Gibran Museum

Gibran Khalil Gibran, who wrote The Prophet, bought this seventh-century hermitage above his home town of Bcharre and asked to be buried in it. He died in New York in 1931 and his body was brought back later that year. The museum holds around four hundred of his paintings and drawings, which are far less known than his writing and are worth the visit on their own, along with his manuscripts, furniture and library, and the rock-cut chamber where his coffin lies.

Background

Before it became a museum the building was the Monastery of Mar Sarkis. Late in the 17th century the people of Bsharri gave the hermitage, a 16th century building and the oak forest around it to the Carmelite Fathers, who enlarged the monastery step by step until 1862. Gibran first voiced his wish to buy it in 1926, while still in New York. He died on April 10, 1931, his body reached Bsharri on August 22, 1931, and his sister Mariana bought the monastery and land to carry out his wish. The museum was founded in 1935, enlarged in 1975 and again in 1995, and reopened on August 15, 1995. Its 16 rooms on three floors lead to the tomb.

Source: Wikipedia, "Gibran Museum"

Highlights

• The paintings - around four hundred works, the largest collection anywhere.
• The tomb chamber - the rock-cut cell where Gibran is buried.
• The personal effects - his furniture, library and belongings from New York.
• The setting - the hermitage on the slope above the Qadisha valley.

When to go

May to October is the comfortable season; winter brings heavy snow to Bcharre. Mornings are quietest. The museum closes on Mondays and keeps shorter winter hours.

Before you go

Photography inside is not permitted. The drive up from the coast is long, over two hours from Beirut. The display is dense and lighting is dim in parts of the rock-cut rooms.

Nearby

The Qadisha valley is below, and Qornet es Sawda is above the town.

Key facts