Half Day Trip from Beirut - Byblos & Tripoli - Private Tour

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Byblos Castle, Byblos Lebanon

Byblos, known locally as Jbeil. It is believed to have been first occupied between 8800 and 7000 BC and continuously inhabited since 5000 BC, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Old Souk, Byblos Lebanon

Browse the varied souvenirs and antiques of Old Souk, the restored, pedestrian-only area of Byblos’ historic market district. Wandering the narrow, cobblestone paths situated in the walled historic centre, you’ll encounter a plethora of small local shops and restaurants. Hunt for bargains on gifts and keepsakes, or check out the variety of cafes and bars that make the quaint, medieval buildings come to life in the evenings, with live music and a busy atmosphere.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Citadel Saint Gilles (Qal'at Sinjil), El Amir Fakhreddine, Tripoli Lebanon

Tripoli’s Citadel may be one of Lebanon’s most underrated historical relics. It was built by Raymond VI of Saint Gilles, a knight of the very First Crusade, who set out to conquer Tripoli, one of the most important cities along the coast, and erected the castle in his own name around 1100. Visitors can roam through the sprawling grounds of this Crusader Castle and admire its Frankish and Ottoman foundations. However, it is the sheer size of the Tripoli castle that makes it truly awe-inspiring. Every stone staircase leads to a new deck and each doorway opens up into a grand hall from Lebanon’s past. Climbing through the labyrinth to the very top of the castle, visitors will find an unmatched panorama of Tripoli from above.



Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Taynal Mosque, Tripoli Lebanon

Standing in the middle of an orchard and visible from all sides; it's an oblong structure of sandstone. Its peculiarities reflecting the remnants of a Crusader church built by the Carmelite Fathers at the time of the Crusades, while the Crusaders themselves had built the church on a Roman temple dedicated to Zeus, locally called Baal. Several medieval travellers, including the 14th-century traveller Ibn Battuta, have written eloquently about it.



Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: The Great Mosque, Tripoli Lebanon

The Mansouri Great Mosque is a mosque in Tripoli, Lebanon, also known simply as The Great Mosque of Tripoli. It was built in the Mamluk period, from 1294 to 1314, around the remains of a Crusader Church of St. Mary, in any case, the two Christian elements in no way detract from the traditional Muslim nature of this great royal mosque, the first building erected in Mamluk Tripoli.
The Mansouri Mosque was named after the Mamluk sultan who conquered Tripoli from the Crusaders in 1289, al-Mansur Qalawun. The mosque itself was erected by his two sons, al-Ashraf Khalil, who ordered its construction in 1294, and al-Nasir Muhammad, who had the arcade built around the courtyard in 1314. Located on the site of what was once a Crusaders' suburb at the foot of the Citadel of Tripoli, the mosque was often mistaken for a remodelled Christian church by medieval travellers and modern historians alike. Two elements, the door and the minaret, probably do belong to an earlier, Christian structure that was incorporated into the mosque when it was built, but the building comprising its court, arcades, fountain, and prayer hall is essentially a Muslim creation.


Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: El Mina Port, Tripoli Lebanon

El-Mina is the site of the ancient city of Tripolis that dates back to the Phoenician era, and is one of Lebanon's oldest cities, alongside Byblos, Tyre, and Sidon. The site of Tripolis moved inland after the Islamic reconquest from the crusaders, and today's El-Mina became the harbour district of greater Tripoli, eventually having its own municipal board at the beginning of the 20th century, separate from that of Tripoli, but within the context of greater Tripoli.

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: Byblos Port, Byblos Lebanon

Byblos Port is an ancient port in Byblos, Lebanon and is believed by the Lebanese to be the oldest port in the world. Around 3000 BC, Byblos Port was the most important timber shipping centre in the eastern Mediterranean. It was used by the Phoenicians to ship their local wine, Cedars of Lebanon and other wood to the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt to be used in tomb construction and shipbuilding.

Duration: 15 minutes