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Unlike
Tyre and Byblos, which claim continuous habitation since the
day they were founded, Aanjar flourished for only a few decades.Oher
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 to the South.
This almost perfect quadrilateral of ruins lies in the midst
of some 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 by the Arab
Ituraens 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's
extensive ruins and the memories of its short, but energetic
moment in history.
HISTORY: AANJAR'S MASTERS, THE UMAYYADS
The Umayyads, the first hereditary dynasty of Islam,
ruled from Damascus in the first century after the Prophet
Mohammed, from 660 to 750 A.D. They are credited with the
great Arab conquests that created an Islamic Empire stretching
from the Indus Valley to Southern France.
Skilled in administration and planning, their empire prospered
for 100 years. Defeat befell them when the Abbasids - their
rivals and their successors - took advantage of the Umayyad's
increasing decadence.
Some chronicles and literary documents inform us that it was
Walid I, son of Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, who built
the city - probably between 705 and 715 A.D. Walid's son Ibrahim
lost Aanjar when he was defeated by his cousin Marwan II in
a battle, two kilometers from the city.
EXCAVATING AANJAR
Just after Lebanon gained independence in 1943, the
country's General Directorate of Antiquities began to investigate
a strip of land in the Beqaa valley sandwiched between the
Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountains some 58 kilometers east
of Beirut. This was Aanjar, then a stretch of bland bareness
with parched shrubbery and stagnant swamps that covered the
vast area of these archaeological remains.
The site at first seemed painfully modest, especially when
compared with the rest of Lebanon's archaeological wonders.
What attracted the antiquities' experts to Aanjar was not
so much the ruins themselves as the information they held.
Beneath the impersonal grayness of Aanjar, the experts suggested,
lay the vestiges of the eighth century Umayyad dynasty that
ruled from Damascus and held sway over an empire.
That idea was particularly interesting because Lebanon - that
unique crossroads of the ages - boasted ample archaeological
evidence of almost all stages of Arab history with the exception
of the Umayyad.
Early in the excavation engineers drained the swamp. Stands
of evergreen cypresses an eucalyptus trees were planted and
flourish today, giving these stately ruins a park-like setting.
To date, almost the entire site has been excavated and some
monuments have been restored. Among the chief structures are
the Palace I and the Mosque in the southeast quarter, the
residential area in the southwest, the Palace II in the northwest
and the Palace III and public bath in the northeast.
VISITING THE SITE
To
sense the vastness of the city, drive around the outside of
the fortified enclosures before entering the 114,000-square-meter
site. The north-south walls run 370 meters and the east-west
sides extend 310 meters. The walls are two meters thick and
built from a core of mud and rubble with an exterior facing
of sizable blocks and an interior facing of smaller layers
of blocks.
Against the interior of the enclosures are three stairways
built on each side. They gave access to the top of the walls
where guards circulated and protected the town. Each wall
has an imposing gate, and towers (40 in all) are sited on
each stretch of wall. The Umayyad's hundred-year history is
steeped in war and conquest. Apparently their rulers felt
the these walls and tower defenses were a necessary feature
of their architecture.
Nearly 60 inscriptions and graffiti from Umayyad times are
scattered on the city's surrounding walls. One of them, dated
123 of the Hegira (741 A.D.), is located in the western wall
between the fourth and fifth tower from the southwest.
Today visitors enter through the northern gate of the site
but as the main points of interest are at the southern half
of the city, it's better to walk up the main street to the
far end of the site. You are walking along the 20-meter-wide
Cardo Maximus (a Latin term meaning a major street running
north and south) which is flanked by shops, some of which
have been reconstructed. At the half-way point of this commercial
street a second major street called Decumanus Maximus (running
east to west) cuts across it at right angles. It is also flanked
by shops. In all, 600 shops have been uncovered, giving Aanjar
the right to call itself a major Umayyad strip mall. The masonry
work, of Byzantine origin, consists of courses of cut stone
alternating with courses of brick. This technique, credited
to the Byzantines, reduced the effects of earthquakes.
The tidy division of the site into four quarters is based
on earlier Roman city planning. At the city's crossroads you'll
have your first hint that the Umayyads were great recycles.
Tetrapylons mark the four corners of the intersection. This
configuration, called a tetrastyle is remarkably reminiscent
of Roman architecture.
One of the tetrapylons has been reconstructed with its full
quota of four columns. Note the Greek inscriptions at the
bases and the Corinthian capitals with their characteristic
carved acanthus leaves-delightful to look at but definitely
not original to the Umayyads.
A city with 600 shops and an overwhelming concern for security
must have required a fair number of people. Keeping this in
mind, archaeologists looked for remains of an extensive residential
area and found it just beyond the tetrastyle to the southwest.
However, these residential quarters received the least attention
from archaeologists and need further excavation.
Along both sides of the streets you'll see evenly spaced column
bases and mostly fallen columns that were once part of an
arcade that ran the length of the street. Enough of these
have been reconstructed to allow your imagination finish the
job.
The columns of the arcade are by no means homogeneous; they
differ in type and size and are crowned by varying capitals.
Most of them are Byzantine, more indication that the Umayyads
helped themselves to Byzantine and other ruins scattered around
the area.
On your way to the arcaded palace ahead, notice the numerous
slabs of stone that cover the top of what was the city's drainage
and sewage system. These manholes are convincing evidence
of the city's well-planned infrastructure.
The great or main palace itself was the first landmark to
emerge in 1949 when Aanjar was discovered. One wall and several
arcades of the southern half of the palace have been reconstructed.
As you stand in the 40-square-meter open courtyard, it is
easy to picture the palace towering around you on all four
sides.
Just to the north of the palace are the sparse remains of
a mosque measuring 45 x 32 meters. The mosque had two public
entrances and a private one for the caliph.
If you enjoy a good game of archaeological hide and seek,
the second palace is the place for you. It is decorated with
much finer and more intricate engravings, rich in motifs borrowed
from the Greco-Roman tradition.
Very little reconstruction has been done to this palace so
its floors and grounds are in their natural state. With patience
you will find stone carvings of delightful owls, eagles. seashells
and the famous acanthus leaves.
More evidence of the Umayyad's dependence on the architectural
traditions of other cultures appears some 20 meters north
of this second palace. These Umayyad baths contain the three
classical sections of the Roman bath : the vestiary where
patrons changed clothing before their bath and rested afterwards,
and three rooms for cold, warm and hot water. The size of
the vestiary indicates the bath was more than a center for
social interaction.
AANJAR TODAY
Aanjar
is open daily. Close to the ruins of Aanjar are a number of
restaurants which offer fresh trout plus a full array of Lebanese
and Armenian dishes. Some of the restaurants are literally
built over the trout ponds. Aanjar has no hotels but lodging
can be found in Chtaura 15 kilometers away.
IF
YOU HAVE TIME...
Ain
Gerrha: Aanjar's major spring is located 3 kilometers northeast
of the ruins.
Majdal Aanjar: A Roman period temple sits on a hilltop overlooking
this village, which is one kilometer from Aanjar.
The Mausoleum of El-Wali Zawur: Is the burial spot of a religious
personage from medieval times. Until the early 1980s fertility
rites were held here.
Kfar Zabad: Roman temple ruins and a cave with stalactites
and stalagmites. Special equipment needed for the cave.
Source: Ministry of Tourism |
