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| Sidon |
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Sidon,
on the coast 48 kilometers south of Beirut, is one of the Famous
names in ancient history. But of all of Lebanon's cities this is
the most mysterious, for its past has been tragically scattered
and plundered.
In the 19th century, treasure hunters and amateur archaeologists
made off with many of its most beautiful and important objects,
some of which can now be seen in foreign museums.
In this century too, ancient objects from Sidon (Saidoon is the
Phoenician name, Saida in Arabic), have turned up on the world's
antiquities markets.
Other traces of its history lie beneath the concrete of modern constructions,
perhaps buried forever.
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The challenge for today's
visitor to Sidon then is to recapture a sense of this city's ancient
glory from the intriguing elements that still survive.
The largest city in south Lebanon, Sidon is a busy commercial center
with the pleasant, conservative atmosphere of a small town. Since
Persian times this was known as the city of gardens and even today
it is surrounded by citrus and banana plantations
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glorious history
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There is evidence that
Sidon was inhabited as long ago as 4000 B.C., and perhaps as early
as Neolithic times (6000 - 4000 B.C.). The ancient city was built
on a promontory facing an island, which sheltered its fleet from
storms and served as a refuge during military incursions from the
interior. In its wealth, commercial initiative, and religious significance,
Sidon is said to have surpassed all other Phoenician city states.
Sidon's Phoenician period began in the 12th - 10th century B.C.
and reached its height during the Persian Empire (550 - 330 B.C.).
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The city provided Persia, a great
land power, with the ships and seamen to fight the Egyptians and
the Greek, a role that gave it a highly favored position. The
Persians maintained a royal park in Sidon and it was during this
time that the temple of Eshmoun was built.
Glass manufacture, Sidon's most important enterprise in the Phoenician
era, was conducted on a vast scale and the production of purple
dye was almost as important. The small shell of the Murex trunculus
was broken in order to extract the pigment that was so rare it
became the mark of royalty.
Like other Phoenician city states,
Sidon suffered from a succession of conquerors.
At the end of the Persian era in 351 B.C., unable to resist the
superior forces of Artaxerxes III, the desperate Sidonians locked
their gates and set fire to their city rather than to submit to
the invader. More than 40,000 died in the conflagration.
After the disaster the city was too weak to oppose the triumphal
march of Alexander the Great in 333 B.C. It sued for peace and
the Hellenistic age of Sidon began.
Under the successors of Alexander, Sidon,
the "holy city" of Phoenicia, enjoyed relative freedom
and organized games and competitions in which the greatest athletes
of the region participated.
When Sidon, like the other cities of Phoenicia, fell under Roman
domination, it continued to mint its own silver coins. The Romans
also built a theater and other major monuments in the city. During
the Byzantine period when the great earthquake of 551 A.D. destroyed
most of the cities of Phoenicia, Beirut's school of Law took refuge
in Sidon. The town continued quietly for the next century, until
it was conquered by the Moslems in 636.
In 1111 Sidon was besieged and stormed by the Crusader Baldwin,
who was soon to become King of Jerusalem. Under Frankish rule,
the city became the chief town of the Seigniory of Sagette and
the second and the four baronies of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem surrendered to Saladin in 1187, but it was re-occupied
for a hundred years when the Crusader Templars recaptured it briefly.
They abandoned it for good in 1291, after the fall of Acre to
the Mamluke forces.
In the 15th century, Sidon was one of the ports of Damascus and
it flourished once more during the 17th century when it was rebuilt
by Fakhreddine II, then ruler of Lebanon. Under his protection
and encouragement, French merchants set up profitable business
enterprises in Sidon for trade between France and Syria. By the
beginning of the 19th century, however , Sidon was relatively
obscure and remained so until the mid-20th century when it developed
into an important commercial and agricultural center.
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Archaeological Excavations
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Early French excavations led
by Ernest Renan in the late 19th century uncovered the large necropolis
of Magharat Abloun outside the city. The royal necropoli at nearby
Ayaa and Ain el-Helwe were found shortly thereafter.
In 1937 Middle Bronze Age tombs were opened in several mountain
villages overlooking Sidon and at this time a number of archaeological
surveys were conducted in and around the city.
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| Saida Today |
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The entrance to Sidon from the
north is on a wide divided highway lined with palm trees. As you
approach, the landmark Crusader Sea Castle and modern port installations
are immediately visible. The busy main street is full of small
shops of every kind, including patisseries, whose oriental delicacies
are stacked in little pyramids.
Sidon is famous for a variety of local sweets which you can watch
being made in the old souk or in shops on the main street.
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The particular specialty
of Sidon is known as "senioura," a delicious crumbly cookie.
A growing city with a modern seaport, Sidon is the South's commercial
and financial center. In prewar days it was a terminal and a refinery
for Tapline, and now its huge storage tanks are used for the import
and local distribution of fuel. The commercial port, the third largest
in Lebanon, accommodates small freighters. Sidon is also the seat
of government for South Lebanon. |
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Sea
Castle
The old section of modern Sidon developed at the end of the Crusader
period. Here the visitor will enjoy wandering along the sea front
to the Crusader Sea Castle, and looking around the old souks, “khans”
(caravansaries) and other medieval remnants. Is a fortress built
by the Crusaders in the early 13th century on a small island connected
to the mainland by a causeway. A climb to the top leads to the roof
where there is a good view of the port and the old part of the city.
Today the castle consists primarily of two towers connected by a
wall. In the outer
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walls Roman columns were used as horizontal
reinforcements, a feature often seen in fortifications built on
or near former Roman sites. The west tower is the better preserved
of the two.
Old prints of the fortress show it to be one of great beauty, but
little remains of the embellishments that once decorated its ramparts.
After the fall of Acre to the Mamlukes all the sea castles were
destroyed to prevent the Crusaders from re-establishing footholds
on the coast.
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Resthouse
A government Resthouse on the waterfront next to the castle offers
good food and refreshment. Situated in a restored medieval building,
the Resthouse is set in a landscaped seaside terrace.
The interior has vaulted ceilings and medieval decor. There is
also a fine patio with a fountain. Open from noon until 4 PM and
from 7 PM -12 PM.
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.The
Souks
Between the Sea Castle and the Castle of
St. Louis stretches the old town. Not far from the Sea Castle
is the picturesque vaulted souk of Sidon, where workmen still
ply their trades.
On the edge of the souk is a traditional coffee house where male
clientele meet to smoke the narguileh (water pipe) and drink Turkish
coffee. Fishermen sell their latest catch at the market near the
port not far from the souk's entrance.
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Khan
El Franj
The Khan El Franj is one of the many khans or caravansaries built
by Fakhreddine II for merchants and goods. This is a typical khan
with a large rectangular courtyard and a central fountain surrounded
by covered galleries.
The center of economic activity for the city in the 19th century,
the khan also housed the French consulate. Today it is being renovated
to serve as Sidon's cultural center. |
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The
Great Mosque
South of the souk on the way to the Castle
of St. Louis, is the Great Mosque, formerly the Church of St. John
of the Hospitalers. The four walls of this rectangular building
(recently restored to their natural beauty) date to the 13th century.
Originally a fortress-like Crusader compound with its own chapel,
it is still an imposing structure, especially viewed from the seaside. |
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South Lebanon:
