Greek Temple of Aesculapius
I had noticed these Greek ruins alongside the road during previous trips to Al Bayda. They are unmarked, and lie almost directly across the road from the famous Islamic University, now named Omar al-Mukhtar University after the legendary leader of the resistance movement against the Italians. I promised myself that I would stop and look around these ruins when I had time. This trip I did look.
I had thought that the only ruins were these along the road. My driver told me that the home of the former King Idris was behind the fence on the right. I thought it would be interesting to see what it looked like, so through the fence and up the hill we went. The home of the king had been totally removed, leaving only the cement slab where it had stood. But, to my surprise, there was a field full of Greek ruins to the north about 200 meters.
It turns out this is the 4th century BC Temple of Aesculapius, the Greek god of healing. Totally unfenced and unsigned, it is in the middle of nowhere.
This temple is extremely rare in that it uses representations of the plant silphium, similar to fennel, atop its columns.
The little theatre.
An under ground cistern.
Beautiful spiral columns.
Greek lettering.
Column base (left) with original iron/steel rod used for turning on a lathe. Also a beautifully carved white marble column top (right).
The view to the north from the temple site. Next time you are in Al-Bayda drop by for a look.
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