Tag: Aitanit

Categories
Hosts and local guides

Bechara Shakar, Aitanit

Bechara, on the right, explaining to his visitors how olive oil is extracted
Bechara's mother sorting olives
Bechara’s mother sorting olives

Bechara is the owner of the olive mill in Aitanit. During the olive harvesting season, the mill is like a beehive! People wait for their turn to squeeze their harvest into a fine olive oil.

Bechara, on the right, explaining to his visitors how olive oil is extracted
Bechara, on the right, explaining to his visitors how olive oil is extracted

The mill comprises two parts: an old traditional press where visitors can watch every step of the process, and a new mechanical press where only one can see the olives entering the machine from one side and the virgin olive oil going out from another.

The traditional press: olive paste is spread on disks in order to extract oil
The traditional press: olive paste is spread on disks in order to extract oil

Bechara not only presses olives, but he makes baladi soap and transforms the solid olive mill waste into  “briquettes” which make a great substitute for food logs. Briquettes are used to light fire in chimneys and ovens.

Green and black olives to be squeezed
Green and black olives to be squeezed
Categories
West Bekaa Villages

Aitanit, West Bekaa

79 Km away from Beirut, Aitanit is a small village at the foot of mount Niha in West Bekaa, overlooking the Qaraoun Lake.

The name “Aitanit”, as believed by the villagers, derives from “Ain” which means water source in Arabic and “Tanit” a Berber goddess, goddess of maternity and fertility, who was worshiped in the Western Mediterranean and relates to the Phoenician goddess Ishtar. The village is renowned for its historical church of St Georges, where Patriarch Kyrilos Kyrilos was buried. The church which was recently renovated, safeguarding its ancient and beautiful arches, was listed on Lebanon’s religious tourism list. The agricultural lands of Aitanit exceed its residential area, and are mainly cultivated with apple and olive trees. Aitanit is famous for its olive mill that combines both traditional and new olive pressing techniques. The beautiful mountains of Aitanit host part of the trails of the Lebanon Mountain Trail (LMT) and its bed and breakfast is an LMT listed guesthouse.