Aanjar,
58 kilometers from Beirut, is
completely different from any
other archaeological experience
you'll have in Lebanon. At other
historical sites in the country,
different epochs and
civilizations are superimposed
one on top of the other.
Aanjar is exclusively one
period, the Umayyad.Lebanon's
other sites were founded
millennia ago, but Aanjar is a
relative new-comer, going back
to the early 8th
century A.D.
Unlike
Tyre and Byblos, which claim
continuous habitation since the day
they were founded,
Aanjar flourished
for only a few decades.
Other than a small Umayyad mosque in
Baalbeck, we have few other remnants
from this important period of Arab
History. Aanjar
also stands unique as the only
historic example of an inland
commercial center.
The city benefited
from its strategic position on
intersecting trade routes leading to
Damascus, Homs, Baalbeck and the
south. This almost perfect
quadrilateral of ruins lies in the
midst of the richest agricultural land
in Lebanon. It is only a short
distance from gushing springs and one
of the important sources of the Litani
River. Today's name, Aanjar, comes
from the Arabic Ain Gerrha, "the
source of Gerrha", the name of
an ancient city founded in this area
during Hellenistic times. Aanjar has a
special beauty. The city's slender
columns and fragile arches stand in
contrast to the massive bulk of
the nearby Anti-Lebanon mountains--an
eerie background for Aanjar extensive
ruins and the memories of its short
but energetic moment in history.
Major
Cities - Anjar
