Nebi Safa, Nabi Safa, Neby Sufa, An Nabi Safa, An Nabi Safa' or En Nabi Safa also known as Mazraet Selsata or Thelthatha is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

in the Kfar Mishki

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

situated west of

Rashaya Rashaya, Rachaya, Rashaiya, Rashayya or Rachaiya ( ar, راشيا), also known as Rashaya al-Wadi or Rachaya el-Wadi (and variations), is a town of the Rashaya District in the west of the Jnoub Government of Lebanon. It is situated at around ab ...

in the

Rashaya District Rashaya District ( ar, قضاء راشيا) is an administrative district in the Beqaa Governorate of the Republic of Lebanon. Most of Rachaya's population are Druze with a Sunni and Shia and Christian Christians () are people who follow ...

of the

Beqaa Governorate Beqaa ( ') is a governorate in Lebanon. Districts Since 2014, Beqaa Governorate contains three districts: * West Beqaa * Rashaya * Zahle A law was passed in 2003 to separate Baalbek District and Hermel District from Beqaa Governorate to form a ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

. The village is situated in a gap in a ridge overlooking the

Wadi Al-Taym Wadi al-Taym ( ar, وادي التيم, Wādī al-Taym), also transliterated as Wadi el-Taym, is a wadi (dry river) that forms a large fertile valley in Lebanon, in the districts of Rachaya and Hasbaya on the western slopes of Mount Hermon. It ad ...

between the Merj Shemiseh and is predominantly occupied by Druze. It was visited by Edward Robinson in 1852, who noted two

sarcophagi A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

(roman temples) in the area.

Roman temple

There are the ruins of a

Roman temple Ancient Roman temples were among the most important buildings in Roman culture, and some of the richest buildings in Roman architecture, though only a few survive in any sort of complete state. Today they remain "the most obvious symbol of ...

in the village that is included in a group of

Temples of Mount Hermon The Temples of Mount Hermon are around thirty Roman shrines and Roman temples that are dispersed around the slopes of Mount Hermon in Lebanon, Israel and Syria. A few temples are built on former buildings of the Phoenician & Hellenistic er ...

. It is larger than the one at

Hebbariye Hebbariye, Hebbariyeh, Hebbariya or Hebariya ( ar, هبّارية) is a village and municipality situated in the Hasbaya District of the Nabatieh Governorate in Lebanon. It is located on the southwestern slopes of Mount Hermon near the Lebanon� ...

, measuring long (from east to west) and wide (from north to south). It faces east with a commanding aspect towards

Mount Hermon Mount Hermon ( ar, جبل الشيخ or جبل حرمون / ALA-LC: ''Jabal al-Shaykh'' ("Mountain of the Sheikh") or ''Jabal Haramun''; he, הַר חֶרְמוֹן, ''Har Hermon'') is a mountain cluster constituting the southern end of th ...

. It was noted that the view ''"of Hermon from this point is imposing beyond the power of language to express"''. George Taylor noted that the doorway of the temple was at least thirty degrees offset from the peak. The stone blocks used to make the temple were around thick, not as large as those at Hebbariye and with a lighter entablature of . It feature an elegant

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

with graceful architecture. Only the northern wall remains standing with

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s in the northeast corner. The east entrance featured thick columns that possibly formed a portico. At the west end of the temple is an

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

with stairs leading down to an underground chamber or crypt that runs for the length of the temple. Thirteen courses of stones were recorded by Robinson to a height of . The site was suggested to have been used by the Druze as a

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...

to a

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

called Safa, who was descended from

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

and whose people lived towards

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...

and

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. Little record of the prophet Safa remains, although it was said that "The honourable body is there, and the spirit is always to be found there. Any day that a man seeks him he will find him, it depends on his faith."

References

Bibliography

* (p
491
ff)

External links

Nebi Safa on sattelliteviews.netNebi Safa on geographic.orgRoman Temples on discoverlebanon.comHiking to Kfar Mechki on lebivity.com3D Google Earth map of En Nebi Safa on www.gmap3d.comNabi Safa (Mazraet Selsata) on wikimapiaNabi Safa on www.localiban.orgFull text of Picturesque Palestine, Sinai and Egypt. Edited by Charles Wilson, 1881.
{{Portal, Lebanon, History, Asia Populated places in Rashaya District Archaeological sites in Lebanon Ancient Roman temples Roman sites in Lebanon Tourist attractions in Lebanon