Small Group Tour with lunch - Sidon, Tyre & Maghdouche

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Crusaders Sea Castle, Sidon Sea Boulevard, Sidon Lebanon

Located 43 km south of Beirut, the Sea castle of Sidon was built in the early 13th century by the Crusaders. Accessible through a charming stone bridge, the castle was fortified on a small island 80 meters from the coast.

The souks of the city of Sidon, animated in the morning are a must see. The Khan al-Franj, dating from the seventeenth century, has been a cultural hotspot, hosting festivals, concerts and exhibitions.

Logically located on the site of the historic Khan el-Saboun, the Saida Soap Museum brilliantly traces the different stages of soap making ... and revives the bishops between Tripoli and Saida for the title of Lebanese capital of soap.

Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Tyre, Sur Lebanon

Tyre was a Phoenician island city founded around the third millennium BC and known as Queen of the Seas. In history it grew wealthy from its far-reaching Phoenician colonies and its industries of purple-dyed textiles in the first millennium BC. But it also attracted great conquerors such as the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar and Alexander the Great.

Recent excavations have uncovered Crusader, Arab, Byzantine and Graeco-Roman remains.

The Triumphal Arch that is composed of a Necropolis situated on both sides of a long avenue is the most impressive of its remains. The Great Hippodrome for chariot racing a remarkable stone built structure.

Also in Tyre is the Tomb of King Ahiram (970-936 BC), contemporary of King David, who sent for cedar wood and craftsmen to build King Solomon's temple in Jerusalem.

Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Maghdouche Catholic Church, Maghdoucheh, Lebanon

According to holy tradition the Holy Virgin accompanied her son when he journeyed to Tyre and to Sidon. However, as we know, Jewish women were not allowed to go into pagan cities. Therefore, as Sidon was a Canaanite town and therefore pagan, Mary waited for her son in this grotto at Maghdoucheh for the Roman road which ran from Jerusalem to the Lebanese coast passed by this village. Here she waited in prayer and meditation, from which comes the name Our Lady of the Wait – al Mantara.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Al-Bass Archaeological Site, Byzantine Road, Sur Lebanon

The Al-Bass Tyre necropolis is a Lebanese UNESCO World Heritage site in the city of Tyre situated next to the el-Buss refugee camp. The necropolis, constituting the principal entrance of the town in antique times, is to be found on either side of a wide Roman and Byzantine avenue dominated by a triumphal arch of the 2nd century. Other important monumental vestiges of this archaeological area are an aqueduct, which carried water to the city, and a 2nd-century hippodrome.

Duration: 45 minutes

Stop At: Sidon Souks, Old City, Sidon Lebanon

Saida’s old souks are exactly what you might imagine an Arabian bazaar to look like, complete with old-fashioned blacksmiths, cobblers, butchers, and bakers shops. The marketplace is made of stone archways and wedged into each niche is a different shop selling everything from fruits to souvenirs to meats. Every turn reveals a new corner of the souk, where colours, smells and sounds blend to make an enchanting marketplace.

Duration: 30 minutes