Deir el Qalaa

The ridge at Beit Mery, eight hundred metres above the coast, held a Roman sanctuary to Baal Marqod, and the podium, column drums and carved blocks are still there, with an eighteenth-century Maronite monastery built directly against them. Below are the remains of a Byzantine church with mosaic floors and a small Roman bath complex. The site is unenclosed and the ruins run into the monastery grounds, which makes for an unusual mixture of periods in a small area.

History

The ridge holds remains of the five centuries of Roman rule and the two of Byzantine rule that followed: besides the great temple there are public baths with their terracotta pipes, a Byzantine church and traces of a Byzantine town of the 5th and 6th centuries. Maronite monks built the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist, with its church, over the temple's remains around 1750 (Wikipedia, Beit Mery).

What to look for

• The Roman podium - the temple platform with column drums and carved blocks.
• The monastery - an eighteenth-century Maronite building against the ancient walls.
• The Byzantine mosaics - church floors below the temple terrace.
• The ridge view - Beirut and the coast eight hundred metres below.

When to go

April to November is the best. Beit Mery is noticeably cooler than the coast in summer, which is why Beirut families come up. Clear mornings give the widest view.

What to expect

The ruins are unfenced, unlabelled and partly overgrown. The mosaics are exposed to the weather and deteriorating. Access to parts depends on the monastery being open.

Nearby

Beirut is below to the west, and Broummana is along the same ridge.