Nahle ( ar, نحله )), is a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...
situated northeast of
Baalbek in
Baalbek District
Baalbek District ( ar, قضاء بعلبك) is an administrative district in the Baalbek-Hermel Governorate of the Republic of Lebanon, having the city Baalbek as its capital. It is by far the largest district in the country comprising a total of ...
,
Baalbek-Hermel Governorate french: Baalbek-Hermel
, settlement_type = Governorate
, image_skyline = Baalbek (4594513263).jpg
, image_caption = Baalbek
, image_flag =
, image_seal =
, image_shield =
, image_ ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
.
It has the ruins of a roman temple.
Name
The name "Nahlah" means "honey bee".
History
Nahle was probably founded during Roman rule of the region, that was called in the first century
Roman Phoenicia.
The 13th-century geographer
Yaqut al-Hamawi
Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) ( ar, ياقوت الحموي الرومي) was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine Greek ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th-13th centuries). He is known for ...
listed Nahlah in his geographical dictionary, with its entry being "a village lying 3 miles from Ba'labakk".
In 1838,
Eli Smith noted ''Nahleh'' as a
Metawileh
Lebanese Shia Muslims ( ar, المسلمون الشيعة اللبنانيين), historically known as ''matāwila'' ( ar, متاولة, plural of ''mutawālin'' ebanese pronounced as ''metouali'' refers to Lebanese people who are adherents ...
village in the
Baalbek area.
Actually Nahle is located above a deep and very pretty valley. It is noteworthy to pinpoint that the slopes of this village are studded with the familiar burial chambers often found near Roman/Byzantine sites.
Roman temple
There are the ruins of a
Roman temple
Ancient Roman temples were among the most important buildings in Roman culture, and some of the richest buildings in Roman architecture, though only a few survive in any sort of complete state. Today they remain "the most obvious symbol of ...
in the village that are included in a group of
Temples of the Beqaa Valley.
The temple foundations are made of gigantic blocks of stone, upon which sit the remains of a
podium
A podium (plural podiums or podia) is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek ''πόδι'' (foot). In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podiums can also be used ...
. The podium has a long inscription written on it that is now almost impossible to read.
The huge foundations indicate that there was a huge temple over these foundations during roman centuries.
Nahle roman temple
/ref>
This sanctuary consisted of two parts: an open air court and a large room with a ceiling where notches for the wooden beam still exist. Only a few courses of stone are still standing, but the temple maintains its dignity despite crowding by modern village residences.
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Localiban
* ttp://almashriq.hiof.no/ddc/projects/mot/photobase/images/MT12/JPEG0184.html Photo of Nahle temple on the website of the American University of Beirutbr>Nahle on travelingluck.comNahle on WikimapiaPicture of Nahle temple foundation stones on alblebanon.com
{{Archaeological sites in Lebanon
Populated places in Baalbek District
Archaeological sites in Lebanon
Ancient Roman temples
Roman sites in Lebanon
Tourist attractions in Lebanon