believe that the Kadisha Valley has had monastic communities continuously since the earliest years of Christianity. It was also at times a destination for Muslim mystics, or Sufis, who also visited it for meditation and solitude. Early Christian communities fleeing persecution found refuge in the Kadisha. Among these groups were the Jacobite Arameans (Syriac Orthodox), Melkite Catholics, Eastern Arameans, Armenians, and even Ethiopians. The Maronites, however, are the dominant Christian group in the valley. From the late 7th century, Maronites fled to the valley from their original areas of settlement in the Levante. At that time, they feared persecution from the Melkites, who were Chalcedonians, and who persecuted the Maronites for adopting Heraclian Monothelitism , and from Islamic attacks. Maronite settlement intensified following the destruction of the Monastery of St Maron by emperor heraclius, founder and promoter of Monothelitism. The Maronite monks established their new center at Qannubin, in the heart of the Qadisha, and monasteries quickly spread over the surrounding hills. Early Maronite settlement in the valley combined both community and eremitic life. The Mameluk sultans Baibars and Qalaoun led campaigns in 1268 and 1283, respectively, against the fortress-caves, monasteries, and the surrounding villages. Despite these attacks, the Deir Qannubin monastery was to become the seat of the Maronite Patriarch in the 15th century and remained so for 500 years. In the 17th century, the Maronite monks’ reputation for piety was promoted through the Maronite school founded in Rome in 1584. by dint of this exposure, many European poets, historians, geographers, politicians, and clergy visited and even settled in the Valley. The first printing press in the Middle East was founded in 1585 at the Monastery of Qozhaya in the Kadisha Valley, and in 1610 printed its first book, the Book of Psalms in the Syriac language. It used Syriac characters. Also this printing press was the first to print in Arabic language Qadisha mummies Eight well preserved natural mummies of villagers dating back to around 1283 A.D. were uncovered by Fadi Baroudy, Pierre Abi Aoun, Paul Kahawaja & Antoine Ghaouch, a team of speleologists from the GERSL scientific organisation in the Qadisha Valley between 1989 and 1991. These were found in the 'Asi-al Hadath cave along with a wealth of artifacts. World Heritage Site In 1998, UNESCO added the valley to the list of World Heritage Sites because of its importance as the site of some of the