Astrophotography in Lebanon: The Cedars, Qornet es Sawda and the Bekaa

Where to see the Milky Way in Lebanon

The best places to see the stars in Lebanon are the Cedars above Bsharri and the road up to Qornet es Sawda, an hour and a half from the coast, and the Bekaa Valley behind Mount Lebanon. Summer is the season on the high ground.

Lebanon’s coast is one continuous town from Tripoli to Tyre, and from Beirut the sky is orange. The country is also a mountain range, and an hour and a half up the road the lights are below you. The best sky in Lebanon is at altitude, in the north, and in the Bekaa behind the first range.

The Cedars and Qornet es Sawda

The Cedars, above Bsharri in the north, sit at nearly two thousand metres, and the road continues up towards Qornet es Sawda, the highest point in the Levant at over three thousand. In summer the high ground is dry, clear and cool, with the coastal glow below the horizon to the west. The old cedar trees give a foreground no other country has.

Suits: the sharpest sky in Lebanon for deep-sky work, and nightscapes with cedars.

The Bekaa Valley

The Bekaa lies behind Mount Lebanon, so the coastal glow is blocked by the range. Baalbek’s temples are lit at night, but the valley between the towns is dark, and the eastern range gives a second horizon. It is also a flat drive rather than a mountain road.

Suits: wide Milky Way frames with the ranges on both sides, and easy access.

Timing a night

The high ground is a summer place: from June to September the nights are clear and dry, and the Milky Way core is high. In winter the Cedars are under snow and the road can close. The Bekaa works in spring and autumn as well.

What to shoot from Lebanon

From 33 to 34 degrees north the galactic core stands well up in the south in summer, higher than from Europe but lower than from the Gulf. In winter Orion, the Pleiades and the Andromeda Galaxy are high for most of the night.

Processing what you bring home

Akastroid stacks and finishes your frames on your own computer, with nothing uploaded, which matters where the connection is slow or the power is off. The free download processes five sessions and allows two exports, enough for one night at the Cedars. If you buy a licence later, it can be paid for with a debit or credit card.

Across the Middle East

The same guide for the rest of the region: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Turkey, Israel.