Al Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve
Encyclopedia
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
in the Chouf District
Chouf District
Chouf is a historic region of Lebanon, as well as an administrative district in the governorate of Mount Lebanon....
of Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. It is located on the slopes of Barouk
Barouk
Barouk is a village in the Chouf District of Lebanon . Historically, the village is known for being the "land of good", because of its fountain . The poet Rachid Nakhleh, the writer of the national hymn , was born in Barouk...
mountain and has an area of 550 km², nearly 5.3% of the Lebanese territory.
The reserve contains the Lebanon Cedar
Lebanon Cedar
Cedrus libani is a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Mediterranean region.There are two distinct types that are considered to be different subspecies or varieties. Lebanon cedar or Cedar of Lebanon Cedrus libani is a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Mediterranean...
forests of Barouk, Maaser el Shouf and Ain Zhalta. It is an Important Bird Area
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
(IBA) and Eco-tourism area. It hosts 32 species of wild mammals, 200 species of birds, and 500 species of plants.
Geodiversity
The barouk mountain comprises rocks from the (PliocenePliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
) which have undergone major tectonic movement that divided the mountains of Lebanon into two parallel parts; the eastern range is called the Anti-Lebanon
Anti-Lebanon
The Anti-Lebanon mountains is the Western name for the Eastern Lebanon Mountain Range , which are a southwest-northeast-trending mountain range between Syria and Lebanon. Its Western name comes from the Greek word for ‘opposite’. The majority of the mountain range lies in Syria. The border between...
, and the western range is called Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon , as a geographic designation, is a Lebanese mountain range, averaging above 2,200 meters in height and receiving a substantial amount of precipitation, including snow, which averages around four meters deep. It extends across the whole country along about , parallel to the...
. The two mountain ranges are separated by the Beqaa Valley
Beqaa Valley
The Beqaa Valley is a fertile valley in east Lebanon. For the Romans, the Beqaa Valley was a major agricultural source, and today it remains Lebanon’s most important farming region...
, which is composed of recent infill sediments. The main rocks are limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
. The whole of the Barouk Mountain is cavernous limestone, with many surface features such as dolines indicating the underlying cavernous forms of the mountain range. One particularly noteworthy cave, estimated to be 700 meters long, is located near Niha village. Villagers report an abundance of stalactites and stalagmites and that there is an underground body of water.
The highest peak on the range at 1980 meters. The trend from north to south is for the eastern slopes to change from very steep to less steep and for the western slopes to become increasingly steep. The top of the Barouk range becomes increasingly narrow towards the south.
- Hydrology:
Precipitation in the watershed is the source of both surface streamflow and groundwater. The major portion of this occurs as rain. Snowfall often occurs at the upper elevations but snow seldom persists more than a few days and disappears before the end of the rainy season.
Normally snow has little overall direct effect on stream-flow within the watershed. However, on rare occasions warm rains falling on the snow-pack may result in rapid melting and release of large quantities of water at a time when the soils are already fully saturated. These conditions result in rapid runoff and floods. A large proportion of the exposed surface rock in the Barouk region is cavernous, fissured and broken limestone, and its porous condition makes it very permeable. This results in much of the precipitation infiltrating with minimum surface runoff
Surface runoff
Surface runoff is the water flow that occurs when soil is infiltrated to full capacity and excess water from rain, meltwater, or other sources flows over the land. This is a major component of the water cycle. Runoff that occurs on surfaces before reaching a channel is also called a nonpoint source...
despite the often-shallow soils and sparse vegetative cover. Water percolates downward through the various formations and feeds the many large springs found on lower slopes in the area. Such springs help maintain stream-flow during the April to November dry season.
Surface water flows originating on the range are mostly seasonal but some are perennial.
Underground water generates outflow rivers such as:
- Al Awali River, more commonly known as Al-Barouk river
- Damour River, known as Al-Safa river
The summit of the range is considered as a divide between two hydrological systems because of the difference between the two slopes of the mountain. The eastern slope is much steeper and favors surface stream flows, whereas the western slope is less steep and favors ground water aquifers.
The rivers that flow in the valleys are the major source of agriculture irrigation and supply a dozen Shouf villages with domestic water and some of the western Bekaa villages. It is also the main source of water for the Aammiq Swamp in the Bekaa.
- Pedology:
- Homogenous, belonging to the red brown Mediterranean soils formed on hard marl limestone.
- derived from JurassicJurassicThe Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
, Balthonian, CallovianCallovianIn the geologic timescale, the Callovian is an age or stage in the Middle Jurassic, lasting between 164.7 ± 4.0 Ma and 161.2 ± 4.0 Ma. It is the last stage of the Middle Jurassic, following the Bathonian and preceding the Oxfordian....
to Oxfordien - Portlandian marl limestone. - Stone contents ranges from 80 - 90%.
From an erosion point of view these soils are in a state of equilibrium due to:
- High permeability.
- Mask of calcareous fragments.
- Good vegetative cover.
- Good drainage.
- Climatology:
The annual rainfall average is 1200 mm, and the mean annual temperature is 11.3°C. The mean daily maximum temperature is 23.4? C in August whereas the mean minimum temperature in January is -0.6? C. The absolute temperature ranges from -10.8°C in January to 32.3° in August. The mean relative humidity lies around 65% but the eastern slopes are slightly dryer. There are about 50 to 55 days of snow fall per year, depending on the information provided by the Ministry of Public Work and Transport.
Biodiversity
- Flora
The flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
of the Al-Shouf Cedar area is partly covered by Mouterde's 1966, 1970 and 1983 flora of Lebanon. The most recent and extensive botanical researches on the official site were conducted, on behalf of the Ministry of Environment (Protected Areas Project), by (Georges Tohmé) the National Council for Scientific Research (NCSR) in 1999. Since then extremely few flora reports on the official site were published or known. Tohmé continued his field botanical studies at Al-Shouf Cedar Reserve during the last three years in order to obtain confirmation on the status of certain species. His recent new findings are published in Tohmé, G. & Tohmé, H. (2002). Few of them are incorporated here and the others will be added to the final report of the present study-project. The list of Al-Shouf Cedar Reserve species includes 500 identified species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
distributed over 61 families. Also the reserve is habitat to 25 internationally and nationally threatened species
Threatened species
Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...
, 48 endemic to Lebanon or Lebanon and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
or Lebanon and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, and 14 rare species
Rare species
A rare species is a group of organisms that are very uncommon or scarce. This designation may be applied to either a plant or animal taxon, and may be distinct from the term "endangered" or "threatened species" but not "extinct"....
, whilst 214 species are restricted to the Eastern Mediterranean
Eastern Mediterranean
The Eastern Mediterranean is a term that denotes the countries geographically to the east of the Mediterranean Sea. This region is also known as Greater Syria or the Levant....
or Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
area.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the Mediterranean area as well as in Lebanon. The reserve is known for its official's efforts to save the cedar of Lebanon
Lebanon Cedar
Cedrus libani is a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Mediterranean region.There are two distinct types that are considered to be different subspecies or varieties. Lebanon cedar or Cedar of Lebanon Cedrus libani is a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Mediterranean...
through continues management of the forests and planting new trees in previously logged and deforestated areas. The reserve form the last natural limits to the spread of Cedrus libani on the planet. The reserve is also known for the ability of the forests to regenerate by their own without any human interference. Other tree species in the reserve include : Cyprus oak (Quercus infectoria ), Brant’s oak (Quercus brantii), Kermes oak
Kermes Oak
Quercus coccifera, the Kermes Oak, is an oak in the Turkey oak section Quercus sect. Cerris. It is native to the western Mediterranean region and Northern African Maghreb, from Morocco and Portugal east to Libya and Greece.-Description:...
(Quercus calliprinos), Calabrian pine (Pinus brutia), Aleppo pine
Aleppo Pine
Pinus halepensis, commonly known as the Aleppo Pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. Their range extends from Morocco and Spain north to southern France, Italy and Croatia, and east to Greece and northern Tunisia, and Libya, with an outlying population in Syria, Lebanon, southern...
(Pinus halepensis), Stone pine
Stone Pine
The Stone Pine , is also called Italian Stone Pine, or Umbrella Pine , and Parasol Pine. It is in the pine family Pinaceae and occasionally listed under the invalid name Pinus sativa. The tree is native to the Mediterranean region...
(Pinus pinea), Greek juniper (Juniperus excelca), Syrian juniper (Arceuthos drupacea).
- Fauna
Mammals: Mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
explorations in Lebanon were shy and almost limited to around the middle of the twentieth century. They are fragmentary and provided little information on the mammals inhabiting the country. Many species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
and sub-species were lacking or not yet mentioned in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
till early seventieth.
Gray Wolf
The gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family...
(Canis lupus ), Beech marten
Beech Marten
The beech marten , also known as the stone marten or white breasted marten, is a species of marten native to much of Europe and Central Asia, though it has established a feral population in North America. It is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN on account of its wide distribution, its large...
(Martes foina), Mountain gazelle
Mountain Gazelle
The mountain gazelle is a species of gazelle that is widely but unevenly distributed across the Arabian Peninsula. It inhabits mountains, foothills and coastal plains. Its range coincides closely with that of the acacia trees that grow in these areas. It is mainly a grazing species, though this...
(Gazella gazella), Golden jackal
Golden Jackal
The golden jackal , also known as the common jackal, Asiatic jackal, thos or gold-wolf is a Canid of the genus Canis indigenous to north and northeastern Africa, southeastern and central Europe , Asia Minor, the Middle East and southeast Asia...
(Canis aureus), Red fox
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
(Vulpes vulpes), European badger (Meles meles), Cape hare
Cape Hare
The Cape, Common or Brown Hare is a hare natively found throughout Africa, and has spread to many parts of the Europe, Middle East and Asia. The Cape Hare is a nocturnal herbivore.They are fast...
(Lepus capensis), Caucasian Squirrel
Caucasian Squirrel
The Caucasian squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus endemic to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey. Its natural habitat is temperate broadleaf and mixed forests....
(Sciurus anomalus), Palestine Mole Rat (Nannospalax ehrenbergi) Indian porcupine
Indian Porcupine
The Indian Crested Porcupine , or Indian Porcupine, is a member of the Old World porcupines. It is quite an adaptable rodent, found throughout southern Asia and the Middle East. It is tolerant of several different habitats: mountains, tropical and subtropical grasslands, scrublands, and forests...
(Hystrix indica), Striped hyena
Striped Hyena
The Striped Hyena is a species of true hyena native to North and East Africa, the Caucasus, the Middle East, Middle and Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent...
(Hyaena hyaena), Wild cat
Wild cat
The wildcat is a small cat with several subspecies and a very broad distribution, found throughout most of Africa, Europe, and southwest and central Asia into India, China, and Mongolia. It is a hunter of small mammals, birds, and other creatures of a similar or smaller size. Sometimes included is...
(Felis silvestris), Cape hyrax
Cape Hyrax
The Rock Hyrax , or Cape Hyrax, is one of the four living species of the order Hyracoidea, and the only living species in the genus Procavia. Like all hyraxes, it is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal, superficially resembling a guinea pig with short ears and tail...
(Procavia capensis). The reserve launched a project to reintroduce the Nubian ibex
Nubian Ibex
The Nubian ibex is a desert-dwelling goat species found in mountainous areas of Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt, Ethiopia, Yemen, Sudan, and Pakistan. It is generally considered to be a subspecies of Alpine ibex, but is sometimes considered specifically distinct...
(Capra nubiana) to the area from Jordan, after it was extinct in the mid-twentieth century. The reserve was most probably home to the extinct now in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
Roe deer
Roe Deer
The European Roe Deer , also known as the Western Roe Deer, chevreuil or just Roe Deer, is a Eurasian species of deer. It is relatively small, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments. Roe Deer are widespread in Western Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, and from...
(Capreolus capreolus), Persian fallow deer
Persian fallow deer
The Persian Fallow Deer is a rare ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. Its taxonomic status is disputed, with some maintaining it as a subspecies of the Fallow Deer, while other treat it as a separate species, Dama mesopotamica.-Description:Persian fallow deer are bigger than Fallow...
(Dama dama mesopotamica), Anatolian leopard
Anatolian leopard
The Anatolian leopard , also called the Asia Minor leopard is a leopard subspecies native to southwestern Turkey. Its continued existence is uncertain.- Distribution and habitat:...
(Panthera pardus tulliana), Wild goat
Wild Goat
The wild goat is a widespread species of goat, with a distribution ranging from Europe and Asia Minor to central Asia and the Middle East. It is the ancestor of the domestic goat.-Social structure:...
(Capra aegagrus), and Syrian Brown Bear
Syrian Brown Bear
The Syrian brown bear is a relatively small subspecies of brown bear native to Eurasia.- Distribution :Within the former Soviet Union, it occurs in Transcaucasia, Talysh, Northern Armenia, Abkhazia, Karabakh and Kopet Dag. Outside the ex-USSR, it occurs in Iran, Iraq and Turkey...
(Ursus arctos syriacus). The Aurochs
Aurochs
The aurochs , the ancestor of domestic cattle, were a type of large wild cattle which inhabited Europe, Asia and North Africa, but is now extinct; it survived in Europe until 1627....
(Bos primigenius) may have existed in the area in the middle ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
as well.
Birds: The reserve is home to 200 species of birds, which 19 are considered rare at the national level. More than 22 species have been confirmed to be resident, the rest are migratory or rare visitors, and at least three or two species have been introduced. The reserve holds a combination of birds found in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
which include: Chukar
Chukar
The Chukar Partridge or Chukar is a Eurasian upland gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It has been considered to form a superspecies complex along with the Rock Partridge, Philby's Partridge and Przevalski's Partridge and treated in the past as conspecific particularly with the first...
(Alectoris chukar), Eurasian jay
Eurasian Jay
The Eurasian Jay is a species of bird occurring over a vast region from Western Europe and north-west Africa to the Indian Subcontinent and further to the eastern seaboard of Asia and down into south-east Asia...
(Garrulus glandarius), Blackbird (Turdus merula), Common raven
Common Raven
The Common Raven , also known as the Northern Raven, is a large, all-black passerine bird. Found across the northern hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids...
(Corvus corax), Common kestrel
Common Kestrel
The Common Kestrel is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European Kestrel, Eurasian Kestrel, or Old World Kestrel. In Britain, where no other brown falcon occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".This species...
(Falco tinnunculus), Shore lark
Shore Lark
The Shore Lark , called the Horned Lark in North America, is a species of bird in the genus Eremophila.- Description :...
(Eremophila alpestris), Common redstart
Common Redstart
The Common Redstart , or often simply Redstart, is a small passerine bird in the redstart genus Phoenicurus...
(Phoenicurus phoenicurus), Chaffinch
Chaffinch
The Chaffinch , also called by a wide variety of other names, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.- Description :...
, (Fringilla coelebs), Turtle dove
Turtle Dove
The European Turtle Dove , also known as Turtle Dove, is a member of the bird family Columbidae, which includes the doves and pigeons.-Distribution & Status:...
(Streptopelia turtur), Rock sparrow
Rock Sparrow
The Rock Sparrow, Petronia petronia, is a small passerine bird. This sparrow breeds on barren rocky hills from the Iberian peninsula and western north Africa across southern Europe and through central Asia. It is largely resident in the west of its range, but Asian birds migrate to more southerly...
(Petronia petronia), European goldfinch
European Goldfinch
The European Goldfinch or Goldfinch is a small passerine bird in the finch family.-Habitat and range:The goldfinch breeds across Europe, North Africa, and western and central Asia, in open, partially wooded lowlands. It is resident in the milder west of its range, but migrates from colder regions...
(Carduelis carduelis).
Rock Partridge
The Rock Partridge, Alectoris graeca, is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds.This partridge has its main range in southwestern Asia and southeastern Europe, and is closely related and very similar to its eastern equivalent, the Chukar...
(Alectoris graeca), and Common pheasant
Common Pheasant
The Common Pheasant , is a bird in the pheasant family . It is native to Georgia and has been widely introduced elsewhere as a game bird. In parts of its range, namely in places where none of its relatives occur such as in Europe , it is simply known as the "pheasant"...
(Phasianus colchicus). The reserve is also home to many species of birds of prey such as: Griffon vulture
Griffon Vulture
The Griffon Vulture is a large Old World vulture in the bird of prey family Accipitridae.The Griffon Vulture is long with a wingspan. In the nominate race the males weigh and females typically weigh , while in the Indian subspecies the vultures average...
(Gyps fulvus), and the Golden Eagle
Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
(Aquila chrysaetos).
Reptiles and Amphibians: Al-shouf cedar reserve is home to a rich variety of reptiles, 26 species were documented with two species endemic to Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
and the chouf area in particular. The reserve is also home to four species of amphibians, almost the same number of species found in the whole of Lebanon. The species include: Palestinian viper (Vipera palaestinae), Greek tortoise
Greek Tortoise
The spur-thighed tortoise or Greek tortoise is one of four European members of the Testudinidae family of tortoises...
(Testudo graeca), Mediterranean chameleon (Chamaeleon chamaeleon), European copper skink (Ablepharus kitaibelii), Common Toad
Common Toad
The common toad or European toad is an amphibian widespread throughout Europe, with the exception of Iceland, Ireland and some Mediterranean islands...
(Bufo bufo), European green toad
European Green Toad
The species group of the green toads is an anuran group toad found in mainland Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa. They live in many areas, including steppes, mountainous areas, semi-deserts, and urban areas...
(Bufo viridis), Arouss Al Ayn
Arouss Al Ayn
The Arouss Al Ayn is a species of salamander in the Salamandridae family.It is found in Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey....
(Salamandra infraimmaculata), Middle East Tree Frog (Hyla savignyi).
Cultural heritage
- The cedars:
The cedar forests of Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
enjoy the unique distinction as the oldest documented forests in history. The cedars were important enough in the history of man to be traceable to the very earliest written records, that of the Sumerians in the third millennium BC. In the ancient Sumerian story, The Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest pieces of literature in the world, the Cedars feature prominently. Gilgamesh has since been recognized as King Gilgamesh of history and in probability visited Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon , as a geographic designation, is a Lebanese mountain range, averaging above 2,200 meters in height and receiving a substantial amount of precipitation, including snow, which averages around four meters deep. It extends across the whole country along about , parallel to the...
.
- Historic Cultural Sites:
The setting of the Shouf is a nexus of many cultures, religions, and historical events, all of which have left an imprint which makes the area's cultural heritage as rich as its ecosystems. The following are some major landmarks:
- Qalaat Niha:
The cave castle of Tyron Niha relates to one of the closing episodes of Prince Fakhreddin II's epic history and are the only remaining vestiges of a once powerful fortress which was successively used by the Arabs, Crusaders
Crusaders
The Crusaders are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Christchurch that competes in the Super Rugby competition. They are the most successful team in Super Rugby history with seven titles...
, and a number of princes of Mount Lebanon.
- El Nabi Ayoub:
A feretory was built on the hill above the village of Niha to honor Job's memory and hold his relics. Ayoub is the Arabic name of the prophet Job.
- Qab Elias Castle:
This once powerful Druze
Druze
The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
fortress served as a guardian outpost controlling the road that linked Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
to Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, and a marching post for the Druze and Chehab
Chehab
Chehab may refer to:* Fuad Chehab, President of Lebanon from 1958 to 1964* Khaled Chehab, Prime Minister of Lebanon 1938 and 1952 to 1953* Zaki Chehab, journalist...
rulers of the South Bekaa or Wadi Taym.
- Mazar El Sit Cha'wane:
El Sit Cha'wane is a famous figure in the Druze religion. Like Job in the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, she was held up as a model of virtue and devotion. A feretory was erected in her name.