01-04-2013, 04:50 PM
Quote:They are at the Beiteddine palace and were brought from the excavated churches at Jieh/Porphyreon. What is special? Maybe the connection with the prophet Jonah?Yep, that's the good answer. They were indeed found in Jieh, ancient Porphyreon, and brought to the Beiteddin palace.
The remarkable thing about them is that they were discovered during the Civil War. One of the two sides fighting in Jieh, the Druzes, had a leader, Walid Jumblatt, who has a sincere interest in history, and he ordered his men to save the mosaics and bring them to the stables of the Beiteddin palace. Of course there is an element of PR involved: Jumblatt liked to pose as a philosopher, who was not waging war because he liked to. Nevertheless, he managed to save the mosaics.
Over to you, Alexander.