Qartaba

Qartaba was once considered an important village in the Byblos highland, a trade point for surrounding villages.[1] Silk manufacturing flourished and in 1918, seven factories employed more than 500 people and much of the silk was exported to Lyon, France.[1]

The four sides of Qartaba are surrounded by ancient archaeological areas ranging from Phoenician structures to Roman inscriptions carved in the rock, in addition to Greek and Crusader remains scattered elsewhere. There are Roman writings warning against cutting trees engraved on the rocks in which the name of the Roman Caesar Adrianus, who visited the city of Byblos and the temples of Zahra in Afqa, was repeatedly written. Ernest Renan mentioned in his book “Phoenician Mission” in 1864 that there were Roman inscriptions carved in rock in “رأس عقبة جنة” and Wadi Botrayich, and in Al-Dafran “a human head carved in a large rock”. In Homsiya, there are remains of a structure, of which only the foundation remains and Its stones are very huge. Sheikh Aziz Al-Sukhni rebuilt it in the name of Mar Elias, the patron saint of his grandfathers, in 1556.

The inhabitants of Qartaba are predominantly Maronite Catholics.[3] As of 2009, the religious make-up of the Qartaba's 6309 voters were roughly 99% Maronite Catholics (6247 voters), 0.8% Melkite Catholics (50 voters) and 0.2% Greek Orthodox (12 voters).

The main families of Qartaba are: Atallah, Beyrouthy, Challita, Gharios, Karam, Khoury, Sakr, Sawaya, Sokhen and Soueid.

Some of the roads leading up to Qartaba are:

• Beirut - Jounieh - Nahr Ibrahim - Fatre - Balhos -Qartaba.

• Byblos - Tourzaiyya - Balhos - Qartaba.

• Byblos - Tourzaiyya - Ehmej - Laqlouq - Qartaba.

• Jounieh - Jeita - Faitroun - Mayrouba - Qehmez - Lassa - Yanouh - Qartaba.

• Baalbek - Hadath Baalbek - Yammoune - Afqa - Mejdel - Mgheiri - Qartaba.

There are 16 places of Christian worship in Qartaba, including churches, monasteries and shrines, such as:

Saint Joseph Church

Saint Thérèse Church

Monasteries

• Saint Sarkis and Bakhos Monastery, which was built in 1536 when the children of Sheikh Gerges fled from Aqoura to Qartaba, carrying with them the image of the two holy martyrs, Sergius and Bacchus. In cooperation with the townspeople, they built a church in the name of the aforementioned saints, which was exposed to fire and was rebuilt in 1717. In the year 1815, the people of Qartaba, by virtue of a deed, presented the Church with its livelihood and property as an “eternal endowment” to the Lebanese Maronite Order, in order to set up a school next to it to “teach children reading, Christian education, guidance, and service of spiritual matters free of charge.” And that was through an agreement with the General Father Ignatius Blebel and with the approval of Bishop Germanos Tabet. The Order agreed, and completed the construction of the school in a short time. And it worked to buy the lands adjacent to it to expand the construction, so that it later became a legal monastery in 1823.

Cathedrals

• Cathedral of Saint Elias, which was built in the middle of the XVIth century and restored in 1556, it was rebuilt twice in 1846 and 1903. It is built according to a basilical plan with three naves and three altars. The cathedral holds many XIXth century paintings by Kanan Dib and Daoud el Qorm and is decorated by stained glass windows. The exterior of the cathedral is decorated with a bell tower with a clock.

Churches

• Church of Our Lady of Herezmeny, which was built in 1827 when the Karam family moved from Yanouh to Qartaba. The family made a deal with the sheikhs of the Hamade family to build a church in the Herezmeny land where stood some roman ruins. In the late 19th century a vault was added to the main building that ended up with an L shape.

• Church of Saint Joseph, which was built in 1898 when Joseph Rafael Jabbour gave the land of Al Malaha to build a church.

• Church of Saint Teddy, which was built in 1607 when the family of the priest Teddy came to Qartaba from Edessa. It was built upon a parcel of land that was donated by the Hamade sheikhs. It is the only church in Lebanon dedicated to Saint Teddy. The church was rebuilt in 1868 and restored in 2004.

• Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation

• Church of Saint Challita - Hjarta, built in 1925.

• Church of Sainte Thérèse

• Church of Saint Semaan Al Aamoudy, built in 2003.

• Church of Saint Charbel - Al khalle

• Church of Saint Charbel - Charbineh

• Church of Saint Elias - Hsayya

Some other Churches built on private properties, such as:

• Church of Saint Georges, which was built as a private chapel for the family of Moufarrej Geryes in the late XIXth century and was restored in 2022, it is located in Haret El Tahta street.

• Church of Our Lady of Tenderness

• Church of Sainte Rita - Hjarta

• Church of Saint Charbel - Chmis street, built in 2017.

Some Shrines may include:

• Shrine of Our Lady of Peace

• Shrine of Saint Challita

• Shrine of Sainte Veronica Giuliani, built in 2019.

Kartaba Carnival is a traditional and annual event in the town of Qartaba, which is organized by "The Qartaba Touristic and Traditional festivals" committee and is supported by the Municipality of Qartaba. It is attended by political, military, judicial, religious people and social media figures, in addition to presidents of municipalities and personalities of the town and the area of the Jbeil District. The carnival first started in the 1960s, and is still held to this day in the square of the village, with the attendance of people coming from all regions. The townspeople, of all ages, participate and cooperate together to create exhibition boards that combine traditional Lebanese music, art and culture. This event is free of charge. The carnival ends with a musical evening held by Lebanese artists.

• Kartaba - Byblos' Bride