BEIRUT: Culture Minister Raymond Areiji Thursday dismissed fears that Jbeil’s historic harbor is "ancient" and threatened with collapse due to a powerful winter storm sweeping through Lebanon.
“The archaeological site in Jbeil is the ancient city, where there is no damage and it is fine," Areiji told the Voice of Lebanon radio station.
“Jbeil’s harbor is not ancient in the sense that it’s Phoenician or Roman,” he said, “and the small concrete citadel at the port’s entrance is also not ancient.”
“Saying that the harbor is ancient is a common mistake and the Phoenician harbor is yet to be discovered,” he explained. “The ancient city of Byblos, which includes the castle, is not in danger.”
Jbeil Mayor Ziad Hawat Wednesday raised alarm that the harbor was in danger of collapsing as the Culture Ministry insisted that there is no threat to the port.
The Department of Antiquities at the Culture Ministry said in a statement Wednesday that it had dispatched a team of engineers and archeologists to inspect the harbor, one day after Hawat sounded alarms over its poor state.
The statement said the storm had not inflicted any damage on the port, assuring that the harbor of Byblos was not threatened with collapse.
When contacted by The Daily Star, Hawat disputed the Culture Ministry’s claim, saying that there are “direct and indirect damages inflicted on the harbor.”
Hawat noted that the storm did not inflict any “grave destruction” but signaled to damage to some restaurants near the post as well as the fishermen’s docks.
“I am not a technician but it doesn’t take more than looking at the condition of the port to know that it needs renovation,” he said.
Jbeil MP Simon Abi Ramia also claimed that the port was damaged after inspecting the city in the aftermath of the storm Wednesday.
On Tuesday, pictures circulated on social media showed the port completely overrun by high waves.
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