South Lebanon, Part Two - Tyre (Sour)

Tyre (Sour) is South of Saida and was the last stop on our road trip to the South of Lebanon.  Tyre is an old city even by this part of the world's standards as it was founded around 2750 BCE. By the time of Alexander the Great, Tyre had developed a reputation that it could not be conquered because of its 150 foot high walls.  It took Alexander 7 months and the largest siege towers ever built to final conquer the city.  He was so furious at the Tyrian's resistance that he had the city sacked and the 30,000 residents put into slavery.  Tyre ultimately recovered, but over the years was repeatedly taken over by the Romans, Mamluk's, Crusaders, Egyptians, and many others.  Tyre was last attacked in 2006 by Israel, just as its economy was starting to recover.  After the war the city did what has done for thousands of years, it rebuilt and moved forward.  Of all the places that we have been in Lebanon, Tyre has been one of our favorites.  As far as sites to see are concerned we loved the Roman ruins and the magnificent beaches.



This is the public beach of Tyre.  It is one of the best beaches in all of Lebanon.

Delaney building a sand castle at the resort we stayed at while in Tyre.

 

Janna walking along a Roman road, heading for the triumphal arch.  It was amazing to see how the Roman's constructed their arches.

 

As a historian I am always amazed by Roman engineering.  I learned on this trip that the Roman's even put slopes on their roads to allow the rain water to run off to the sides.  It amazes me that they were able to do this without modern machinery.

 

Delaney and Janna running on the Hippodrome where Roman chariot races were held.  The stands were said to be able to hold 60,000 spectators.  Second picture is of two goofballs sitting in the stands!!

 

The kids and I decided to climb up onto the stands of the Hippodrome.  Not as hard as you might think because the stairs are still in such good shape.  It really felt like if chariots were available we could have watched some great races!  Hey it beats NASCAR!!!!  

  

After our time at the ruins we walked through the Muslim section of town and I met this gentleman carving a piece of furniture.  I asked if I could take his picture and he gestured for me to follow him into the back of his shop where he showed me one of his carvings.   One thing I love about this country is how friendly the people really are, even if you are an outsider who speaks very little Arabic!

Our final stop was the harbor for a nice cold beverage before heading home.  A perfect ending to a an extraordinary weekend filled with great sites, good people, and fantastic food and drink.