In the past, it was said: “Winter in Naameh, summer in Seer.” This saying refers to the pleasant climate and elevated location of the Monastery of Saint Anthony the Great of Seer/Rechmaya, which stands at the summit of a plateau situated between Rechmaya, Ain Traz, and Roueissat al-Nouman, at an altitude of 900 meters above sea level.
The Monastery of Seer was built in 1706 and is the fourth monastery of the Maronite Order, after Mart Moura in Ehden and Saint Elisha in the Qadisha Valley, and the second after the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist in Rechmaya.
The monastery was built by Father Anthony Mubarak, who named it after the Father of Monks, on the ruins of a Phoenician temple, after the sons of Father Saleh Mubarak of Rechmaya donated several properties. The surrounding lands were converted into vineyards and oak groves, and Prince Bashir II Shihabi planted walnut trees that later became known as “the Emir’s Walnut Trees.”
The monastery was destroyed during the civil war and was rebuilt after the return of Christians to the area. The Lebanese Maronite Order celebrated its re-establishment for the first time on January 18, 2016.