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Unlike other historical sites in Lebanon, Anjar portrays exclusively the Umayyad
period. Therefore, it is relatively a new comer since other lebanese sites were
founded millenia ago.
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Walid the First was believed to have built the city between 705 and 715 AD but
it wasn't until 1943, that the Lebanese General Directorate of Antiquities visited
the Bekaa Valley and discovered Anjar and its archeological remains.
Anjar is nowadays more than ever a park - like setting stretching to 114.000 square
meters of restored monuments.
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- The
main attractions of Anjar are:
- The Great Palace was the first monument exvacated in 1949 and one wall and several
arcades of it have been reconstructed.
- North to the Palace are the remains of the Mosque (measuring 45 x 32 meters)
which had two public entrances and a private one for the caliph.
- The little Palace is rich in motifs borrowed from the Greco-Roman tradition.
This monument has kept its original state and visitors can still see the ancient
stones carvings.
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The public bath with the three classical sections
of the Roman bath: a large changing
room
also used for social interaction and three rooms
for cold, warm and hot water.
- The residential quarters of Anjar have still not
received archeologists attention and therefore,
need excavation.
Two main streets led to ancient site : Cardo Maximus
ans Documanus flanked by shops. 58 kilometers from
Beirut, anjar merits your visit.
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