(Resort Town 25 km)

    Located on the heights above southern Beirut, Shemlan is known for its fabulous views of the city. This area once belonged to an eminent member of the Chehab family, Emir Haidar, who in 1828 donated it to the Maronite Monks of the Order of Antonins. The monastery thery built gradually developed into the nucleus of the present town.
    In 1860 English Protestant missionaries founded a school here which later became the British Middle East Center for Arabic Studies (MECAS)