50 Pounds 1988, Lebanon
| in Krause book | Number: 65d |
| Years of issue: | 1988 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | Hussein Kanaan, Edmond Naïm |
| Serie: | 1964 Issue |
| Specimen of: | 1978 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 156 х 85 |
| Printer: | TDLR (Thomas de la Rue & Company), London |
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Description
Watermark:
The Lebanon cedar is the national emblem of Lebanon, and is displayed on the flag of Lebanon and coat of arms of Lebanon. It is also the logo of Middle East Airlines (MEA), which is Lebanon's national carrier. Beyond that, it is also the main symbol of Lebanon's "Cedar Revolution" of 2005, along with many Lebanese political parties and movements, such as the Kataeb Party, the Lebanese Forces, the National Liberal Party, and the Future Movement. Finally, Lebanon is sometimes metonymically referred to as the Land of the Cedars.
It is a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Eastern Mediterranean basin. It is an evergreen conifer, that can reach 40 meters in height. Cedrus libani is the national emblem of Lebanon and is widely used as an ornamental tree in parks and gardens. 
Avers:
Temple of Bacchus may refer to any temple to the Roman wine god Bacchus or to temples of other gods with which he was equated in antiquity, such as the Greek Dionysus. However, it often refers specifically to the most famous temple of Bacchus, located in Roman Heliopolis (current Baalbek, Lebanon).
The Temple of Bacchus at Baalbek, a World Heritage site, is one of the best preserved and grandest Roman temple ruins in the world. It and its ornamentation served as an influential model for Neoclassical architecture.
The temple was commissioned by Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius and designed by an unknown architect and built close to the courtyard in front of the larger temple of Jupiter-Baal. The period of construction is generally considered between 150 AD to 250 AD. When the temple complex fell into disrepair, the Temple of Bacchus was protected by the rubble of the rest of the site's ruins. The temple is slightly smaller than Temple of Jupiter and is 66m long, 35 m. wide, and 31 m. high.
Its walls are adorned by forty-two unfluted Corinthian columns, nineteen of which remain upright in position standing 19 m high. The columns support a richly carved entablature. Inside, the cella is decorated with Corinthian "half-columns" flanking two levels of niches on each side, containing scenes from the birth and life of Bacchus. The adyton (inner shrine) stands above a flight of steps. Some historic Roman coins depict the structure of this temple along with Temple of Jupiter. The storm god Ba'al was worshipped in this temple.
The Temple is enriched by some of the most refined reliefs and sculpture to survive from antiquity. The temple is surrounded by forty-two columns—8 along each end and 15 along each side - nearly 20 m. (66 ft.) in height. These were probably erected in a rough state and then rounded, polished, and decorated in position. The entrance was preserved as late as the 16th century, but the keystone of the lintel had slid 2 ft. (1 m.) following the 1759 earthquakes; a column of rough masonry was erected in the 1860s or '70s to support it. The 1759 earthquakes also damaged the area around the soffit's famed inscription of an eagle, which was entirely covered by the keystone's supporting column. The area around the inscription of the eagle was greatly damaged by the 1759 earthquake. The interior of the temple is divided into a 98 ft. (30 m.) nave and a 36 ft. (11 m.) adytum or sanctuary on a platform raised 5 ft. (2 m.) above it and fronted by 13 steps.
In 1984, several ruins of Baalbek, including the Temple of Bacchus, were inscribed as a World Heritage Site.
In the upper left corner there is a fresco or a stone bas-relief of a bull, in a jump.
The temple is known for its impressive dimensions, richly decorated stone work and monumental gate with Bacchic figures. The decorative stone carving includes rows of lions and bulls, which were motifs symbolically associated with the two deities.
Denominations in numerals are in top right and lower left corners. In words - centered, at the bottom.
Revers:
The Citadel of Raymond de Saint-Gilles, also known as Qala'at Sanjil an Qala'at Tarablus in Arabic, is a citadel and fort on a hilltop in Tripoli, Lebanon. It takes its name from Raymond de Saint-Gilles, the Count of Toulouse and Crusader commander who was a key player in its enlargement. It is a common misconception that he was responsible for its construction when in 1103 he laid siege to the city.
The citadel of Tripoli was built by Raymon De Saint-Gilles, governor of Tripoli, in 1103 on the emplacement of the castle of Saint-Gilles. When the Mont Pèlerin quarter was set ablaze by the Mamluks in 1289, the castle of Saint-Gilles suffered from the holocaust and stood abandoned on the hilltop for the next eighteen years. It was essential to have an adequate stronghold in Tripoli for the sultan’s troops, temporarily garrisoned in Hisn al-Akrád (Krak des Chevaliers), as the distance was too great in case of enemy attack. The governor therefore chose the emplacement of the gutted Crusader castle on the hill, incorporating what he could in his citadel, and made use of Roman column shafts and other building material he found nearby. Many of the interior walls, ramps and terraces of the citadel seen today were built in his time.
Abou’l Fidá and Ibn al-Wardi record that, among the important events which took place in the year A.H 746 (1345), was the promulgation of a military decree which was set up by order of the Mamluk Sultan al-Kamil Sha'ban in the citadels of Aleppo, Tripoli, Hisn al-Akrâd and other fortified places. The decree, put over the second entrance way of the citadel of Tripoli, is by far the best preserved. Apparently this sultan, who lived a life of luxury and debauch, was in constant need of extra revenues. In order to fill his depleted treasury, he imposed a heavy registration tax upon all feudal land concessions and appropriations. This tax was unpopular and was obviously going to stir up discontent among his subjects. To forestall any uprising and gain the support of his troops, upon whom his power was based he issued this military decree. It was the custom that a Mamluk soldier, under contract for a specified number of years, received an annual gratuity which amounted to slightly over eleven days extra pay. If the soldier died before the end of his contract, the sultan had the right to claim the extra sum of money which had accumulated during the soldier's years of service. Sha'bán abandoned his rights to this claim, once and for all, hoping thus to enlist the support of his troops.
In 1516, Syria and Egypt fell to the Ottoman Sultan Selim I. His son and successor Suleiman I, called the Magnificent (1520-1566), soon after his accession made an inspection tour of his newly conquered lands. He gathered about him in Damascus all his provincial governors and on this occasion took the decision to rebuild the great citadel of Tripoli. Over the entrance portal, the sultan commemorated this important restoration work with an inscription: "In the name of Allah, it has been decreed by the royal sultan’s order, al Malik al-Muzuffar Sultan Suleiman Shah, son of Sultan Selim Shah, may his orders never cease to be obeyed by the emirs, that this blessed citadel be restored so as to be a fortified stronghold for all time. Its construction was completed in the blessed month of Sha’bân of the year 927 (July 1521).
In the years that followed, various Ottoman governors of Tripoli did restoration work on the citadel to suit their needs and with time the medieval crenelated battlements were destroyed in order to open sally ports for cannons. In the early XIX century, the citadel was extensively restored by the Ottoman governor of Tripoli Mustafa Agha Barbar. Very little of the original Crusader structure has survived until this day. The graves of a number of nameless Frankish knights, here and there, are the only bits of evidence today evocative of their presence on the heights of Tripoli's "Pilgrim's Mountain" many centuries ago.
Denominations in numerals are in top corners, in words - in lower left corner.
Comments:
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