On one of the hills of Ein bouswar village located in the Iqlim al-tuffah region south of Lebanon, Hezbollah resistance built Mleeta museum 50 kilometers north of the Palestinian-Lebanese borders.
Mleeta is considered one of the most important Resistance sites that carves the memory of a continual stage in the history of Lebanon.
Mleeta museum was inaugurated in 2010. It covers some 60,000 square meters of undulating outdoor paths and wooded areas, and another 5,000 square meters of buildings.
Between 1982 and until 2000, this region was the Launchpad of several resistance operations against the Israeli occupation army, eventually leading to the defeat and retreat of Israeli forces from Lebanon. The fall of Mleeta into the enemy’s hands meant the fall of the backlines of the resistance, the villages of Iqlim al Tuffah, as well as the besieging of Mount Safi, the primary and main stronghold of the resistance at the time.
Mleeta played the role of a particular school of faith and jihad. It became the springboard of thousands of Mujahedeen who executed thousands of military missions inside the occupied zone.
The Tank “cemetery”
The tourist attraction greets you with a huge “cemetery” of Israeli tanks smashed by resistance missiles, and the helmets of Israeli soldiers who fell in confrontations or fled away, leaving their remains behind. Also, in the cemetery are artillery guns fired by the resistance forces in face of the occupation forces since their first operations 28 years ago. All this is exhibited in a professional display that expresses an exceptional decoration that attracts visitors.
Secret tunnels
From the large square, visitors enter a long tunnel with a board at its entrance saying the tunnel is 650 meters long, and that it constitutes a “rugged forested area in which thousands of Mujahideen were located during the years of Israeli occupation. This is the location from which the resistance started to carry out hundreds of different operations against the opposite enemy sites, and within the occupied security strip.”
To the left of this tunnel, a small room that was for the former Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Abbas Moussawi, who was assassinated by the Zionist enemy with a helicopter missile targeting his car. In the locked room, which is strictly for display and visitors are not allowed to enter, there are two weapons belonging to the late Secretary-General, his prayer mat, and a pile of books on top of which is the Holy Quran.
The Mleeta museum is a unique experience in the world of museums that brings together different forms of art and records history with its audiovisual material; it writes an important part of Lebanon’s history that shall not be forgotten.
Mleeta Resistance Tourist Landmark is the story of a rising mountain and the determination of strong men. It was built by the Mujahedeen with faith, endurance and free will. They treasured behind each rock and tree-trunk the story of a martyr or injured resistance men.
Source: Al-Manar English Website
