Village of Hasroun قرية حصرون - Discover the House of Dr. Antoine Hakim - Lebanon
Hasroun is the village of a thousand red roofs. From afar the village of Hasroun draws the eye of visitors because of its red-tiled roofs nestling in the foliage or wreathed in mist at an altitude of some 1420 meters (4500 feet), 107km from Beirut and 45 from Tripoli. It is a large Maronite village spectacularly perched on a jutting cliff soaring over the Holy Valley, just a little lower than Bekaa Kafra, the village of Saint Sharbel Makhlouf.
The name is of Phoenician origin and means the fortress, one to which many invaders have laid siege over the ages, always in vain. The inhabitants are to be found in Beirut, on the coast and Hasroun itself, but in summer all come together. As well as the coppices of oak, cedar and trees of other kinds, there are orchards of apple, cherry, pear and plum trees. Agriculture is carried on between March and October, the snow and the cold making this impossible during the winter. There are several restaurants, hotels and summer residences. The climate could not be bettered, the countryside charming and picturesque and the local people hospitable. A convent of nuns, schools, a club, a municipal centre and all the requirements of a town function with an up-to-date infrastructure, including clinics and dispensaries. Sauntering through the old souk (bazaar) and the historic part of the village will lead one to much of interest. Several churches draw the crowds of faithful, St. Michael's, St. James and others, not forgetting the old monastery of St. Simon.
This impregnable fortress village provided a refuge for the Maronites persecuted by invaders, with deep ravines on one side and lofty snow-clad peaks on the other, everywhere steep cliffs and a harsh rocky landscape. Hasroun is considered one of the most beautiful summer resorts in Lebanon because of its situation, its climate, its valleys, its caves, its monasteries and convents, and its woodlands. Several of Lebanon's most prominent families have come from Hasroun.
Hasroun, "the rose of the mountain", called by Lamartine a "bouquet of roses", strikes a note of brilliant colour in a scene of rich verdure and purplish soil. One sees a thousand red-roofed dwellings, mostly longstanding with stone façades wreathed with vines, fruit trees and flowers watered by springs that bubble through its alleys. There is the Awad Hotel where General de Gaulle himself put up during a visit to Lebanon.
The village is clean and well-kept, with a ban enforced on sticking up public notices and advertisements. The World Bank has offered help for restoring the walls of the village and the Papal Nunciature has offered help for the construction of a lake holding 60,000 cubic meters of water to supply the needs of agriculture. Haroun remains one of the most beautiful villages in Lebanon.
William MATAR