Hannouche Garden

Hannouche Garden in Chtoura, deep in Lebanon’s lush Bekaa valley, is a mix of old buildings and new. Spacious as well as intimate in places, it is also, in part, a restaurant that first opened its doors in 1920 and which now, as then – because it is on the ancient road to Damascus – does a roaring trade throughout the year.

In the back, there is a huge, beautifully tended garden whose maintenance requires the constant efforts of three full-time gardeners and where dining tables and sculptures share space with enormous trees, blossoming rose bushes and a perfectly verdant lawn.

Hannouche Garden is considered the biggest flower garden and venue in Lebanon, stretching over 32000 square meters and seats 4500 persons in addition to a 3000 square meters parking lot.

Three steps down from the old part of the house where the restaurant entrance is located is the family’s living room. Large with a column in the middle that divides it into two sections, it is filled to the brim with works of art; a display of Ottoman dresses in one corner; a large painting by Paul Guiragossian, Lebanon’s most famous contemporary artist, dominates one wall; ancient artifacts in an alcove; ceramic vases and a collection of crystal bottles on tables and other surfaces, and so much more. Displayed to advantage all along one side of the room, where the seating is low and in the Arab style, are Melchite icons, each of which, says Hannouche, can tell a fascinating story.