The shrine of Sit Sha'wana is located in the Aammiq area on the slopes of Mount Barouk, on the eastern side overlooking the Bekaa Valley and Mount Hermon.
It is a large building that includes the tomb chamber, a prayer hall, and other facilities for visitors. It is a public shrine and a destination for clergy and believers seeking the blessing and intercession of Sit Sha'wana, may God be pleased with her.
The shrine is surrounded by a dense oak forest characterized by its pleasant air and pure water. Near it lies the Spring of Sit Sha'wana, which is 72 meters long. It is situated adjacent to the Shouf Cedar Reserve at an altitude of 1200 meters above sea level, and it is a fresh spring that flows throughout the year.
There is also another shrine for Sit Sha'wana, may God be pleased with her, in Ein Qiniyye in the Golan, near the shrine of Al-Hazuri, may God be pleased with him.
The Story of Sit Sha'wana
Members of the Druze monotheistic community honor a devotee who was persecuted and endured injustice, and whose true identity was only revealed after her death when her fellow devotees discovered that she was a woman, not a man.
The Druze have honored this virtuous woman for hundreds of years and built a special shrine for her known as the "Sit Sha'wana" shrine in the Aammiq area of the Western Bekaa. People visit it from various regions, and it has become a destination for everyone who knows her story, regardless of their faith.
The Druze recount the story of this virtuous woman whose mother died when she was young. After she grew into a young woman, her father decided to renounce the world and devote himself to worship. She insisted on going with him, so he took her along after dressing her in men's clothing to the temple.
This devotee was known for piety, obedience, and asceticism. One day, the head of the temple sent her on a mission to a neighboring village, where she had to spend the night at an inn. Upon returning from her mission, some time later, the owner of the inn entered the temple, shouting in anger and accusing this devotee of raping his daughter on the night she stayed there, causing the daughter to become pregnant. Consequently, the devotee was expelled.
The devotee obeyed the decision. After the daughter gave birth to a boy, the father brought the child to the devotee to raise. She took the child and began raising him in a cave. Some time later, the fellow devotees felt pity for her and allowed her back into the temple, but they forced her to perform hard labor as penance for her perceived sin.
The story passed down narrates that this devotee, upon falling ill, requested that her body not be uncovered after death, except for a small part of her garment to be torn. This is what happened after she passed away. To everyone's surprise, the devotee was a woman. Everyone realized that everything they had accused her of was false and a lie. Despite this, she had endured, been patient, and sacrificed. They knelt down, asking for her forgiveness for the wrongs they had committed against her.
