Anjar Umayyad City
Visit Anjar, the only complete Umayyad city in Lebanon, a planned 8th century Islamic city built by Caliph Walid I in the Bekaa Valley, revealing the urban planning and architectural ambitions of early Islamic civilization.
- 1
Anjar City Walls
Approach Anjar through its original city walls, the complete urban enclosure of the Umayyad city revealing the planned rectangular layout that Caliph Walid I commissioned in 705 CE, the only surviving complete Umayyad urban plan.
- 2
Great Palace
See the Great Palace of Anjar, the Umayyad caliph's residential complex at the southeast corner of the city, its elaborate decoration using spolia columns and capitals from Roman sites in the Bekaa Valley.
- 3
Small Palace
Visit the Small Palace at Anjar, possibly the residence of the governor or crown prince, its partially reconstructed facade demonstrating the architectural sophistication of early Islamic palatial design.
- 4
Main Colonnaded Street
Walk the main colonnaded street of Anjar, the tetrapylon intersection at the center of the city where the two main axes meet in a Roman-influenced urban design that the Umayyad planners adapted for their Islamic capital.
- 5
Commercial District
See the commercial quarter of Anjar where shops and warehouses line the secondary streets, the economic infrastructure of the planned city revealing the commercial ambitions of the Umayyad rulers who built this trading center.
- 6
Bekaa Mountain View
Take in the Bekaa Valley view from the Anjar city walls where the Anti-Lebanon mountains rise to the east marking the Syrian border, the strategic location of this Umayyad city at the crossroads of trade routes between Damascus and the coast.
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