CHURCH BUILDING
Church of Saidet et Tallé
Deir el-Qamar · Maronite Catholic
A brief history
Saidet et Tallé, Our Lady of the Hill, is a Maronite church in Deir el-Qamar dating to the sixteenth century. The monk Nicolas Smisaati built a church here over the ruins of an older Phoenician temple dedicated to the goddess Astarte. It is among the most important historical and religious sites in the town.
An interesting detail
The church occupies a site that was sacred long before it: beneath it lie the remains of a Phoenician temple to Astarte.