On a temple once dedicated to Ishtar ( Aashtarut ), goddess of fertility symbolized by the planet Venus and the crescent Moon,
a church dedicated to The Holy Virgin Mary was built
in the 6th Century.
Mentionned in the Crusaders Chronicles as a
domain belonging to the Bishop of Sidon,
it has been destroyed during the Mamluk invasion
which put an end to the Crusaders Kingdoms in the Holy Land by the end of the 13th Century and was abandonned since.
It re-entered history with the emergence of
the lebanese entity, a couple of centuries later in 1516, when the Druze Maan Princes of Lebanon joined the Ottomans and defeated the Mamluks. The Maan Princes allowed their christian subjects to re-build Deir. They made it
their capital, the capital of Mount-Lebanon for four hundred years. A new church was built on the
ruins of the old one.
A megalithic stone from the old church still remains at the
side south entrance.
On it is carved a Cross on top of a crescent,
surrounding the star Venus symbol of Ishtar, symbolizing thus, victory of christianity over paganism.
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