NAHR EL-KELB STELAE

History

The rock barrier extending south of the Nahr el-Kelb valley (Dog river) has long been a difficult barrier to overcome. Thus, since antiquity many conquerors have carved into the rock the stories of their exploits. A legend tells us that a stone dog, placed above the gorge, was screaming to the slightest approach of the enemy, hence the name given to the river. A strategic place, this rocky spur had until the last war of multiple bloody episodes. The importance of the site was stressed in the th century by a traveller who said that only a few men could prevent the whole world from going through this.

Today, the stelas that recall the ups and downs of the troops that were spent on it began to suffer from erosion. The oldest - from the passage of Rameses II and its army (1276 BC) - remain very difficult to decipher. Pharaohs, kings of Assyria, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, French and English all cast their seal to immortalize their coming, transforming this passage into true history book.

The Nahr el-Kalb site was, in 2003, cleared of soot and pollution. More than US $ 200 000 has been spent to rehabilitate the steps leading to the stelas, to put forward explanatory panels (trilingual) and awnings and afforest the site.

The proximity of the motorway makes the visit atypical. The noise is astonishing. Fortunately, once you reach the top of the rocky promontory, we forget a little bit about the noise of the cars.

Visit

Stele 1. Engraved by Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 BC), this stele, located on the right bank at the foot of the bridge, is very difficult to discover. Its cuneiform characters are more or less concealed under vegetation.

Stele 2. Arabic text engraved in the rock by Sultan Seif Eddine (1421) facing the second bridge and attributing the latter to Sultan Barqouq.

Stele 3. Latin registration due to the Emperor Caracalla (211-217).

Stele 4. Entrance to General Gouraud and his troops in Damascus on 20 July 1920.

Stele 5. Egyptian stele destroyed to place a inscription commemorating the French expedition of Napoleon III in Lebanon (1861).

Stelas 6, 7, 8. Kings of Assyria. Stelas damaged by time. It is difficult to distinguish the bas-reliefs clearly. Stele 8 is virtually no more visible.

Stele 9. It is located in a height, reminiscent of the taking of Homs, Damascus and Aleppo by the English in October 1918.

Stele 10. English inscription concerning the Anglo-French occupation of the region (October 1918). Shortly after stele 10, a small path climbs to the onslaught of the rocky spur and passes over the tunnel.

Stelas 11 and 12. Greek registration.

Stele 13. King of Assyria.

Stele 14. Rameses II is represented with a prisoner kneeling at his feet before the god Ra-Harakhte.

Stele 15. Assyrian king.

Stele 16. Rameses II pulls a prisoner by the hair and sacrifices it in the presence of the god Amun.

Stele 17. Relatively well preserved stele of Assyrian king Assarhaddon - the wedge-shaped text covers bas-relief.

The visit of this site at sunset is magical. At the level of stelas 16-17, you will have a splendid panorama on the sea and Beirut.