Rashaya and Hasbaya (8 July 2017) - KarazwLaimoon

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Rashaya and Hasbaya (8 July 2017)

Trips + W/Shops > Previous Trips
Our First Trip this summer is to Rashaya and Hasbaya (West Bekaa)

The BUSES are FULL. If you wish you can register below for the Waiting List.
(Some people do cancel in the last few days before the trip).

7:30 Buses will be available in BDT Parking Lot
8:00 Departure from BDT
8:45 Man’oooshi Stop (near Saida)
9:15 Proceed to Hasbaya
11:00 Start tour in Hasbaya
13:00 Departure to Rashaya for lunch
13:30 Lunch in Rashaya
15:00 Start tour in Rashaya
16:45 Start on trip back to Beirut
18:45 Estimated time of arrival at BDT Parking Lot

Click Here for Location of Departure/Return in Beirut Downtown

Charges: $50 to include bus far, lunch and entries to castles.
Special price for children: $30.
Payment on day of trip.
 

Click Here to download a zipped file containing a variety of articles and brochures on Hasbaya's citadel
(Thanks to Ms Carla Chehab)


Hasbaya
The citadel in Hasbaya was also possibly built during the same Roman period. Some research in the Old Testament estimates that it could have been built earlier.
Its heyday goes back to the Crusaders under Count Toron, who fortified the building on the hill above Wadi el Taim. Soon after, in 1173 the Druze emirs of the great Chehab family recaptured it. They fortified the square tower and transformed it into a big palace similar to Italian palaces. A mosque was built in the 13th century, including a hexagonal arabesque minaret.
It remained in the possession of the Chehab family until the Ottomans claimed it in the 19th century. With the departure of the Ottomans in 1917, the citadel was returned to the Chehab family and remains in their possession until today.
The castle is both a military as well as a residence, which up to 65 rooms in the 2 upper floors.

Rashaya
The citadel of Rashaya is important for the political history of Lebanon. It is possible that its construction goes back to the Roman period. Temples were built in honor of the gods. If so, that would have been around the 1st or 2nd centuries BC.
Very little remains of the temple from that period. Its architectural legacy is attributed to the Chehab family. They refurbished it after the crusaders had used it as a military base over Wadi El Taim in the 11th Century.
The French Mandate also left various imprints on two towers of the citadel. However, the citadel is important because it was there that the French imprisoned the rebellious Lebanese leaders in 1943. This led directly to the independence of Lebanon on the 22nd of November 1943.
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