Bsharri

Bsharri (also spelled Becharre, Bcharre, Bsharre; Arabic: ),is a Lebanese town at about 1,450meters of altitude, near the Kadisha Valley. It is located in the Bsharri District of the North Governorate. Bsharri is the town of the only remaining (preserved) Original Cedars of Lebanon. Cedar and is the birthplace of the famous poet, painter and sculptor Khalil Gibran who now has a museum in the town to honor him. The name Bsharri can be found in the Phoenician language meaning "The House Of Ishtar",Ishtar being a goddess worshipped by the Phoenicians (and King Salomon) before monotheistic faiths (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) were adopted in the area. Bsharri was the site of a Phoenician settlement in ancient times. Maronite Christians fleeing persecution sought refuge in its mountainous terrain in the 7th Century AD. The Kadisha Valley, below the town, became the spiritual center of the Maronite Church. The town was known as Buissera by the Crusades.