The old "Jami3-el-Kabeer," or "The Grand Mosque." Not necessarily a very big masjid, but nonetheless the bigger one in town from what I understand, and more significantly, the historic one. To the right of it can be seen the "Diwan," the residence of Haj Mohammad Said Bazzi, who was Bint Jbeil's preeminent social and political head of its families during the early part of the 20th century. He was not very powerful economically like other "Beyks" in the region who may have commanded the same type of influence in other towns; but he did command the respect of the town folk and did much to advance their circumstance. His residence served as the stopover for visiting dignitaries from the greater region, from Syria, Palestine and other parts of Southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley.
I am now in the process of collecting pictures from after the war, because I did find that many buildings, although destroyed, still retained some semblance of architectural detail that is still beautiful and can still teach us about their history. These include some pictures of "Jami3-el-Kabeer," included interior and exterior shots.
Below: The "Husseiniyeh," another old religious building.
_
2 comments:
Ibn Bint Jbeil,
I have a book about Lebanese architecture between 15th and 18th century and also before the war. It was a family collection photos of a Lebanese diplomat edited by UNESCO in
the late 80s. I will look at the book and see if there is something from your area which I could send to you, scan and send by email.
This is a great blog. I am a fan of Middle Eastern and Lebanese architecture. That's such a great initiative.
Thanks for opening and maintaining this blog. We should all contribute to it with our photos.
Regards,
Sophia
thank you so much, sophia; your thoughts & efforts are held at high esteem.
Post a Comment