Enfeh is a small fishing town on the coast of North Lebanon built around the ruins of several short-lived
cities going back to the pre-Phoenician period. Natural dwelling caves abound on the
surrounding hill of Al-Gheer; the original city lies on a small near-island about half a kilometer into the sea. Its
outstanding feature is that it is the only town throughout the eastern coast of the Mediterranean to be carved
out of its rocky surroundings.
Some of the carvings go all the way back to the Phoenician period, and possibly earlier, as witness
to the
fact that the name of Enfeh appears on the Tell-Amarna tablets of ancient Egypt. The remains of subsequent
settlements include dwelling caves, places of worship, cisterns, water tanks and wine presses, as well as steps and
roads all carved in the rock. One ancient quarry, known as the Great Trench, was used by the Phoenicians as a
dry dock; it served for defensive purposes during the Crusader period.
Enfeh harbors a number of ancient churches, the oldest of which contains remnants of its original
Byzantine frescoes; it is rather poetically called 'Saydet el Reeh," or "Our Lady of the Wind". Also in
Enfeh is Lebanon's sole surviving Romanesque Church which was built by the Crusaders.
Large numbers of presses and jars of a wide range of styles and origins, made
of clay, have been found both
inland and under water and continue to be discovered to this day. According to archeologists, they are evidence
of Enfeh's once pre-eminent manufacturing and commercial position. Along the length of the bay, the salt marshes add a typically picturesque note to
the landscape, especially in places with the traditional wind wheel which pumps
seawater better than the noisy and polluting diesel engine! The production of
sea salt is a
staple of the local economy. "White gold", as it is called, provides for an inexhaustible
natural resource which can thus be extracted without endangering the environment.
Getting
There ...
Enfeh is situated on the coast, 65km north of Beirut, or 15km south
of Tripoli. (See
North Map)
Some of the carvings go all the way back to the Phoenician period, and possibly earlier, as witness
to the
fact that the name of Enfeh appears on the Tell-Amarna tablets of ancient Egypt. The remains of subsequent
settlements include dwelling caves, places of worship, cisterns, water tanks and wine presses, as well as steps and
roads all carved in the rock. One ancient quarry, known as the Great Trench, was used by the Phoenicians as a
dry dock; it served for defensive purposes during the Crusader period.
Enfeh harbors a number of ancient churches, the oldest of which contains remnants of its original
Byzantine frescoes; it is rather poetically called 'Saydet el Reeh," or "Our Lady of the Wind". Also in
Enfeh is Lebanon's sole surviving Romanesque Church which was built by the Crusaders.
Large numbers of presses and jars of a wide range of styles and origins, made
of clay, have been found both
inland and under water and continue to be discovered to this day. According to archeologists, they are evidence
of Enfeh's once pre-eminent manufacturing and commercial position.