Long before Mar Moussa expanded to become a village and long before families migrated to the area from Jbail, Chbaniyé, and Bikfaya, a monestary was built over the remains of an old Roman sanctuary in 1753. Deir Mar Moussa Al-Habshi was constructed out of white stones and consists of several long buildings with brick ceilings, surrounded by trees. The monastery is also home to a small church dedicated to St. Charbel and shrines for St. Rafqa (a Maronite Lebanese nun beatified in 1985 and canonized in 2001) and Na’amatallah Al-Hardini (a Lebanese monk who was declared venerable in 1989 and beatified in 1998). The courtyard of Deir Mar Moussa overlooks terraces and the Pine Mountains of Bzebdine, as well as Mount Kneysseh.
