On the other side of the Kadisha Valley to the St. Simon Monastery where we have just come from visiting the tiny hermit’s cave, is the Gibran Museum in Bsharri.
Once a monastery, the building was bought by Gibran’s benefactor after the Lebanese – American writer, poet and artist, expressed his wishes to be buried in Lebanon. Today it serves as museum and tomb of the man who lived as a foreigner amongst his countrymen.
Before we enter, I take in the views of the valley from here and enjoy the beautiful facade complete with pink summer roses in full bloom.
Khalil Gibran, born Jibran Khalil Jibran (Gibran) in Lebanon in 1893, emigrated as a young boy of 12 with his mother and siblings to Boston in the US. Here he lived his early formative teen years attending school where his creative abilities were recognised although it is said that he waited for the boat that would take him home and return him to Lebanon. This came when he was 15. He would return again to Boston a few years later when his youngest sister died, followed the year after by his half brother and mother. His mother had had several husbands, the last of which his mother left to take her family to Boston. After his mother’s death the young Gibran was supported by his sister while he drew and wrote.
Some of his paintings were exhibited by Fred Holland Day in his studio in 1904 and the year later his first book was published. Mary Haskell also recognised his early talent and sponsored him to study in France where he pursued painting in the symbolic and romantic styles. The two became fast friends, a friendship that lasted the rest of his life.
Upon returning once again to Lebanon the timing meant that his countrymen were suffering during war time. Here he recorded the suffering, the starvation and the desperation with a sympathetic and often symbolic brush. He also had a fondness for mothers and the mother figure a theme which appears repeatedly in his paintings and drawings.
His most famous work, The Prophet, has been translated into many languages and has never been out of print. Wikipedia sites him as the third best selling poet of all time, behind Shakespeare and Laozi (a Chinese philosopher and writer).
After about 40 minutes in what is, after all, a relatively small museum, we emerge again into the sunlight. There is a quick stop at Gibran’s house just up the road before we grab a falafel sandwich for lunch and continue on with our day to the Cedars of Lebanon, and later, Baalbek.
Would I Return?
No. Not to this museum specifically although I would return to the Kadisha Valley. However, I do now have The Prophet on my reading list.
Looks great Sonia 👍