Nabatieh Profile Altitude:
400m
Distance from Beirut: 78km
Getting there
From Beirut, take Khalde Highway South passing through Khalde, Damour, Naame, Saadiat, along the beautiful coast of the Mediterranean sea,
Saidon, Ghazieh, Sarafand, Adloun,
Tyre, Cana, Nabatieh. |
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Name Origin
Nabat in Hebrew means sight, while in Arabic it means falling
water. Another possibility could be from Al Anbat, ancient residents of East
Jordan. Nabatieh could have been a colony of Al Anbat. They were farmers,
"people of the water", or "people of the plough and agriculture".
Historical Fact
The history of Nabatiyeh dates back to the Mesolithic Age.
The caves surrounding it like "Ushul Ghorab" (crow's nest) and "Moghor Mehla",
with ancient tombs carved in the rocks, and the pottery objects found in
them, go back to the Neolithic Age. Colored beads found in Nabatiyeh date
back to the Phoenicians.
"Al Khraibeh", a small suburb over-looking the town from the West, is all
that is left from the Byzantine-Roman Nabatiyeh. There is a current search
for the Holy Roman Road that was used by Jesus on His way from Galilee to
Sidon.
Six kilometers southeast of Nabatiyeh is the renowned Beaufort Castle, built
by the Crusaders, which also knew the glory of the Maans during Fakhr
Ed-Dine II. Nabatiyeh witnessed also the crushing struggle between the
Qaisiyeen and Yemeniyeen during the rule of the Chehabi Princes Haidar and
Youssef, since it was a gathering point for the Yemeniyeen. "Areedh Al Qahwa"
is still a a reminder of those days, as is the "Old Serai Quarter" a
reminder of the despotic Turkish rule, when drums were beaten as a call for
conscription into the army.
Famous Men From Nabatieh
Hassan Kamel As-Sabbah, an early electronics genius and
inventor, was born in Nabatiyeh in 1894. He studied and taught mathematics
and electrical engineering in Beirut and Damascus, before emigrating to the
USA, where he patented numerous inventions in television technology and
other electronics. He was killed in a car accident in 1935.
Modern Nabatieh
Nabatiyeh is now the seat of the District
bearing its name, and an important commercial center in the South. A weekly
bazaar or "Souk" takes place for trading and exchanging goods.
Every year on the tenth of Moharram, a commemoration of the battle of
Karbala and the Martyrdom of Imam Al Hussein Bin Ali Bin Abi Talib, is
celebrated in Nabatiyeh lasting for a week, with nightly marches culminating
with the reenactment of the battle that took place thirteen centuries ago.
Thousand of Shiia Moslems and others gather in the town for the occasion.
Information From the Ministry of
Tourism
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Lebanese Famous Cities
