Nabatieh

Nabatieh (Arabic: النبطية, al-Nabatiya), or Nabatiye, is the principal town of the Nabatieh Governorate, in southern Lebanon. Nabatieh has approximately 120,000 inhabitants, is the capital of the Jabal Amel area and the chief center for both the mohafazat, or governorate, and the caza, or canton. Nabatieh is an important town both economically and culturally.

A market is held every Monday and traders and visitors from neighboring villages gather in the center of the town to exchange their goods in an area known in Arabic as the Souq Al Tanen. There are also branches of several banks, hospitals, restaurants and cultural centers of interest to tourists. Every year, the city commemorates the Battle of Karbala to remember the martyrdom of Imam al Husayn. During this time of year the town receives tens of thousands of visitors, mainly belonging to the Shiite community, who come to participate in this religious festival.

Nabatieh can boast of being the birthplace of several learned men: the theologian Sheikh Aref al Zein, the scientist Hassan Kamel Al-Sabbah and his uncle Sheikh Ahmad Reda.

The Crusaders repaired and fortified Beaufort Castle during the twelfth century and it became the most important fortress in Lebanon. The Crusader king, Foulques d'Anjou, captured it from the ruler of Damascus and gave it to the Crusader rulers of Sidon in 1138. Saladin besieged it for two years and was able to storm it in 1140. The Crusaders regained control of the citadel in 1190 after they had signed an agreement with Al Salih Ismail, the ruler of Damascus. In 1260 it was bought by the Knights Templar and it remained their property until its conquest in 1268 by the Mamluk Sultan, Al Zahir Baybars. The Templers built a small fort there called Chateau Neuf.