BEIRUT

Walk through Beirut's rich layers of time with the help of an exotic range of temples from Phoenician, Hellenic, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Crusader and Ottoman eras. Seek hidden and beautiful heritage villas where today's contemporary boutique shops and hotels reside or let the salty air envelop you along the corniche before visiting enriching museums and cultural centers such as the National Museum, the Lebanese National Library, Dar El-Nimer, Sursock Museum or Bsous Silk Museum. Be greeted by astonishing steeples and minarets with every stride in Downtown and enjoy spiritual refuge at St George's Cathedral or Emir Mounzer mosque, both pulsating through the steady breath of Beirutis' unchanging worship.

MAP

WHAT TO SEE

Anjar

Anjar

Anjar, 58 km from Beirut, is exclusively from one period, going back to the early 8th Century AD. Unlike Tyre and Byblos, which claim continuous habitation since the day they were founded, Anjar flourished for only a few decades. The city benefited from its strategic position on intersecting trade routes leading to Damascus, Homs, Baalbeck and to the South. This almost perfect quadrilateral of ruins lies in the midst of some of the richest agricultural land in Lebanon. It is only a short distance from gushing springs and one of the important sources of the Litani River.

Lebanon

Baalbak

Baalbak

Lebanon's greatest Roman treasure, can be counted among the wonders of the ancient world. These are not only the largest and noblest Roman temples ever built, but they are also among the best preserved. Towering high above the Beqaa plain, their monumental proportions proclaimed the power and wealth of Imperial Rome.

lebanon

Byblos

Byblos

Byblos is said to be the oldest inhabited city in the world, the source of the first Phoenician letters that gave us our alphabet. Byblos was the major seaport of the east Mediterranean during the 3rd millennium BC. The ruins include the perimeter walls, the Temple of Baalat-Gebal (the goddess of the city), the Temple of the Gbelisks and the royal tombs. There are also ruins dating from Roman times and the crusader castle and church.

lebanon

The Qadisha Valley

The Qadisha Valley

The Holy Valley and the Forest of the Cedars of God. The Qadisha valley is one of the most important early Christian monastic settlements in the world. Its monasteries, many of which are of a great age, stand in dramatic positions in a rugged landscape. Nearby are the remains of the great forest of cedars of Lebanon, highly prized in antiquity for the construction of great religious buildings.

lebanon

Beiteddine Palace

Beiteddine Palace

The Beiteddine palace complex is one of the best examples of early 19th century architecture. It is located 50 km southeast of Beirut and is the home of the Beiteddine Festival every summer.

Lebanon

Jeita Grotto

Jeita Grotto

A wonderland formed of two fabulous grottoes, full of unimaginable beauty. The caves are situated in the Nahr al-Kalb valley within the locality of Jeita, appoximately 11km north of Beirut.

Lebanon
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