Saraya Ba'abda: the headquarters of al-mutasarrifin
Ba'abda, Lebanon
Lebanese Government
About The Lebanese University, Ba'abda
1887
This building, completed in 1887, stands on a hill overlooking the town entrance, an example of a typical Ottoman architecture mixed with some traditional Lebanese elements. The building has four towers on each of its corners. Works began under the reign of Prince Melhem Shihabi, the son of Haydar Shihabi.
This Saraya bore witness to some of the most important periods in the history of modern Lebanon. Originally a special saray for the Prince Melhem Shihabi, it later became a governmental saray following the establishment of the Ottoman governate, of al-mutasarrifyya of Mount Lebanon after the civil war of 1860. The palace was specifically used as the headquarters for the Mount Lebanon governate and governors, or mutasarrifin.
Jeff El-Msanne "Saraya Ba'abda: the headquarters of al-mutasarrifin" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;AWE;lb;14;en
Prepared by: Jeff El-Msanne
Copyedited by: Flaminia Baldwin
MWNF Working Number: LB 014