The great courtyard
107 m long.
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A grand palace in the Chouf mountains, built by Emir Bashir Shihab II between 1788 and 1818 on the site of an old Druze hermitage, and one of the finest examples of early nineteenth-century Lebanese architecture, with Italian touches. The gateway opens onto a vast courtyard 107 m long and 45 m wide, with the guest wing, al-Madafa, along one side; a double stairway leads into the central section, Dar al-Wusta, whose halls have carved and painted wooden ceilings with Arabic calligraphy, inlaid marble and mosaics. At the back lie the emir's private quarters, Dar al-Harim, with an ornate façade and a traditional hammam under small domes. After 1840 the Ottomans used the palace as a government seat, and since 1943 it has been the president's summer residence, part of it still reserved for that. Each summer the palace hosts the Beiteddine arts festival, and its terraces look across a green valley to the town of Deir al-Qamar. Allow an hour or two.
107 m long.
Painted ceilings.
Under small domes.
Beiteddine, Chouf
Emir Bashir Shihab II, between 1788 and 1818; today it is the president's summer residence and partly open to visitors.