Ras ash-Shaq'a (alternative spelling Râs ach-Chaq’a’) is a

promontory A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the s ...

in north

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, known in antiquity as Theoprosopon and Lithoprosopon. The promontory is situated between the ancient cities of

Batroun Batroun ( ';, ancient Botrys (), is a coastal city in northern Lebanon and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is the capital city of Batroun District. The main Political Party of this city is the Free patriotic ...

and

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

; it creates a massive barrier that cuts through the coast of Lebanon, making it historically difficult for travelers to circumvent. Today's modern, coastal highway runs through the mass via two tunnels.

History

During Antiquity, a road that ran parallel to the sea existed, which made it possible to circumvent Cape Lithoprosopon and to connect Batroun to Tripoli. Historians report that the earthquake of 551 A.D. caused a landslide, causing the road to sink into the sea permanently, and thus isolating Tripoli from Batroun and

Byblos Byblos ( ; ), also known as Jebeil, Jbeil or Jubayl (, Lebanese Arabic, locally ), is an ancient city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. The area is believed to have been first settled between 8800 and 7000BC and continuously inhabited ...

. The name of the cape changed throughout history. The oldest mention of the promontory appears in the writings of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

historian,

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

who named it “Theou Prosopon” or “Face of God.” The Greek geographers, Ptolemy and Strabon, also mentioned it under the name of Theouprosopon. Pomponius, the Roman geographer, called it “Promontorium Euprosopon” or “Cape of the Good Face.” The name, Lithoprosopon, did not come to usage until the time of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

when the area was completely Christianized and the name of the cape was changed from “Face of God”, to Lithoprosopon or “Face of Stone.”

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

and Syriac historians translated it to “Parsuph Kipa” and later on Arab historians translated it to “Anf Al-Hajar” and “Wajh Al-Hajar" or “Nose or Face of Stone.” The historians of the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

called it ''Puy du Connétable'' “Pew of the Constable” and “Mount of the General.” At the times of the

Mamluks Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-sold ...

and

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

, the cape's named reverted to its Arabic name of “Wajh Al-Hajar.” The French historian,

Laurent d'Arvieux Laurent d'Arvieux (2 June 1635 – 30 October 1702) was a French traveller and diplomat born in Marseille.Le Consulat de France à Alep au XVIIe siecle2009, p.29-38 Arvieux is known for his travels in the Middle East, which began in 1654 as a m ...

, wrote in 1660 that the Franks named it ''Cape Rouge'', a corruption of the

Lebanese Arabic Lebanese Arabic ( ; autonym: ), or simply Lebanese ( ; autonym: ), is a Varieties of Arabic, variety of Levantine Arabic, indigenous to and primarily Languages of Lebanon, spoken in Lebanon, with significant linguistic influences borrowed from ...

word ''wež'', which means “face.” Jean de La Roque, in 1688, gave the cape two additional names, ''Capo Pagro'' and ''Cappouge''. Cappouge was probably a corruption of "Cap Rouge". Cappouge could also come from “Capo poggio” or “Cape of the Hill or of the Monticule”, which matches the current name of the cape, ''Râs ech-Chaq'a, which means “Cape of the Stone Monticule.” The stone monticule probably referred to the

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

monastery of Our Lady of the Light that was built at that time.

Modern tourist attraction

The cape today is home to several seaside resorts. It is also a popular Christian pilgrimage site where believers visit the shrine and monastery of

Our Lady of Nourieh Our Lady of Nourieh (''Saydet el Nourieh'' in Arabic) is a Shrines to the Virgin Mary, Marian shrine in Hamat, Lebanon. ''Nourieh'' is a derivative of the Arabic word, ''nour'', meaning light. Thus, in English, the Marian shrine can be called, Our ...

, located in the village of

Hamat Hamat () is a village in Lebanon. It is located 287 meters high on the historic Ras ash-Shaq'a. It is home to the historic shrine and monastery of Our Lady of Nourieh. The village is also home to Saint Elias Church, which overlooks the Jawz Ri ...

Wetlands

There is a

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

refuge at the Deir el Nouriyeh cliffs of Ras as-Shaq'a, listed in the

list of wetlands of international importance Ramsar sites are protected under by the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and re ...

under the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on We ...

History

Modern tourist attraction

Wetlands

References

Further reading