The traditional view of the Lebanese mountains, whether in an old photograph or painting, usually includes clusters of traditional Lebanese houses. The "Lebanese house" is usually a stone building with a large arch framing a vaulted ceiling on the ground floor, three arches centered over a narrow baloney on the upper floor, all topped by a steep, red-tiled roof; this exterior format was adapted from the villas of Venice sometime in the middle of the 19th century. It could even be a more humble house with walls of roughly-hewn stones and a timber-and-mud roof with a stone roller (mahdaleh) to keep it compacted. Or it may be an elegant palace from the late 18th or early 19th century.
Unfortunately, the buildings that complement the natural landscape and give Lebanon such an appealing character have been steadily disappearing.
The first to go were old houses, many of them true palaces, in Beirut as land values soared and old buildings were demolished and replaced by tall apartment and office buildings.
In the mountains before the war, the old houses were largely secure, but their scenic setting was being degraded as new, multi-story apartment buildings went up among them, with little planning for the overall setting.
Recently, the plight of Lebanese traditional houses has gained some increasing attention. However, much work is still to be undertaken in raising awareness to restore an important element of Lebanese cultural identity and heritage.