Dair al-Qamar
| Dair al-Qamar | |||
 Saidet el Talle church |
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| State : |
 Lebanon
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| Coordinates : | 33 ° 42 ′ N , 35 ° 34 ′ E | ||
| Time zone : | UTC + 2 | ||
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Dair al-Qamar ( Arabic دير القمر 'Monastery of the Moon') is a village in the Chouf district in the south of Mount Lebanon , near Beiteddine , about 45 km southeast of Beirut and 16 km from the Mediterranean Sea at about 850 m above sea level.
Dair al-Qamar was the capital of the Emirate of Mount Lebanon under the reign of the Emir Fakhreddin II until his death in 1635 . The village is known for the mosque with its octagonal minaret , the beginnings of which go back to 1493 and which is the oldest existing mosque in Lebanon. During its heyday, the city was a center of Arabic literature .
The city has been a listed building since 1945. The village is mostly inhabited by Christians and is one of the few Christian villages in the area after the Lebanese civil war .
Attractions
Sons of the city
- Auguste Adib Pacha (1859–1936), temporarily Prime Minister of Lebanon
- Camille Chamoun (1900–1987), temporarily President of Lebanon
- Wajdi Mouawad (* 1968), author living in Canada