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Cities
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North Lebanon:
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Smar Jbeil |
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| Smar Jbeil |
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In the center of the village is
the old church of Mar Nohra, said to be the burial place of this
Lebanese saint, who was a Persian Christian missionary. Partially
built with temple debris, the north side of this picturesque church
has been modernized. The oldest part is the south wall, which
incorporates a medieval window and sections of temple columns.
The church features a
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typical outside stone
staircase and a bell tower. The front entrance is decorated with
three sculpted chains carved from a single stone, a design also
found on the portal of the Hammam al Jadid in Tripoli. The remains
of an earlier church stand nearby. A simple vaulted structure, one
of its corners appears to be a section of a classical altar.
From the southwest of the church you can walk to a hill where the
Crusader castle stands on rock-cut foundations. Smar Jbail was part
of the crusader fief of Saint Montagne of the Lords of Batroun.
The Crusaders built walls of bossed stone and rubble and surrounded
the fortress with a rock-cut moat. Within the inner courtyard stands
a central keep along whose north wall is a well preserved cistern
covered by a pointed arch. The simplicity of its plan, which is
similar in arrangement and appearance to the Byblos Castle, as well
as the square tower, date this fortress to the early 12th century.
The area around the castle is worth exploring. Oil and other presses,
some in very good condition, are cut into the limestone hillside
below the southwest part of the castle. This prominent rocky hilltop
may have been an ancient high place or temple. In the cliffs to
the north below the castle are tomb chambers and some very worn
bas reliefs of standing, seated and kneeling figures that predate
the castle. These reliefs, carved above the entrance of the funerary
caves, are similar to those found in Ghineh or Machnaqa in Mount
Lebanon or Qana in the South.
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