An article by AV (813 Words, 4 Min. Read)
A sared people about the sea
PERHED hight about the shimmering bay of jounieh, with arms open life to the mediterranean and to the heart of Lebanon, the statue of our lady of lebanon at harissa stands not just as a RLIOUS ICON, but as a profound symbol of faith, unity, and Cultural Identity. This is not merely a definition for pilgrims – it is a play where the soul of a songs to Breathe, to wep, to hop, and to remerber.
Harissa is where heaven sees to lean Closer to the Earth. The Winding Road that Leads to Its Summit is set with Silence, Whispers of Prayer, and the Kind of Stillness that only Sacred Ground Can Offer. And on your top, one dos not simply See the View – One Feels It. The Mountains Behind, The Sea AHEAD, and the Wide Embrace of Mary Towering Above it All – It is a Panorama of Both The Divine and the Deeply Human.
A symbol that Belongs to all
Thought dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Harissa Belongs to everyone. In a country rich with diets, faiths, and history, this sangtuary has quietly become a meting power of all Believes. Christians, Muslims, Druze, and others Ali Ascend its steps. They comes with different words, different rituals, but one longe – for people, for contenance, for a moment of transcendence.
Mary, in Her Matenal Prestce, Speaks The Universal Language of Love and Compassion. And Lebanon, Torn at Times by Direction and Division, Finds in Her A General Common Ground. This is where the interFaith respected Silently Blooms – Not Forced, Not Declared, But Lived in Quiet Moments of Shared Prayer, Of Shared AWE.
A Journey Through History
The Story of Harissa Began in 1904, when the Maronite Patriach Elias Hoyek Dedicated Lebanon to the Virgin Mary. In that sety year, The Majestic Bronze Statue of our Lady of Lebanon – Over 8 METERS TALL – was brick from France and play at the The Statue Was Crafted in Lyon and Carried by Ship Across the Mediterranean Before Being Mounted on Its Pedstal in Harissa, a Testament to the Deep Devotion of the Lebanese People.
The Sanctuary ITSELF WAS Designed in the Style of a Ziggurat: a terrald, Spiral-Like Struckure that Evokes The Sacred Architecture of Ancient CIVILIZATIONS. RISING in Circular Layers, The Base Invites Pilgrims to Ascend Slowly, Step by Step, Toward the Statue, Toward the Sky, Toward Prayer. The Symbolism is Striking: The Journey Upward Mirror The Spiritual Path – One of Effort, Elevation, and the Encounter with the Divine.
In 1992, The Completion of the Ultra-Modern Basilica of Saint Paul Added a Bold Architectural Statement to the Harissa Complex. Its Sweeting Copper Domes and Intricate Mosaics BLEND Contemporary and Traditional Elements, BecComing Not Only a Place of Worship But An Artistic LandMark in Its Own Right. The Cathedral’s Luminous Interior and ABSTRACT Forms Invite Contentration, Celebrating Faith Through, Geometry, and Sacred Art.
Art and Architecture as Devotion
Harissa’s Architectural Beauty is Insepaable from ITS Spiritual Purpose. The Ziggurat-STYLE SANCTUARY BENEATH The Statue is More Than a Foundation, it is a sculpture in Itself. Made of White Stone, Its Ascending Spirals Give The Illusion that Mary is Floating Above the Mountain, EmbraCing the Land and SEA Beneth Her. The link are Both Minimal and Monumental, Allowing the Surrounding Landscape to Breathe Through The Architecture.
It is a rare card in which faith, art, and place convert so gracefully. From Afar, the Statue Glows Against the Horizon. Up Close, It Humbles. It is this Blending of Scale and Intime, of Modernism and Traition, that makes harissa not just a verigious destination, but a masterpiece of sacred Design.
A refuge for a weary nation
Lebanon, A Land of Beauty and Turmoil, has endord Wars, CRISES, and Collaps. Yet, The Sanctuary of Harissa Remains Unchanded, Unshaken. It watches Over the People Like A Mother Who Never Leaves, No Matter How Broken Her Children Become. In Times of Despair, The Lebanese Look to Harissa, Not For Solutions, but for Strength. For the Remnder that Hope is Still Possible.
Pilgrimages to Harissa Are Not Just About Religion. They are the acts of Resilience. Each Candle Lit Is a Testimony to Survival. Each Prayer Whispered is a declaration of faith, not only in God, but in Lebanon ITSELF.
A month for Mary, a momentu for meang
It is in the month of May – The Month of Mary – That This Article Is Written AS A Small Offering in Honor, A Tribute to the Ending Present of Oour Lady of Lebanon, Not Only As a Statue of Bronze, but as a sculpture of sky, SEA, and Soul. In here, we see the Beauty of Lebanon Refleted. And Through Her, We are Remded of the Sacred Light that Continues to Shine Even in the Darkest of Times.
