Beit ed-Dine

About Beit ed-Dine

Beit ed-Dine, also known as Btaddine is a small town and the administrative capital of the Chouf District in the Mount Lebanon Governorate in Lebanon. The town is located 45 kilometers southeast of Beirut, and near the town of Deir el-Qamar from which it is separated by a steep valley.

The road to Beiteddine leaves the coastal highway 17 kilometers beyond Beirut, just a few kilometers after the town of Damour. From there it climbs quickly along the beautiful Damour river valley for 26 kilometers to an elevation of 850 meters at Beiteddine.

The Beiteddine palace complex, Lebanon’s best example of early 19th century Lebanese architecture, was built over a thirty year period by Emir Bechir El Chehab II, who ruled
Mount-Lebanon for more than half a century.

The most spectacular view of the palace and its surroundings is from the village of Deir El Qamar (Monastery of the moon), five kilometers before Beiteddine.