Historical Site
 
Abillama Cemetery
The Abillama Cemetery had been built since their venue at Brummana during the reign of Emir (Prince) Fakhreddine, back to 1110 hijri.

Abillama Cemetery before Abillama Cemetery Renovated
Church of Prophet Isaiah
(Address: Churches Street, Brummana)

The Ethronites (Tribute of Arab pirates) built fortresses on the mountaintops to protect themselves and link their regions. Their most famous forts are located in Sannine, Batroun (Jifarta) and Brummana where they built a fort in 333 B.C.

In fact, the narrow windows in the southern wall wouldn’t have been used in building a temple. These external and internal windows were used for military usage.
This fortress is the most ancient historical feature in Brummana. In 1560, the Christian transformed it into the current church of Prophet Isaiah for the Greek Orthodox next to which we find a great oak tree going back to the fifth century. Are the tree and the church synchronous? All that we can confirm is that the inscription engraved above the gate of the church says: “Prophet Isaiah Church in Brummana was built in 1560 AC”; and the expression “built” mentioned on the inscription meant restoration and renovation.

Then was established the iconostas that is artistically similar somehow to the ones found in the monastery of Saint Elijah Chouwaya, the NDU monastery and Saint John monastery in Khonchara, as if there was only one single school of art when these wood masterpieces were performed, and that was in the eighteenth or the nineteenth century.

Monastery of Prophet Isaiah
(Address: Mar Chaya Zone, Brummana)

The Phoenicians are the first people to inhabit Brummana; they built on Aranta Hill (Hill in Mar Chaya Zone) a temple for Rummana, the God of Air, Storm and Thunder. This turned Brummana into a region for worshipers.

They also built a religious school, which remains of sarcophagi and stones were discovered in Qannabat Brummana, Beit Mery and particularly in the hill of Aranta, near the convent of Saint Isaiah (recently, the region of Mar Chaaya was administratively separated from the region of Brummana). That was first a Phoenician Temple, then a fortress for the Romans, the Crusaders, the Jarajimah and many others.

Since temples succeed in the same place when changing the religion, and are subject to big or little changes imposed by the new cult, therefore, the Monastery of Saint Isaiah might be built on the Phoenician temple's ruins.

 
Serail Abillama
(Address: Churches Street, Lazarists Monastery, Brummana)

During the reign of Emir (Prince) Fakhreddine, Brummana regained its rural life, and Brummanian families began to form. The “Moukaddams” (title given to powerful families in Mount Lebanon) Abillama came from Kfarselwan to reside in Brummana where they built their 'Serail' (citadel).

After Emir Bachir I died in 1707, he was succeeded by Moukaddam Haydar Shehab (1706-1732) who settled in Brummana at Moukaddam Abillama's premises due to the deep political alliance between the two.

In 1710, Haydar Shehab defeated Bashir Pasha, Saida’s Ottoman "Wali” (governor) in Ain Dara’s battle, and was supported by Abillama’s army headed by Moukaddam Hussein and Abdallah Abillama. After his victory, Emir Haydar bestowed the title of “Emir" on the Moukaddams who ruled over the Metn.


An old stable for feeding horses
 

In 1840, Emir Bachir II raised the taxes and collected them by force, a fact that led to a conflict between him and the Abillamas, his advocates. Therefore, in the funeral of Emir Muhammad, father of Abass Abillama in Ras El-Metn, the Emirs, Sheikhs and religious chiefs decided to rebel to Emir Bachir II’s actions, and nominated Emir Haydar, son of Melhim Shehab, their governor, especially that this happened after political coalitions between the North headed by Youssef Bek Karam and the Abillamas in the Metn and other parties in Lebanon (at that time ‘Mount Lebanon’). And at that period, the Abillamas played an important political role through their relationships with European countries.

Therefore, to stop the rebellion, Emir Bachir II sought the help of the Ottomans, who sent him 1000 soldiers. Fierce battles erupted and were crowned by the victory of Emir Bachir over the Abillamas; some villages were burnt among which Brummana where the Serail was the central prison of the Metn from 1842 till 1854.

In the mid-19th century, the Abillama Serail was seating of the Christian District Commissioner (Ka'em Makamieh) and that was visited by political international and Arab figures, like Youssef Bek Karam and the Queen of Belgium.

In 1885, Mother Giles, a French nun, had founded with the cooperation of the Latin Sisters of Charity (Lazarist Sisters), a convent, a school and an orphanage.

In the 20th century, due to the important role Mother Giles played, the convent was visited by the prime minister of France during the Second World War, General Charles De Gaulle, and the French leader General Catroux during the First World War.

Deir Al Kalaa

(Address: Beit Mery, Middle Metn)

Located on the highest hill of Beit Mery, the area of Deir El Kalaa owes its name to the convent Saint Jean El Kalaa (which means in English "Saint John of the hill", "Deir" means convent) built by the Antonins monks (two branches among Christians Maronites exist: the Antonins and Marists) in the 18th century. In spite of the Maronite convent, the area of Deir El Kalaa holds various ruins dating from the Phoenician, Byzantine and Roman era. This place is classified "ruins" by the Lebanese ministry of tourism and it constituted until a recent time an important arts center in the country (in particular with the annual festival of Deir El Kalaa).

The wealth of the area is due first of all to its high elevation, which constitutes an important strategic point with a broad angle of sight on Beirut (the capital) and the sea. It is in fact the principal reason for which the Romans and, later, the Byzantines chose the area of Deir El Kalaa like a base for one of their colonies. The history of the area is distributed on more then 2500 years, and is divided into four major periods: the Phoenician prosperity, the Roman domination, the Byzantine fortune, the convent of Saint Jean El Kalaa and Maronite Christianity (we could also add the Cananeans and the Turks).

The discovery of the ruins of Deir El Kalaa began when the property was transferred to the Antonin Maronite Order in 1747. The artifacts are today sited in the museum of the convent located in the large tomb. The first archaeologists to have studied these ruins were the British Waddington, and the French Clermane Ganaud. Their reports written in 1898 are available in the academic library in Paris.

  • Temple of Baal Markod: built on the beginning of the 2nd century B.C.

  • Temple of Juno-Astarte: built on the 1st century B.C. by the Romans.

  • Bath: built on the 2nd century during the Byzantine era.

  • Byzantine Church: built on the 5th century.

Druze Sanctuary

The Druze confession is one of the first that lived in Brummana hundreds of years ago.

Brummanian families began to form during the reign of Emir Fakhreddine. The Druz from Hammana and from the High Metn “the Alwans”, “the Maksads”, and “the Munzers”, then Abi-Al-Lamaas from Kfarselwan followed suit as well as other families.

After Emir Bachir I died in 1707, he was succeeded by Moukaddam Haydar Chehab (1706-1732) who settled in Brummana at Moukaddam Abi-Al-Lamaa's premises due to the deep political alliance between the two.

In 1710, Haydar Chehab defeated Bachir Pasha, Saida’s Ottoman ‘Wali” (governor) in Ain Dara’s battle, and was supported by Abi-AI-Lamaa’s army headed by Moukaddam Hussein and Abdallah Abi-AI-Lamaa. After his victory, Emir Haydar bestowed the title of “Emir’ on the Moukaddams who ruled over the Metn.

The Druze used to pray on Thursdays in at the "Druze Sanctuary" that lasted to the middle of the last century.