Church of Saidet et Tallé

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Saidet et Talle

The Church of Saidet et Tallé, sometimes spelled Saydet El Talle and translated as Our Lady of the Hill, is a

Deir el Qamar
and dates to the 16th century.

Monk Nicolas Smisaati built a church on the site over the ruins of an old

Order of the Templars during the Crusades.[1]

The second church was destroyed by the

Saracens and rebuilt during Fakhreddine 1st Maan's (1518-1544) reign. In 1673, Sheikh Abu Fares Karam of Ehden (Emir Ahmed Maan’s secretary) and his brother Sheikh Abu Nader enlarged the church and added a vault. During the reign of Bechir II Chehab (1789-1840) it was again enlarged and renovated.[1]

Legend and legacy

According to the Maronite Heritage web site, "the legend says that there was a

Dar El Kamar
. He saw a light coming out of the hill so he gathered his soldiers and ordered them to go in the morning and dig in the land. He said to them: 'If you find an Islamic symbol, build a mosque. If you find a Christian symbol, build a church."

In the morning, the soldiers went and found a rock with a cross on it and under the cross there was the moon and venus. That was the sign that in the distant past there was a temple dedicated to the moon and venus and later it became a church.

Earthquakes and wars might be the reason for the holy site's disappearance. The rock discovered by the soldiers can be found above the old gate of the church. A Byzantine column can be found inside the church. The inhabitants honor a "miraculous" icon of our Lady of the Hill placed behind the altar. It was painted in 1867 by the Italian artist Achille Guerra. On the feast of Our Lady of the Hill- the first Sunday of August - thousands of believers go in a big procession with the miraculous icon from the entrance of Deir El Qamar to the Church.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Ministry of Tourism in Lebanon
  2. ^ "Deir el Kamar". Maronite Heritage. 2010.