KAISSARIYA
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In the north of the seraglio of the emir Youssef Chéhab is a vast stone building (Kaïssariyé) which once hosted the silk souk. This building, built in 1595 under the reign of Fakhreddine II, was devoted to the silk trade, in the time of flourishing industry in the region. From the th to the th century, the surrounding terraces were covered with white mulberry used for the feeding of silk worms, and weaving was one of the flourishing activities of Deir el-Qamar. The craftsmen made rich fabrics rich with gold and silver yarns that were highly prized by the Druze dignitaries. The Kaïssariyé with its open courtyard, its central basin and its shops adopt the classic disposition of the litigants or caravanserais of the mamelouke and Ottoman periods. Behind this building, the ancient Jesuit school and a former synagogue, which was probably built in the th century for the city's Jewish community, are located in the old ruelle. The latter was ransacked during the civil war. It does not retain any Jewish indices. Today it is a study room at the French Cultural Centre.
Adjoining the Kaïssariyé, the Kharj («balance»), built in 1616, served successively as a repository of ammunition and barracks under Fakhreddine II and then food warehouses under Bachir III Chéhab (1840-1842). As the town of Deir el-Qamar offered some of these beautiful premises at the Embassy of France in Lebanon, the French Cultural Centre settled in 1992 on the first floor of the Kharj. Opened in the week, the centre deserves a small visit.
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