Faqra

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Faqra: site of several Roman monuments on the western slopes of the Lebanon Mountains.

Nabaa Laban

Faqra - or, to use its full name: Qalaat Faqra, "Faqra Qastle" - is situated along one of the roads from the coast to Baalbek, high up the western slopes of the Lebanon range. On a hill in a landcape full of bizarre rocks, there are four altars, one of them rebuilt during the reign of the emperor Claudius and therefore named "tower of Claudius". You can also find a "large altar", a nicely restored "small altar", and the remains of a "destroyed altar".

A bit lower on the slope, to the south, are the remains of two ancient temples: the largest of these is dedicated to Adonis and the other one to Atargatis, the "Syrian goddess". This sanctuary can be dated to the second half of the first century.

In Late Antiquity, the last-mentioned shrine was partly dismantled, and a Byzantine basilica was built next to it.