Places

AIN EL-MALAK

This large cavity, with big sustaining walls constructed of irregular stones, still holds water in the well called Ain el-Malik or “The spring of the king”. This spring was the main source of water for Byblos in ancient times, and was the reason why people settled in this place specifically. The Jbeil fountain or spring was even mentioned in Egyptian mythology in the story about the murder of the Egyptian god Osiris by his brother Seth. It is said that, it was at Ain el-Malak where Queen Isis, Osiris’s sister and spouse, came to weep, searching for her loved one whose sarcophagus had grounded and got entangled in a tree on the seashore of Byblos. Having become the queen’s friend, she managed to salvage the body of Osiris whose sarcophagus was used as a column at the Royal Palace.