Beirut, Lebanon
Church and museum in Beirut
The Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, near Nejmeh Square in downtown Beirut, is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut and the city's oldest surviving church. It stands over the Anastasis Cathedral, a Romano-Byzantine church built around 450 by Bishop Eustathius after Emperor Theodosius II raised Beirut to a metropolitan see; it stood beside the halls of Beirut's renowned Roman law school. The first church fell in the earthquake of 551 and was rebuilt in the 12th century. Another earthquake in 1759 brought it down again; a single-altar church to St George was built but collapsed within a few years, and the present three-altar cathedral was consecrated around 1764. Its wall paintings were largely lost in the civil war, and it has since been restored. Beneath it lies the Crypt Museum, where glass walkways reveal the layers of Beirut's history: Hellenistic and Roman remains, Byzantine mosaic floors, medieval tombs and the foundations of earlier churches, a descent through time layer by layer.
It is a place of worship: modest dress, quiet, and visits outside services. Allow half an hour for the church and the same for the Crypt Museum; check its opening hours at the entrance. It lies between Nejmeh Square and the Omari Mosque, easy to combine with the other downtown sights on foot.
Hours and prices change — check before you go. Source: en.wikipedia.org
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MuseumBeirut, Lebanon
