Archaeological Tell and Church Wall Paintings
(78 Km from Beirut)

    The Amioun you want to visit is the one perched on a 364 meter-long cliff, not the new town along the highway that brings you into the area called Koura. Before you leave the highway level, take a good look the cliff, whose façade is dotted with a series of ancient tomb openings. This is Amioun's calling card. Two roads lead to the left from the highway, bringing you cliffside and into this picturesque town.

    Known as Ammiya in the second millennium B.C., the modern town of Amioun lies on an important archaeological tell. Of major interest are the churches of Mar Jurius (St. George), built on the cella of a Roman temple, and Mar Fauqa, or St. Phocas, built by local architects during the  Crusader period. The entire interior of St. Phocas is covered with paintings of the 12th and 13th centuries.

    A third church is the modern red-roofed Mar Youhanna (St. John) perched on a rocky cliff with tomb openings on its southeastern façade.

    Near the old town government building, or "Serail" ask for the Chapel of Marina, an ancient burial vault converted into a chapel.