Enfeh

Enfeh sits on a low promontory with salt pans laid out along the shore on both sides, worked in the traditional way with seawater evaporated in shallow basins and raked into cones. On the headland itself are the remains of a Crusader fortress, cut off from the mainland by a rock-cut ditch, and scattered around the village are several small Byzantine chapels with wall paintings, some of them barely marked. The whole promontory is on the tentative list for future World Heritage nomination.

History

Remains of at least 3,000 years of settlement lie on the peninsula, 400 metres long and 120 metres wide, which was partly cut off from the land by two great trenches dug into the rock in the Phoenician period. Excavations by the University of Balamand since 2010 suggest occupation from the Early Bronze Age to the Ottoman period (Wikipedia, Anfeh).

What to look for

• The salt pans - shallow evaporation basins worked along both shores.
• The Crusader promontory - fortress remains cut off by a rock ditch.
• The Byzantine chapels - small painted churches scattered through the village.
• The rock-cut ditch - the trench separating the headland from the mainland.

When to go

April to June and September to November are comfortable. Salt is harvested in high summer, which is when the pans are most active but the heat is worst. Winter storms flood parts of the shore.

Things to know

The chapels are mostly locked and finding a keyholder is difficult. The fortress is very ruined and takes ten minutes. Salt production has declined and not all the pans are worked.

Nearby

The Ras Chekka cliffs are south, and Tripoli is fifteen kilometres north.

Key facts