The Basilica of Our Lady of Mantara, meaning "Our Lady of Awaiting," marks the cave where, according to longstanding Christian tradition, the Virgin Mary waited while Jesus preached in the nearby regions of Sidon and Tyre. Tradition also holds that Saint Helena consecrated a chapel on the site in the 4th century and sent an icon of the Virgin and Child to the shrine. After the Muslim conquest, the site gradually fell into obscurity until the cave was rediscovered on September 8, 1721. According to local tradition, a shepherd searching for a fallen goat descended into the cave and discovered the ancient icon by torchlight. Today, the complex includes the original grotto-chapel, a tower topped by a statue of the Virgin and Child added in the 1960s overlooking Sidon and Jabal Amel, and a large modern basilica. Every September 8, the shrine welcomes thousands of Christian and Muslim pilgrims celebrating the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.