press releases 2007

U.S. Ambassador Awards $56,000 to the Baakleen Municipal Council for the Restoration of Ras-Nahel Khalwet

August 10, 2007

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey D. Feltman and Head of the Baakleen Municipal Council Dr. Noha El-Ghossaini signed a grant agreement today at the Baakleen National Library awarding more than $56,000 for the restoration and preservation of historic Ras-Nahel Khalwet located in the Shouf.  Funding for the project comes from the U.S. Department of State Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation, an initiative established by the U.S. Congress in 2001. 

The Ambassador’s Fund demonstrates U.S. respect for other cultures’ rich traditions by assisting in the preservation of their cultural heritage.  This is the only U.S. government program providing direct, small grant support for this purpose.

Ras-Nahel Khalwet, a religious hermitage more than 400 years old, is the sixth Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation project in Lebanon.  In 2006, the Fund granted finances for the protection of the Mubarakeh Tower in Tyre and for the restoration of Islamic manuscripts at the Lebanese National Library.  Previous funded projects include conserving the funerary complex at Al Bass Necropolis site in Tyre; restoring the Hermitage of Mar Bichay at the Mar Antonios Monastery in Ehden, underscoring the importance of spiritual life; and rehabilitating a Roman-era temple in Temnin in the Beqaa Valley.  Since its inception in 2001, the Fund has provided the Lebanese people more than $220,000 to preserve their cultural heritage.   

In his remarks at the signing, Ambassador Feltman noted that “Lebanon has many archeological and cultural treasures.  I am proud that through the Ambassador’s Fund we can ensure the preservation and promotion of sites of historical significance to Lebanon.  I look forward to the implementation of this and other joint projects between the people of the United States and the people of Lebanon.” 

For more information on the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation and the projects it supports around the world, please visit the program's homepage at:http://exchanges.state.gov/culprop/afcp/.