THE CITADEL OF THE CHEBAB
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10 km from Marjayoun, this village built in an amphitheatre on the slopes of a hill houses the fortress palace of the Chehab emirs. Originally, it was a th century watchtower tower fortified by the Chehab and then in the th century it became a palace in the style of the Italian Renaissance palaces. The site that is a private property is still well preserved and deserves a quick visit.
At the portal level, the emblematic lion carved on each side is distinguished. It is chained to a rabbit. Two new lions are visible in the arc of the entrance. The palace comprises 65 rooms, the largest of which (on the second floor) is decorated with murals and sculptures (fleur de lys and star). The old balconies, the remarkable windows and the serrated arcades are beautiful. The citadel is still inhabited (on the second and third floor) by members of the Chehab family.
In 1860, in the courtyard of this palace (150 m long and 100 m wide) took place the massacre of 900 Christians by Druze with the complicity of the Ottomans. The site was not spared by the Israeli army, which repeatedly bombed it from 1978 to 2000.
The mosque adjacent to the palace dates from the th century and has a beautiful hexagonal minaret adorned with coloured stones.
