Lebanon, again

Beirut (in the distance) seen from Byblos

For the second time in less than a year, I had the privilege to visit Lebanon. Starting in Beirut, where we visited the splendid National Museum again, we embarked upon a very, very leisurely trip around. At the Nahr al-Kalb, we managed to reach the inscription of Nebuchadnezzar, which is covered by all kinds of vegetation, and will soon have disappeared.

Byblos, which I could not really appreciate during my earlier visit because I did not understand its stratigraphy, turned out to be a lot more accessible now that I knew what to expect. It was interesting to think where Wen Amun must have built his tent and where the king must have had his throne.

We proceeded to the Kadisha valley, which is the heartland of Maronite Christianity. Before entering it, we visited Amioun, Bziza, and Aïn Akrine, three sites with Roman temples. In Bsharre (the town of Kahlil Gibran), we climbed to a Phoenician tomb, and had lunch with a view of the snow-covered cedar trees.

Cedar tree

After this, we visited the Bekaa valley and Baalbek. Because we had started early and had slept in a hotel in the valley, we could arrive very early in the morning, and were almost the only people at the site, except for the guards. Returning to our hotel, we passed along Qsarnaba, Niha, and Nabi Ayla.

We also saw the Palestinian refugees who had been bombed away from Damascus – but this is not the place to write about those poor people, who most certainly did not deserve this.

Sidon

Next day, it was raining cats and dogs, but we were in Sidon, where we greatly enjoyed watching how the storm pushed the surf against the sea castle. Some of the waves must have been fifteen meters high and it was really spectacular. The same can be said of the lovely mosaics in the Beiteddin palace. The last place we visited in Beirut was the museum of the American University.

There was a bonus, though: our airplane was delayed and we were unable to catch the connecting flight in Istanbul. So, our trip lasted an additional day, and we saw a snow-covered Hagia Sophia and, in the archaeological museum, the royal sarcophagi from Sidon.

Beiteddin

I cannot wait to go back to the only place in the world where you can listen to “o come let us adore him” and at the same time hear a mu’ezzin’s call for prayer. My Facebook photos are here and here; and today I added photos of the temples of Aïn Akrine, the rock tombs of Amioun, the Phoenician tomb at Bsharre, the sanctuary at Bziza, and the temple at Qsarnaba. Some older stuff from Lebanon is here.

Lebanese Antiquities: Books

A nice archaeological travel guide

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A good preparation is always useful, for every country, and Lebanon is no exception. In advance, we read Jessica Lee’s Footprint Handbook Lebanon. For someone interested in ancient history, it is quite unpleasant to see that the author confuses Antoninus and Antonius or Alexander Severus and Septimius Severus (to name but two mistakes) but it is a good book.

I also liked Le Liban. De la Préhistoire à l’Antiquité by Guillaume Gernez and Ingrid Périssé-Valéro, which is an archaeological account of the country, with many photos. Had it contained more maps, it would have been perfect, but it was still an extremely useful book. It was recommended to us by the friendly lady of the Librarie El Bourj, a very nice bookshop in the An-Nahar building west of the Place des Martyrs. It has many books on archaeology in stock.

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Beirut: Archaeological Museum of the American University

Sarcophagus in the garden

What is the best archaeological museum in the world? If size matters, it’s not unreasonable to mention the Louvre and the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul. For art historical impact, go to the Vatican. The quality of the information? Maybe the museums of Berlin. Or the Archaeological Museum of the American University in Beirut.

This comparatively small museum cannot boast that it owns very famous works of art, but nevertheless, it is very interesting. Take, for instance, the display of Chalcolithic objects, which explains the differences between the Hassuna, Samara, and Halaf styles; next to it is a display that helps you understand Naqada. When you look at the display of ancient glass, you will also see a picture of a fresco from Rome’s Villa Farnesina that helps you understand how those small phials were used. This is not a museum for art lovers, but for archaeology students who have to learn how to recognize the ancient cultures.

Among the objects I liked were a nice bronze statuette of Reshef; two fish-shaped jugs from Byblus; some Phoenician inscriptions; a fine black bust of a pharaoh of the twenty-fifth dynasty; a nice dromedary (Persian period); a splendid Greek philosopher; busts from Palmyra, and a large mosaic from a Byzantine church, ‘said to be from Beirut’, which made me wonder how you could possibly forget where you discovered a mosaic of twenty-five square meters. Some objects – like milestones, inscriptions, and a sarcophagus – can be seen in the garden.

In short, this museum is almost perfect. If I have to express a wish: I would have liked explanatory signs that told where objects had been found, or indicated that this was unknown.

There is something odd about this place. Even though admission to the museum is free, and although it easy to find, we found ourselves the only visitors, except for the cleaner. This is undeserved, because this is an archaeological museum of exceptional quality.   Photography is not allowed, but you can ask for a permit.

Beirut: National Museum

Vatican VIPs

The National Museum of Beirut is one of the most interesting museums I have ever visited. The first surprise is the building itself, which is in some kind of Egyptian style. Inside, it is essentially a very big hall with lots of fine sculpture, surrounded by a gallery (on the first floor) with other types of ancient objects.

Among the highlights are a stela of Ramesses II from Tyre; the sarcophagus of king Ahirom (or Ahiram) of Byblus, with the oldest known inscription in Phoenician letters; a splendid Egyptian colossus, also from Byblus; several ‘thrones of Astarte’; a Persian-style column from Sidon; a beautifully sculpted, Hellenistic tribune from the sanctuary of Eshmun at Bustan esh-Sheikh; a fine bust of Septimius Severus; a third-century mosaic of the Seven Sages from Baalbek; some mosaics and several sarcophagi, including one with scenes from the final book of the Iliad.

In the gallery on the first floor, you will find all kinds of statuettes, weapons, and idols from Byblus; lots of jewelry; coins; a very fine Dionysus from Tyre; Byzantine carvings and some finds from the Islamic age. The last display contains some objects that were damaged during the Civil War. After all, the museum is built on what was once known as the Green Line: the frontier that divided Beirut. A badly damaged house, just northwest of the museum, is a reminder of the horrors.

It is quite a distance from the center of Beirut, so you need a taxi to go there. You need several hours to see all, and there is a nice bookshop. Across the street is a small restaurant, where we had some pizza and ayran.