It seems that the building subsequently expanded and turned into a monastery attached to a hermitage dedicated to Saint Simon, as attested by a maronite syriac lectionary “Reesh Qoryan” written in 1242 in the hermitage itself.

General Features

Located at an altitude of 1350m, the monastery hermitage complex is nestled in a natural 50-meter long rock shelter.

it comprises four main areas, the first situated at ground floor level and the others at a higher level, linked by a narrow cornices.

These units are rooms with walls built on the valley side above the cliff with roughly trimmed local limestone blocks, pierced with rectangular windows.

Some of the roofs were flat and made of timber beams inserted in slots carved in the rock. Entrances to the rooms are rectangular and were initially fitted with wooden doors which pivoted in sockets and were secured with draw bars.

Some of these have preserved their original wooden lintel. On the rocky floors, carved grooves served as troughs which drained rainwater and filled basins ii order to ensure a regular water supply.

Republic of Lebanon
Ministry of Interior and Municipalities
Directorate General of Antiquities
Bcharreh Union of Municipalities
Municipality of Bqorqasha in coordination with  Ministry of Culture.