It is a touristic site that was used to produce molasses for more than 200 years. It is the last of old presses in the region and hasn’t stopped its production until its owner Saadallah Mansour died in 1996. Mansour managed the press very well and aside owning the press, he was a dentist that used to treat the town’s citizens. His clinic was the oldest dentist clinic in the town.

In 2007, the National Heritage Foundation made an agreement with Mansour’s daughter, through the Cultural Work Association, to renovate the press and transform it into an environmental museum in Bekaa. The building was therefore renovated and the tools used in the press were cleaned and prepared to be exhibited.

The press was the center of beautiful traditions characterized by long nights and parties till sunrise.

The season of pressing grapes began upon finishing the grapes’ collect at the beginning of fall, when people gathered to press their produces. The work was mostly accompanied by Dabke dances and music played on the Rababa and Mejouiz instuments. When exhaustion took its toll on the citizens, they began the ritual of eating molasses mixed with Tahini with Tannour bread.

The press was very important to the town because molasses production was local and essential for citizens to store them during winter. When entering the press, you find a big and old olive tree. At the center, an ancient scale fixed with a wide log was used to weigh grapes and molasses.

The press contains many rooms and tools. After a week of drying the grapes at home, they were pressed at the beginning of winter between December and January. The dried grapes were put on a circle stone laying on a big circle base. The stone crushes the grapes using a donkey to move it in circles. After few moments of crushing the dried grapes, they were cut into small pieces and moved to a big plate to get filtered using a special tool to separate the seeds and peels. At the bottom of each plate there is a hole to drain the juice extracted that is then moved into small plates to become grape juice. Then this juice is gathered in a big plate where it is cooked to become molasses. It is then hit by fig branches to become pure molasses ready to be eaten. Citizens used to prepare molasses in winter because during this season no insects or heat can damage the product. All the tools are still available till date and the press has become part of the town’s heritage, visited by tourists to familiarize themselves with the process of making molasses.

During summer, wheat farmers used the press to cook and dry the wheat. Then the dried wheat was crushed in the mills to become flour and burghul.

All the press’ visitors will feel the past when visiting, while contemplating the traditional tannour oven in the garden. Before leaving, they can visit the store and buy postcards, homemade products, crafts and moune.