Bsharri

Snow in Bsharri

The name Bsharri (بشرّي), Beth Shareer, can be found in the Aramaic language. Bsharri means House of Truth in Aramaic. Maronite Christians fleeing persecution sought refuge in its mountainous terrain in the 7th Century AD. The Kadisha Valley, below the town, became the spiritual center of the Maronite Church. The town was known as Buissera by the Crusades.

Saint Saba street in Bsharri

In Lebanon, Bsharri natives are characterized as very courageous and tribal. They are known across the northern region for their hospitality and patriotism. They are especially known for their distinct accent when they speak Lebanese Arabic. Unlike other parts of Lebanon, Aramaic was spoken in Bsharri well into the 19th century. As a result, Bsharri natives developed an unmistakably strong accent which lasts to this day.

During the Lebanese civil war (1975–1990), Bsharri was a bastion of Christian resistance against the Palestinians and the Syrians. Many of its youth joined the Lebanese Phalanges at the start of the civil war. In 1986 Samir Geagea, a Bsharri native, became head of the Lebanese Forces (LF) militia (now a political party). Many LF militants were drawn from the town during the civil war. Bsharri natives are often referred to as defenders of the Maronite Christianity in Lebanon.

Unlike most of the other villages around, Bsharri is continuously inhabited during all the months of the year. That is why, even in the coldest days of winter, one can still find open shops to purchase their everyday needs.

Gibran Khalil Gibran (Arabic: / Jubrān Khalīl Jubrān or Jibrān Khalīl Jibrān) (January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931) was a Lebanese writer, poet and visual artist born in the town of Bsharri in the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate, Ottoman Empire (modern-day Lebanon). As a young man, Gibran emigrated with his family to the United States, where he studied art and began his literary career, writing in both English and Arabic. In the Arab world, Gibran is regarded as a literary and political rebel. His romantic style was at the heart of a renaissance in modern Arabic literature, especially prose poetry, breaking away from the classical school. In Lebanon, he is still celebrated as a literary hero.

A member of the New York Pen League, he is chiefly known in the English-speaking world for his 1923 book The Prophet, an early example of inspirational fiction including a series of philosophical essays written in poetic English prose. The book sold well despite a cool critical reception, gaining popularity in the 1930s and again especially in the 1960s counterculture. Gibran is the third best-selling poet of all time, behind Shakespeare and Laozi.

Danny Thomas Kayrouz

One of 10 children, Danny Thomas was born as Amos Muzyad Yakhoob Kairouz on January 6, 1912, in Deerfield, Michigan, to Charles Yakhoob Kairouz and his wife Margaret Taouk.[3] His parents were Maronite Catholic immigrants from Lebanon.[4] Kairouz and Taouk are two prominent families from Bsharri. Thomas was raised in Toledo, Ohio, attending St. Francis de Sales Church (Roman Catholic), Woodward High School, and finally the University of Toledo, where he was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.[5] Thomas was confirmed in the Catholic Church by the bishop of Toledo, Samuel Stritch. Stritch, a native of Tennessee, was a lifelong spiritual advisor for Thomas, and advised him to locate the St. Jude Hospital in Memphis.[6][7] He married Rose Marie Cassaniti in 1936, a week after his 24th birthday.

Radio

Thomas first reached mass audiences on network radio in the 1940s playing shifty brother-in-law Amos in The Bickersons, which began as sketches on the music-comedy show Drene Time, starring Don Ameche and Frances Langford. Thomas also portrayed himself as a scatterbrained Lothario on this show. His other network radio work included a stint as Jerry Dingle the postman on Fanny Brice's The Baby Snooks Show. In the early 1950s he made several appearances on the popular NBC variety program, The Big Show, hosted by stage legend Tallulah Bankhead.

Thomas also had his own radio program, The Danny Thomas Show. The 30-minute weekly variety show was on ABC in 1942-43 and on CBS in 1947-48.

Films

After his two late 1940s films with Margaret O'Brien, Thomas appeared with Betty Grable in the musical Call Me Mister (1951). He then starred in The Jazz Singer opposite the popular contemporary vocalist Peggy Lee, a 1952 remake of the 1927 original. He also portrayed songwriter Gus Kahn opposite Doris Day in the 1951 film biography I'll See You in My Dreams.

Music

In 1952, Thomas recorded several Arabic folk songs with Toufic Barham for a Saint Jude Hospital Foundation fundraiser record. The songs later appeared on the re-issue album The Music of Arab-Americans: A Retrospective Collection. From 1952 through 1974, Thomas also recorded a number of vocal albums on his own, as well as participating on other albums.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

As a "starving actor", Thomas had made a vow: If he found success, he would open a shrine dedicated to St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless causes. Thomas never forgot his promise to St. Jude and, after becoming a successful actor in the early 1950s, his wife joined him and began traveling the United States to help raise funds to build his dream - St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.[31] He fervently believed “no child should die in the dawn of life.” With help from Dr. Lemuel Diggs and close friend, Anthony Abraham, an auto magnate in Miami, Florida, Thomas founded the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1962. Since its inception, St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states and around the world, continuing the mission of finding cures and saving children. Dr. Peter C. Doherty of St. Jude's Immunology Department, was a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1996 for key discoveries on how the immune system works to kill virus-infected cells.

Anthony Peter Arida patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites

Antoine Arida

was born in Bsharri, Lebanon on February 2, 1863. He learned Arabic and Syriac languages during his schooldays. From 1884 to 1890 he studied theology at the school of Saint-Sulpice, Paris. He was ordinated priest on September 28, 1890 and served as secretary and canon lawyer of the Maronite Patriarch John Peter El Hajj. On July 31, 1905 Arida was appointed by Pope Pius X honorary prelate. He was appointed Maronite bishop of Tripoli, Lebanon on June 7, 1908 and consecrated bishop on June 18, 1908 by Maronite Patriarch of Antioch, Elias Peter Hoayek, being installed on his episcopal see on June 28 of the same year. Anthony Peter Arida was elected patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites on January 8, 1932 and the Holy See confirmed him patriarch on March 13, 1933. Patriarch Arida openly condemned the treatment of Jews in Germany in 1933. He sustained the Lebanese independence in 1943 in order to maintain the specificity of Lebanon as a Christian nation into a Muslim world.

In the last years of his life, he was joined in the management and administration of the Patriarchate by a committee of three bishops, including his successor, Paul Peter Meouchi. He died on May 19, 1955 in the Maronite Catholic Patriarchate in Bkerké, Lebanon.

Antoine Choueiri Rahme (August 3, 1939 – March 9, 2010) was a Lebanese media executive. He was the founder of Choueiri Group, the Middle East’s largest media broker. He was born in Beirut in 1939 to a Maronite Christian family from Bcharre and married his wife Rose Salameh in 1961 who gave birth to two children. He died on March 9, 2010, of health complications; he is buried in his ancestral home of Bcharre in his honor one of Bcharre's main streets will be named "Antoine Choueiri" in homage to him and his achievements. Antoine Choueiry Rahme is known as the godfather of Lebanese Basketball because of his heavy investment in the game mostly through his beloved Sagesse Beirut whose phenomenal domination of the newly re-formed Lebanese league and the pan-Arab and FIBA Asian championships took the game to a whole new level which also contributed in the rise of the Lebanese national basketball team.

Today, the town is located in a highly touristic zone including many attractions such as the Khalil Gibran Museum, the Kadisha Valley, the Kadisha Grotto, the Cedars of God forest and several ski resorts.

Cedars International festival, 2017

Bsharri is home to a Lebanese Red Cross First Aid Center,[2] also to "The Maronite Scouts" that started their activities in early 2000.

Bsharri, Lebanon, and Val d’Isère, France inked an agreement

On July 13, 2018, International Colombian singer of Lebanese heritage, Shakira, performed in Bsharri during the Cedars International Festival in the presence of 13,000 people. The visit was a part of her 2018 world tour, the El Dorado World Tour.

On March 22, 2019 The municipalities of Bsharri, Lebanon, and Val d’Isère, France inked an agreement to promote cultural exchange between the two towns. The cultural exchange program aims to build bridges for French and Lebanese youth that want to experience the unique cultural relationship and similarities the two countries possess. The mayor of Val d’Isère, Marc Bauer, led a French delegation to Lebanon to inaugurate a program aimed at promoting cultural and athletic exchange between the two famous ski locations.

Andrea Bocelli performed at the opening ceremony of The Cedars International Festival-Bsharri (CIF) in the presence of 8,000 people. Before the festival, Mr. Bocelli visited the Cedars of God Forest Bsharri where he was received by the head of the Lebanese Forces Party Dr Samir Geagea.

Bsharri natives are also known for their strong Christian faith. Throughout the year, many religious festivities and commemorations take place in the town attracting thousands from neighbouring villages.

Cedars Ski Resort

The Cedars resort is located in the North of Lebanon. Skiers came to the resort as early as 1920, and have been returning there ever since. The first lift was installed by the government in 1953.

Cedars piste map

The Cedars resort has a slightly longer season than the others, sometimes beginning early November and often lasting until late April. Pisted and off-piste skiing is possible, as well as nordic skiing and skidoo rides.

Cedars Ski Resort

Bsharri, is the village of the Cedars, is the birthplace and resting place of Gibran Khalil Gibran. The Gibran Museum houses his paintings, drawings and personal effects. There is a number of Maronite churches and monasteries scattered throughout the Kadisha valley.

Skiing in the mountains of Bsharri

In summer 2005, The Cedars resort installed 3 new chairlifts to replace the old T-bars and extend the ski runs. 15 million US Dollars have lately been invested to upgrade the facilities and expand the resort to higher standard of in terms of accommodation, equipment, safety, and services.

A Gondola for 6 persons will carry skiers and visitors from the parking level at 2,095 metres (6,873 ft) to the highest accessible summit of 2,870 metres (9,420 ft), however, there is no indication yet of when will this be completed. To comply with international regulations, a Refuge with a capacity of 400 persons will also be built at the top of the Gondola. Its terrace will be equipped with telescopes capable of seeing sights as far away as the island of Cyprus.

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  Bsharri under the snow 2008
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  Kadicha valley
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  Bsharri under the night
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  Bsharri - Apple Trees (Autumn)
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  Bsharri - Alcohol Extraction ('Arak).
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  Gibranshome
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  Bsharri
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  Forest of The cedars of God
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  Cedars International Festival
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  Bsharri-Lebanon

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  Gibran Museum

• Bsharri District
• Dimane
• Lebanon
• Kadisha Valley
• Khalil Gibran
• Samir Geagea
• MOREP
• traditions

• Lebanese Embassy (US) Section on Bsharri
• World66