Cultural Heritage
- The cedars:
The cedar forests of Lebanon enjoy the unique distinction as the oldest documented forests in history. The cedars were important enough in the history of man to be traceable to the very earliest written records, that of the Sumerians in the third millennium BC. In the ancient Sumerian story, The Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest pieces of literature in the world, the Cedars feature prominently. Gilgamesh has since been recognized as King Gilgamesh of history and in probability visited Mount Lebanon.
- Historic Cultural Sites:
The setting of the Shouf is a nexus of many cultures, religions, and historical events, all of which have left an imprint which makes the area's cultural heritage as rich as its ecosystems. The following are some major landmarks:
- Qalaat Niha:
The cave castle of Tyron Niha relates to one of the closing episodes of Prince Fakhreddin II's epic history and are the only remaining vestiges of a once powerful fortress which was successively used by the Arabs, Crusaders, and a number of princes of Mount Lebanon.
- El Nabi Ayoub:
A feretory was built on the hill above the village of Niha to honor Job's memory and hold his relics. Ayoub is the Arabic name of the prophet Job.
- Qab Elias Castle:
This once powerful Druze fortress served as a guardian outpost controlling the road that linked Beirut to Damascus, and a marching post for the Druze and Chehab rulers of the South Bekaa or Wadi al-Taym.
- Mazar El Sit Cha'wane:
El Sit Cha'wane is a famous figure in the Druze religion. Like Job in the Old Testament, she was held up as a model of virtue and devotion. A feretory was erected in her name.
Read more about this topic: Al Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve
Famous quotes containing the words cultural and/or heritage:
“Barbarisation may be defined as a cultural process whereby an attained condition of high value is gradually overrun and superseded by elements of lower quality.”
—Johan Huizinga (1872–1945)
“The heritage of the American Revolution is forgotten, and the American government, for better and for worse, has entered into the heritage of Europe as though it were its patrimony—unaware, alas, of the fact that Europe’s declining power was preceded and accompanied by political bankruptcy, the bankruptcy of the nation-state and its concept of sovereignty.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)