Beiteddine Palace
Deir al-Qamar, Lebanon
1818
A tile framework imported from Marseille was added to this palace at the beginning of Prince Bashir al-Shihabi's reign resembling the typical Lebanese house, a future national symbol. The palace is interesting, as the ornamentation shows clear influences from the late Ottoman architecture, whereas the façade contains more neoclassical (or late baroque) elements from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These additions did not alter the basic structure of the building, however. Ways the structure of this palace differed notably from the traditional models include: the location of a central stair inside the main hall, rather than outside, and the transformation of the patio into a public space between the palace and the street.Beiteddine palace was built to replace the palace at Deir al-Qamar, which had become too small for the expanding number of soldiers and servants. The prince ordered a luxurious palace to be built on the hill overlooking Deir al-Qamar, on land he had bought upon his marriage to "Sitt al-Shams.”
The construction of the palace took ten years. Celebrated Lebanese constructors, such as Rustam and Yusuf Mujahes from Shuwayr were employed, as well as a number of European engineers and architects invited by the Prince Bashir al-Shihabi. Tiles were also imported from celebrated masters in Istanbul, Aleppo and Damascus.
Jeff El-Msanne, Hassan El Masri, Remy Nader "Beiteddine Palace" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;AWE;lb;13;en
Prepared by: Jeff El-Msanne, Hassan El Masri, Remy Nader
Copyedited by: Flaminia Baldwin
MWNF Working Number: LB 013
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