(Roman
Temple 57 km)
Two km beyond Qartaba are the remains of a well preserved
Roman Temple on the left of the road. In Medieval times the
temple was transformed into a church, which according to local
tradition, was called Mar Girgis al-Azrak (Saint George the
blue)! The partially obscured ruins of Medieval houses and a
church across the road date from the 10th - 12th centuries
when this was the seat of the Maronite patriarch.
Both the temple area, with its scattered
ruins and the old village are worth exploring. Parts of the
temple walls are intact and there are numerous pillars, carved
capitals and other debris. The stones are very large.
Near Yanuh, in the village of Mgheire, is
an huge oak tree, said to be at least 400 years old. |