Minister of Culture Ghassan Salama confirmed that the Jabal Moussa Reserve represents a pioneering model in combining environmental protection and the preservation of cultural and architectural heritage, revealing a step to digitize the “Baal” magazine specialized in antiquities so that it becomes available globally early next year.
This came during the minister’s participation, alongside Tourism Minister Laura Khazen Lahoud, in the celebration of the eighteenth anniversary of the founding of the reserve, at the invitation of its president, Pierre Doumit, in cooperation with the Darb al-Jabal Association, and in the presence of representatives of municipalities, local and international organizations, researchers, and interested parties.
In his speech, Salama identified three main characteristics that distinguish the Jabal Musa Reserve: The first is a balanced combination of interest in nature and culture, in contrast to the often prevailing separation between the two fields. The second is the success of the partnership model in protection, stressing that the state alone cannot protect the reserves, and praising the experience of cooperation between the residents of the region, the association that was established 18 years ago to manage and develop the site, and the Ministry of Culture represented by the General Directorate of Antiquities as the primary partner in documenting and protecting antiquities.
In the same context, Salama announced that the Ministry had received a donation to fully digitize the “Baal” magazine, allowing researchers to access it via a research website from anywhere in the world starting next year, noting that the antiquities of the reserve had previously been documented in a special issue of the magazine.
As for the third characteristic, it relates to “fairness to the mountains of Lebanon,” as Salama pointed out that historical and archaeological research has long focused on the coastal cities (Beirut, Sidon, Tyre, Byblos, and Tripoli) for historical and security reasons. He expressed his happiness at the change in this reality, citing the discovery of the site of a Roman temple in Maaser Al-Shouf at an altitude of 1,200 meters, and the inclusion of Mount Musa at an altitude of 1,400 meters on the archaeological map, considering that Lebanon is “a country overlooking the sea, but leaning on Mount Sundid,” which makes it necessary to study the coast and the mountain together.
Salama concluded by affirming the Ministry of Culture’s commitment to standing by and supporting the Jabal Musa Reserve throughout the period of his ministerial duties.
