Section 1 : Qbayet - Tachea

Scientific Museum of Birds and Butterflies
Mar Challita Monastery
Old Silk Plant
Akkar Citadel

Scientific Museum of Birds and Butterflies

It has the largest butterfly and bird collection in Lebanon. The museum is located in the monastery of the Carmel Brothers.

 

Mar Challita Monastery

The church is built with roman blocks that could have been used for a temple.
The church was most probably built in the Byzantine period, which explains the presence of two Greek inscriptions. Another detail that characterizes the building is its square form. Mar Challita is the patron saint of shepherds and their herds.


Old Silk Plant

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Al Qobaiyat was famous for its silk production. But with the decline of the trade, silk factories were abandoned and the only witnesses to this historical period today are the vestiges of the old silk workshop and the residence of Al Daher family (who owned the factories). Two lions carved in stones still decorate the entrance of Al Daher's house, and this emblem was most probably taken from a royal one.

Akkar Citadel

In Semitic languages, Akkar means the barrier. And that shows in the citadel built on top of the hill dominating the village and in liaison with 3 other castles: Tripoli, Qalaiat and Crack des Chevaliers in Syria. The citadel of Akkar was built in the 10th century by Mohrez Ibn Akkar and was later used by the crusaders in the 12th century. It was regained by the Mamelouk sultan Baibars. In the Ottoman period, the citadel was a possession of Banu Saifa, the enemies of Emir Fakhredine II who demolished the citadel around 1620 and took some of the stones to build Deir El Kamar.