The stelae of Nahr el-Kalb are a remarkable group of over 20 inscriptions and rock carvings carved into the limestone cliffs at the mouth of the Dog River gorge, about 10 km south of Jounieh. Stretching from the 13th century BC to the 20th century AD, they record the passage of armies — Egyptian pharaohs, Assyrian kings, Babylonian rulers, Roman emperors, Arab caliphs, Crusaders, Napoleon III's forces, the Ottoman army, and British and French forces — each leaving a mark on the same narrow coastal passage.
The site is accessible from the coast road, where a staircase leads up to the inscriptions carved into the rock face. Many are in ancient languages and difficult to decipher without specialist knowledge, but the sheer accumulation of conquests — three thousand years of armies passing the same cliff — gives the place an extraordinary weight. A short bridge over the gorge gives views down into the limestone canyon. The site is free and easily combined with a visit to Jounieh or Beirut.