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(71km from Beirut)
Afqa is the sacred
source of the Adonis River (modern Nahr Ibrahim), where the waters emerge
from a huge grotto in a cliff 200 meters high. It is here that the myth of
Venus and Adonis was born. The story goes that while out hunting, Adonis was
killed by a wild boar. Venus (the Phoenician goddess Astarte), who was his
lover, tried to save him but she was too late. And so it is the blood of
Adonis that each spring turns the torrential river to red.
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Getting
There ...
Travel north from Beirut
along the coastal highway towards Byblos (Jbeil) passing
through Jounieh, Tabarja, and El Aaqaybe. A few
kilometers away get on the Qartaba off ramp, a major exit, heading
uphill towards Qartaba. Afqa is reached via Qartaba turning right at the town of Majdal.
The final half-meter of road is a little rough.
(See Mount
Lebanon Map)
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