Beiteddine Palace

One of the Top five must sees when visiting Lebanon, the most important Palace in the country, with an Arab and Andalou style. The visit of Beiteddine can be done in a one day tour in the beautiful Chouf Region, with a stop in the historic village of Deir el Amar, and the Cedars forest in the upper chouf Region. During the summer, you can enjoy also great concerts in the Palace in the Beiteddine Festival.

Beit ed-Dine (translates to "House of Religion") is a small Lebanese town in the Chouf District, approx. 50 km southeast of Beirut and near the town of Deir el-Qamar from which it is separated by a steep valley. The town is famous for its magnificent Beiteddine Palace which hosts the Beiteddine Festival every summer.

Local emir Bashir Chehab II who was later appointed to rule Mount Lebanon, started building the palace in 1788 at the site of the Druze hermitage (hence the town's name, translating as "House of Faith"). It took about 30 years to complete. The best craftsmen from Damascus and Aleppo as well as Italian architects were invited and given much freedom, so its style is a cross between traditional Arab and Italian baroque.

After 1840, when Bashir was sent into exile the palace was used by the Ottomans as a government building, during the French Mandate its role was preserved and it served as a local administrative office. In 1934, it was declared a national monument. In 1943, Bechara El Khoury, the first Lebanese president, declared it the official president's summer residence. Parts of the palace are today open to the public while the rest is still the president's summer residence.

Emir Bashir built three more palaces in the town for his sons, till today only Mir Amin Palace survived and is today a luxury hotel.

For more information, you can visit the Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beiteddine as well as Beitedding websiteLess