Qattîne Azar: A Huge Achievement in the Exploration of the Largest Cave in Lebanon and the Region
The pit of Qattîne Azar is the second deepest chasm in Lebanon after the “Fawar Dara” chasm. It has the largest underground extension in Lebanon and the region, as it is 507 meters deep and extends over 11,867 meters of labyrinths, corridors, wells and river tributaries which make it an important element in sustainable development.
The pit of Qattîne Azar
is the second deepest chasm in Lebanon after the “Fawar Dara” chasm. It has the largest underground extension in Lebanon and the region, as it is 507 meters deep and extends over 11,867 meters of labyrinths, corridors, wells and river tributaries which make it an important element in sustainable development.
This national discovery
put the Aaintoura el Metn region on the map of sustainable villages thanks to the huge water reservoir located beneath it. Members of Association Libanaise d’Études Spéléologiques – ALES worked hard between 1996 and 2021 to explore 9,517 meters of wells, corridors and wide passages inside this chasm.
During a joint Lebanese-French mission known as Qattîne Azar – Expedition Comaty 2022, the Association Libanaise d’Etudes Spéléologiques and the Continent 8 team, discovered approximately 2350 m of new extensions in the cave.
The conference featured the screening of a documentary narrating the history of the Qattîne Azar chasm and the journey of its exploration by ALES speleologists since June 23, 1996, under the direct supervision of their teacher and spiritual guide, Professor Hani Abdul-Nour. During this presentation, the spotlight was shed on the 27 years of tireless work exploring and documenting all the details of the cave discovered so far, in a special edition, Spéléorient Hors-Série. This publication was sponsored mainly by Philippe Jabre Association, ALES & ALES Members.
This publication includes all the descriptive and scientific information related to the Qattîne Azar Chasm and five surrounding caves.
New discoveries in Qattîne Azar
In 2022, despite the difficult economic, social and health conditions that Lebanon had been suffering from for several years, the ALES members still in Lebanon decided to resume work on the Qattîne Azar cave and organized an expedition to explore the far reaches of the chasm. At the World Caving Conference held in Savoie University – Chambéry, France, in July 2022, and after the presentation made by the ALES representative on Qattîne Azar, a member of the French Continent 8 caving team expressed his team’s desire to participate in the “Qattîne Azar – Expedition Comaty 2022” mission.
This prompted the ALES members to intensify their training in preparation for this highly technical mission. Due to the importance of the event on the national level, the association’s expatriates joined the team to embark on this journey.
Several joint expeditions between ALES and Continent 8 took place between the 18th and 28th of August 2022, adding 2,350 new meters of passageways to the previously charted area of Qattîne Azar.
To ensure the success of this mission, tons of ropes and a large amount of exploration equipment were used. The cavers spent several consecutive days hundreds of meters deep in the cold, wet and muddy underground. Other ALES members worked to facilitate the mission of the speleologists inside the cave by providing the long-term caving necessities (equipment, food and water) and transporting them to the bottom of the chasm. A logistical team from ALES provided constant, round-the-clock communication with the cavers underground via the intercom (Interphone) with the aim of supplying everything necessary while the cavers were inside the pothole, and on their way out.
The expedition received special support from Mr. Jean Khalil Azar, the mayor of Aaintoura el Metn, who received the cavers in the municipal building during the exploratory missions. The efforts of the various generations of the highly trained ALES members contributed to the success of this huge achievement.
Following the discovery of the underground river on August 24, 1996, the association cooperated with the Bureau Technique pour le Development (BTD), the Ministry of Water and Energy and the Council for Development and Reconstruction to study the possibility of using the water.
On October 12 and 13, 1996, the water of the underground spring of Qattîne Azar was colored in a joint project between ALES, BTD and the Lebanese Club for Cave Exploration (SCL). Given the large amount of water, a project was implemented to extract 6000 cubic meters of water daily, to supply 27 towns in the Upper Matn area with fresh water. Since then, several scientific studies have been conducted with local and international experts. It should be noted that the past 27 years of exploration and studies have paved the way for future generations of speleologists to complete this achievement, which the various ALES generations are proud of.
