Dog river

A small river in central Lebanon that flows into the Mediterranean Sea near Beirut is called the Dog. It is said that long ago on the banks of this river lived a huge black dog, killing anyone who dared to approach the shore. One spring, an unknown hero defeated the monster and threw the body into the river. Since then, according to legend, every spring the waters in the Dog River turn red.

The river is not only remarkable for its name. On its rocky shores recorded centuries-old history of military campaigns and conquests that affected the lands of Lebanon. It is difficult to say how this tradition originated, but numerous armies passing through the Lebanese mountains left a memorial plaque on the bank of the river.

A total of 17 tablets are installed on the banks of the Dog River. The oldest of them dates back to the 14th century BC and tells that Pharaoh Ramses II established the border between Egypt and the Hittites here. Several tablets belong to the Assyrian kings, the Roman Third Legion of the time of Emperor Caracalla left a record of the construction of the bridge and road. In 1860, the troops of Napoleon III laid their tablet. There is also a memorial record of the withdrawal of French troops from Lebanon in 1946.