Afqa
Village in Mount Lebanon / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Afqa (Arabic: افقا; also spelled Afka) is a village and municipality located in the Byblos District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, 71 kilometres (44 mi) northeast of Beirut in Lebanon.[1][2] It has an average elevation of 1,200 meters above sea level and a total land area of 934 hectares.[3] Its inhabitants are predominantly Shia Muslims.[4]
Afqa
Apheca, Afeca, Afka | |
---|---|
Village | |
Country | Lebanon |
Governorate | Keserwan-Jbeil |
District | Byblos District |
Area | |
• Total | 9.34 km2 (3.61 sq mi) |
Elevation | 1,200 m (3,900 ft) |
Location | 71 kilometres (44 mi) northeast of Beirut |
---|---|
Region | Byblos District |
Coordinates | 34.069167°N 35.886111°E / 34.069167; 35.886111 |
History | |
Cultures | Roman, Ancient Greece, Phoenicia |
Site notes | |
Condition | Ruins |
Public access | Yes |
Known in ancient times as Aphaca or Afaka (Ancient Greek: Ἄφακα),[5] the word can be interpreted as "source",[6] is located in the mountains of Lebanon, about 20 kilometres from the ancient city of Byblos, which still stands just east of the town of Qartaba.[7] It is the site of one of the finest waterfalls in the mountains of the Middle East,[8] which feeds into the Adonis River (known today as Abraham River or Nahr Ibrahim in Arabic),[9] and forms Lake Yammoune, with which it is also associated by legend.[10]
In Greek mythology Adonis was born and died at the foot of the falls in Afqa. The ruins of the celebrated temple of Aphrodite Aphakitis— the Aphrodite particular to this site—[11] are located there.[9] Sir Richard Francis Burton and Sir James Frazer further attribute the temple at Afqa to the honouring of Astarte or Ishtar (Ashtaroth).[12][13] Afqa is aligned centrally between Baalbek and Byblos, pointing to the summer solstice sunset over the Mediterranean. It is from Byblos that the myth was told of a mystical ark that came ashore containing the bones of Osiris. The ark became stuck in a swamp until Isis found it and carried it back to Ancient Egypt.[14]