Nabatieh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nabatieh النبطية |
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country |  Lebanon |
| Governorate | Nabatieh Governorate |
| District | Nabatieh District |
| Geography | |
  Nabatieh
Location of Nabatieh, Lebanon
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| Coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Elevation | 418 m (1,371 ft) |
Nabatieh (Arabic: النبطية, al-Nabatiya), or Nabatiye, is the capital city of Nabatieh Governorate, southern Lebanon. Nabatieh has approximately 120,000 inhabitants and is the most important town of the Jabal Amel area and the chief center of both the mohafazat (governorate) and the Caza (canton). It enjoys an important economic and cultural position. Every Monday is market day, and traders and visitors from neighboring villages gather in the city center to exchange their goods known in arabic as "Souq Al Tanen". There are also branches of several banks, hospitals, restaurants and cultural and touristic clubs. Every year, the city commemorates the Battle of Karbala to remember the martyrdom of Imam al Husayn. On this occasion, tens of thousands of visitors, mainly of the Shiite community, come to participate in this religious ceremony.
Nabatieh is the hometown of several learned men of international renown. The theologian, Sheikh Aref al Zein, the scientist Hassan Kamel Al-Sabbah and his uncle Sheikh Ahmad Reda are among the most famous.
[edit] Al Shkif castle:
Nabatieh has two historic mosques:
The first one was built in the 16th century and lies in the town center; and the second one, known as “the Mosque of the Prophet,” dates to the Mamluk period and is located in Nabatieh al Fawqa. Arnun lies 7 km south-east of Nabatieh. On top of a hill overlooking the southern Beqaa to Damascus stands a fortress known to Arab travellers as Shqif Arnun, Shqif being a Syriac term meaning high rock. Western travellers call it Belfort or Beaufort. At first sight, it seems inaccessible, but it can be easily reached from the village of Arnun. In front of the fortress the visitor will see a large water cistern and the ruins of an ancient village contemporary with the citadel. There is no direct evidence of the building date or the builder of this castle. According to William of Tyre, it was erected by the Crusaders, but some scholars are of the opinion that it is older. It has been suggested that the monument was already standing when the Crusaders arrived. It has also been argued that it was first built in the late Roman or Byzantine period, later restored and enlarged by the Arabs. The Crusaders restructured and fortified it and it became the important fortress in Lebanon. The Crusader king, Foulques d'Anjou, conquered it from the ruler of Damascus and gave it to the Crusader rulers of Sidon in 1138. Salaheddin besieged it for two years and was able to storm it in 1140. The Crusaders regained control of the citadel in 1190 after they had signed an agreement with Al Salih Ismail, ruler of Damascus. In 1260, it was bought by the templars from the Sidonian prince and it remained their property until its conquest in 1268 by the Mamluk Sultan, Al Zahir Baybars. The Templars built a small fort there called Chteau Neuf. Fakhreddin restored and fortified it at the beginning of the 17th century, but the governor of Damascus, Hafez Pasha, besieged it and partly destroyed it with his artillery.
The main entrance leads to the ground floor and is located on the eastern side of the building. It is protected by three towers, on top of which a large number of fighters could stand. In the south-eastern corner is a second entrance leading to the upper floor and, finally, a third entrance in the south-western angle surmounted by machicolations leads to the center of the main courtyard. Inside, the castle is almost completely ruined and only the eastern wall, entrance and staircase of a big tower in the middle of the western side survive. On the eastern side is a 13th-century vaulted building, either a church or an assembly hall. On the northern side are the remains of two towers and of a large cistern which occupies part of the moat surrounding the fortress
Iqlim al-Tuffah Nabatieh ia also supervised by Iqlim al-Tuffah mountains and surrounded by: Kfarfila, Jbaa, Ain Qana, Ain Bouswar, ArabSaleem, Houmeen, Zifta and other villages
Hossam Shalabi
[edit] Demographics
Natives of Nabatieh are predominantly Shi'a Muslims, with a small Maronite Catholic population. The Nabatieh district has three representatives in the Lebanese government, all belonging to the Shi'a Muslim religion as per Lebanon's sectarian confessional system.
