Travel Guide Afqa

The Grotte cave is one of the most beautiful natural sites in Lebanon. A huge vertical wall rises towards the sky. The landscape is impressive. On its lower side, a gargantuan mouth window and spits a convulsive torrent. The cave of Afqa, carved in a reddish rock, is just a few hundred metres above a small stone bridge. The vaulted room impresses with its dimensions and seems to be immersed inside the gorge of a monster. " One of the most beautiful sites in the world "for Ernest Renan. Basically, the Nahr Ibrahim (River Adonis) flows from a large hole carved in the rock and then leaves peacefully in the valley. Near the bridge, a clear water pool invites to refresh during hot periods. The cult of Adonis, a myth of eternal return, was born in the th century BC.During antiquity, festivities - in honour of Adonis - were celebrated in a high temple near the cave (at the foot of the second bridge). Dedicated to Aphrodite, the temple was the place of multiple scenes of sacred prostitution. These festivities were obviously very badly seen by the Catholic Church. At that time, a priest named Rhetorical de Caesarea (260-340) objected to these practices, which he considered immoral: " This temple was dedicated to Aphrodite, an infamous goddess. It was a perverse religion; all depraved who had used their bodies by sin were there. " The Catholic Church therefore condemned pagan rites and ordered the disappearance of all the temples in the th century. The plane of the temple is rather recognition. A portion of the water pipe is visible in the foundations. Destroyed by Constantine the Grand (285-337), the temple was rebuilt under Julien says the Apostate (360-363). Today, we distinguish that a vast field of stones of scattered dimensions.Despite these destruction, the ruins of Afqa remain a sanctuary and a place of veneration. The fig tree, rooted in the temple wall, is covered with pieces of various fabrics and offerings. Infirm, sick and infertile women come from all parts of Lebanon begging the goddess or thanking her for her favours.