In the Middle Ages, Lebanon was divided up
into fiefs governed by emirs or hereditary sheikhs. In the early
years of the 17th century, Emir Fakhr ed-Dine II Maan (d. 1635)
succeeded in extending his power throughout these princedoms
and eventually ruled an area corresponding to present-day Lebanon.
His first capital was at Baaqline, but because of a chronic
water shortage, he was forced to move to Deir El-Qamar where
there were copious springs.
When the Maan dynasty died out at the end of the 17th century,
the land was inherited by the emirs of the Chehab family.
It was Emir Bechir Chehab II who decided to leave Deir El-Qamar
and to construct his own palace at Beiteddine ("House
of Faith"), a Druze hermitage which today is part of
the palace. In 1812, Emir Bechir obliged each of his able-bodied
male subjects to provide two days of unpaid labor in order
to ensure a plentiful supply of water at his new seat of government.
Within two years the project was completed.
The palace remained the emir's residence until his forced
exile in 1840. After the Ottomans suppressed the emirate in
1842, the building was used by the Ottoman authorities as
the government residence. Later, under the French Mandate
following World War I, it was used for local administrative
purposes.
The General Directorate of Antiquities carefully restored
Beiteddine to its original grandeur after it was declared
a historic monument in 1934. Beginning in 1943, the year of
Lebanon's independence, the palace became the summer residence
of the president. Bechara el-Khoury was the first president
to use Beiteddine, and he brought back the remains of Emir
Bechir from Istanbul, where he had died in 1850.
Today Beiteddine, with its museums and its gardens, is one
of Lebanon's major tourist attractions. Qualified guides are
available for your tour through this monument. A visit to
Beiteddine is ideally combined with near by Deir El-Qamar. |
