Early Printing Press…

While visiting the Monastery of St. Anthony in the Qozhaya Valley, I stumbled into a dusty room which contained the first printing press in the Middle East. Brought to the monastery in 1584 from England, the press was used to print books in Syriac, instead of the Arabic script. This historic printing press was just one of the many cultural treasures I encountered while exploring the grounds of the monastery–which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998…

The Monastery of Qozhaya is the principal house of the Order of Saint Anthony. From the height of the Monastery, one can enjoy the view of the valley which is well cultivated with wheat, vines, olive trees and, above all, mulberry trees. They bring prosperity and beauty to the mountainsides. The monks divide their time between praying and the cultivation of the land. In the past, this valley was not in its present state of prosperity; it was arid. Its fertility is due to the tireless labor of the monks. Has there ever been a heritage, which has been more legitimately acquired?

Msgr. Jacques Mislin, Sacred Places (1876)