# Roofing in Lebanon

> Lebanese roofing: the pyramidal red Marseille-tile roof of the 19th-century central hall house, and the flat concrete roofs that replaced it.

- URL: https://roof.wiki/roofing-in-lebanon/
- Topic: Roofing Around the World
- Also known as: Lebanese roofing; Roofs of Lebanon; Lebanese red tile roof
- Regions: Middle East
- First published: 2026-11-02 · Last reviewed: 2026-11-02
- Cite as: "Roofing in Lebanon." roof.wiki. https://roof.wiki/roofing-in-lebanon/

## Key facts

- **Iconic roof:** Pyramidal red Marseille-tile roof
- **House type:** Central hall (triple-arch) house, 19th century
- **Ceiling:** Baghdadi plaster on timber lath
- **Pre-tile roofs:** Flat timber, reed-mat and clay roofs; stone vaults in mountains
- **Modern:** Flat concrete

Lebanon's best-known roof is the pyramidal red-tile roof of the central hall house, the archetypal 19th-century home of the country's middle class, with its triple-arched facade. Since the 20th century, most of these tiled roofs have been replaced by, or surrounded by, flat concrete roofs.

## Climate and hazards

Lebanon has a Mediterranean coast with wet winters and dry summers, rising steeply to mountains that receive winter snow.

## Roofing history

**Pre-tile houses.** Older village houses had flat earthen roofs of timber, reed mats and clay, or stone vaults and domes in the mountains; the sloped red-tile roof came later.

**Ottoman era.** The central hall house appeared in the second half of the 19th century, associated with Ottoman-era modernisation and a growing middle class. Its rooms are arranged around a large central hall, lit by the triple arch.

**Imported tiles.** These houses were roofed with red Marseille (interlocking) tiles on timber frames. The pyramidal roof is built as one block with the house and has no windows or chimney stacks; it is sometimes jokingly called the *tarboush* (fez) of the house.

**Ceilings.** Ceilings rest on wooden or metal beams. In wealthier homes the ceiling is plaster on a wooden lattice, known as *baghdadi*, fixed to the beams and decorated with baroque motifs.

**Modern.** Many tile roofs and their wooden frames were later replaced with flat concrete roofs.

## Traditional and vernacular roofs

- **Central hall house:** stone-built, often coated in ochre tones, with a pyramidal red Marseille-tile roof.
- **Flat earthen roofs:** before the sloped red-tile roof, older Lebanese houses had flat roofs of timber, reed mats and clay (see flat-roof and mud-roof).
- **Stone vaults and domes:** in mountain areas, stone barrel vaults or domes were used instead, to stand up to snow and rain.

## Roofing today

Flat reinforced concrete roofs are now the norm.

## Notable roofs

- Red-tiled central hall houses in Beirut and mountain towns.

## Local roofing terms

- *tarboush* - "fez", a nickname for the pyramidal tile roof
- *baghdadi* - plaster-on-lath ceiling

## Sources and gaps

Detailed climate and hazard data for roofing, the dates when Marseille tiles began to be imported, the build-up and maintenance of earlier earth roofs, census data on main roofing material and information on modern practice, codes and industry were not found in published sources.

## Sources

1. The Triple Arches: Lebanon’s Architectural Legacy — Hotel Libanais. https://www.hotelibanais.com/travel/traditional-lebanese-house/
2. Traditional Mediterranean Architecture: The Lebanese house (typology sheet, EU MEDA programme) — EU MEDA programme (hosted copy). https://safita.neocities.org/files/documents/architecture2.pdf
3. Old Lebanese house — Lebanon Untravelled. https://lebanonuntravelled.com/old-lebanese-house/