Land of Cedars and Sorrow

THE caverns of St. Maron overlook a river that moves barely enough water to break the intense stillness of the northern Bekaa Valley. Soon after the start of the Muslim Arab conquest some 13 centuries ago, the caverns were a refuge for the patron saint of the Maronite Christians. They must have been a good hiding place; you have to be standing right in front of them to see them at all.

My guide was the mayor of Kaa, a nearby Christian community just miles from the desolate Syrian frontier. As he scampered up the rocks toward the opening of the caves, I had trouble keeping up with him. He led me to the central chamber of the caverns, and to a small alcove which had been carved out of the sheer rock. At the alcove’s center was a large dark cross etched on the cave wall like a prehistoric cave-drawing. Candles, recently extinguished, were collected beneath it. Just a few feet away, in both directions, meter-long vertical slits in the cave wall offered a variety of firing positions from which archers could cover every possible approach.

About the Author

Mario Loyola

Mario Loyola is a professor of environment at Florida International University and a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

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Christians in the Middle East

THE caverns of St. Maron overlook a river that moves barely enough water to break the intense stillness of the northern Bekaa Valley. Soon after the start of the Muslim Arab conquest some 13 centuries ago, the caverns were a refuge for the patron saint of the Maronite Christians. They must have been a good hiding place; you have to be standing right in front of them to see them at all.

My guide was the mayor of Kaa, a nearby Christian community just miles from the desolate Syrian frontier. As he scampered up the rocks toward the opening of the caves, I had trouble keeping up with him. He led me to the central chamber of the caverns, and to a small alcove which had been carved out of the sheer rock. At the alcove’s center was a large dark cross etched on the cave wall like a prehistoric cave-drawing. Candles, recently extinguished, were collected beneath it. Just a few feet away, in both directions, meter-long vertical slits in the cave wall offered a variety of firing positions from which archers could cover every possible approach.