Mzaar Kfardebian ( — formerly ''Faraya Mzaar'') is a

ski area A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort. ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and the largest

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...

in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. It is located one hour away from

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, the capital of Lebanon. It is also referred to as Ouyoune el Simane.

History

In 1960, Sami Geammal, Emile Riachi and a group of pioneers installed the first ski lift imported from Switzerland, on the "refuge" hill and built the first four chalets in the region. One year later, they bought of property from Prosper Gay-Para in order to expand the

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

area. In 1963, the Faraya Mzaar - Tourism and Winter Sports Company acquired the concession to build and operate ski lifts on lands belonging to the Kesrouan district municipalities. In 1965, the Mzaar Hotel opened its doors, and the company installed the first chairlift on the Jabal Dib Hills. The junction between "Refuge" and "Jabal Dib" was achieved in 1968 through the installation of the resort's third lift which was named "Jonction". In the 1980s, during the civil war, the Mzaar Company was taken over by the Saudi Group al Mabani. In 1993, after the

Lebanese civil war The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

ended, the new group started expansion of the resort. In 2012, the resort's number of lifts reached 20 with around of slopes.

Etymology

"Mzaar" is the Arabic word for shrine or sanctuary. The highest peak in Ouyoune el Simane was called "Jabal el Mzaar" (mountain of the shrine) after a small Roman temple built on its top. It is believed that the Romans were using fire as signals to communicate between the coastal area and

Baalbeck Baalbek (; ; ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In 1998, the city had a population of 82,608. Most of the population consists of ...

, or Heliopolis, through

Faqra Faqra is a ski resort on the outskirts of the Kfardebian village in the Keserwan District in Mount Lebanon, from Beirut and from Jounieh. The resort is located at an altitude ranging from 1500 m to 2000 m at the foot of Mount Sann ...

and the Mzaar peak. The official name of the area is Ouyoune el Simane, which means "Spring of the

Common Quail The common quail (''Coturnix coturnix''), or European quail, is a small ground-nesting game bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is mainly migratory, breeding in the western Palearctic and wintering in Africa and southern India. With its ...

", and it is administratively under the jurisdiction of the municipality of

Kfardebian Kfardebian (; also spelled ''Kfar Dibiane'' and also known as Moucha'a Keserwan) is a municipality in the Keserwan District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate in Lebanon. It is located 45 kilometers north of Beirut. Its average elevation is 1,22 ...

, which is also the case for the

ski resort.

Skiing area

Ski season usually stretches from early December to early April.carter, T., dunston, L., & thomas, A. (2004). Syria and lebanon. (p. 424). Lonely Planet. The peaks of the Mzaar-Kfardebian mountain range vary between heights of . The highest peak is Mzaar, followed by Wardeh and Jabal Dib (mountain of the wolf) Peak. Three other peaks are well suited for beginners, and even more are adapted to skier of intermediate level. In addition, there are a number of cross-country trails. Usually, opening hours during the week is from 8am to 3:30pm but it extends until 4pm during the weekend. A variety of other activities and excursions are also available.Ski liban. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.skiliban.com/ Along with traditional alpine skiing, people can practice ski-doo, night skiing, snow boarding. Entertainment such as ski shows and fashion shows are organized to promote the resort.

Natural and historical sites

On the way to the ruins of

Qalaat Faqra Qalaat Faqra is an archaeological site in Kfardebian, Lebanon, with Roman and Byzantine ruins. Located near the Faqra ski resort on the slopes of Mount Sannine at an altitude of 1500 m (and exactly half-way between Berytus and Heliopolis, the t ...

, one can see a natural water-crafted bridge called "Jisr al-Hajar" or the "Stone Bridge" with an arch measuring .

Ski clubs

Mzaar-Kfardebian is home to different ski clubs.

References

Mema, J. P. (Photographer). (2008). Faraya from the sky. eb Photo Retrieved fro
Snow Forecast, Snow Reports & Snow Conditions

External links

Mzaar ski resort
official website
Mzaar ski resort and hotels in Faraya and Mzaar Lebanon
{{coord, 34, 00, 39.90, N, 35, 49, 29.38, E, type:city_source:frwiki, display=title Geography of Lebanon Ski areas and resorts in Lebanon Sport in Lebanon