What attracts to visit Byblos (Byblos) in Lebanon?

Byblos is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world and its rich archaeological sites provide evidence of the ancient city's roots and cultural significance.

What's so special about Byblos?

Byblos is a testament to the history of continuous construction from the first settlement of an 8,000-year-old hunter-gatherer community, through the buildings of the first city, the ancient temples of the Bronze Age, to the Persian fortifications, the Roman road, Byzantine churches, the Crusader fortress and.......

Why should I visit Byblos?

Byblos is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for several reasons, including historical significance, as Byblos boasts a history spanning more than 7,000 years.

What is the old name of the city of Byblos?

mountain

Ironically, the words "Byblos" and "Phoenicia" were not recognized by the city's early inhabitants. For several thousand years it was called "Gobla" and later "Jabal".

How old is Byblos Castle?

The castle was built by the Crusaders in the XII century from the original limestone and remains of Roman structures.

Byblos is one of the best contenders for the "Oldest Continuously Inhabited City" award. According to the Phoenician tradition, it was founded by the god El, and even the Phoenicians considered it the city of antiquity. Although its beginnings have been lost over time, modern scholars say the site of Byblos dates back at least 7,000 years. Sometime after 1200 BC, it was the Greeks who called it "Phoenicia," referring to the coastal region. They called the city "Byblos" (papyrus) in Greek, because this commercial center was important in the papyrus trade.

Located on the coast, 37 kilometers north of Beirut, Byblos is a thriving place with glass-fronted office buildings and busy streets. But within the Old City, medieval Arab and Crusader remains are a constant reminder of the past. Nearby are extensive excavations that make Byblos one of the most important archaeological sites in the region. It has the Roman theater built near the sea.

About 7,000 years ago, a small Neolithic fishing community settled along the beach and many of their single-cell huts with crushed limestone floors can be seen at the site. Many tools and weapons dating back to this stone period have also been found. The Chalcolithic Age (4000-3000 BC) saw the continuation of the same way of life, but brought with it new burial customs where the deceased was placed in large clay jars and buried with his earthly possessions. With the beginning of the Early Bronze Age (c. 3000 BC). The Canaanite city of Byblos developed into the most important timber shipping hub in the eastern Mediterranean and relations with Egypt were very close. The pharaohs of the Old Kingdom needed cedar and other timber for shipbuilding, tomb construction and funerary rites. In return, Egypt sent gold, alabaster, papyrus and linen. Thus began a period of prosperity, wealth and intense activity. Several centuries later, Amorite tribes from the desert swept through the coastal region and set fire to Byblos. But once the Amorites settled, the city was rebuilt and Egypt again began sending expensive gifts to Byblos. The treasures of the royal tombs of Byblos show the great wealth that flooded the city.

The scribes of Byblos developed an alphabetic phonetic text, which is the ancestor of our modern alphabet. The oldest form of the Phoenician alphabet found to date is the inscription on the sarcophagus of King Ahiram in Byblos. Throughout the first millennium BC, Byblos continued to benefit from trade despite Assyrian and Babylonian encroachments. Then came the Persians who controlled the country from 550 to 330 BC. The remains of the citadel outside the city walls dating back to the Early Bronze Age of this period show that Byblos was a strategic part of the Persian defense system in the eastern Mediterranean. After the conquest of Alexander the Great, Byblos quickly became Hellenic and Greek became the language of local intellectuals. During this Hellenistic period (330-64 BC), the inhabitants of Byblos adopted Greek customs and culture. Both the Greek language and culture continued throughout the Roman era to come. In the first century BC, the Romans, led by Pompeii, captured Byblos

and other Phoenician cities, and ruled from 64 BC to 395 AD. In Byblos they built large temples, baths and other public buildings, as well as a street bordered by columns surrounding the city. There are few remnants of the Byzantine period (395-637 AD) in Byblos, in part because the construction was of fine sandstone and was generally of poor quality. Byzantine stones were also mined for later buildings. During this era.

The city of Byblos was generally peaceful but its importance has diminished over the centuries and archaeological evidence from this period is fragmented.  In 1104, Byblos fell to the Crusaders, who found large stones and granite columns in Roman buildings and used them in their castle and moat. With the departure of the Crusaders, Byblos continued under Mamluk and Ottoman rule as a small fishing town, and its archaeological remains were gradually covered in dust.

Jubail today

Byblos is a prosperous modern city with an ancient heart, and after excavations, the ruins of successive cities formed a hill about 12 meters high covered with houses and gardens. The ancient site was rediscovered in 1860 by the French writer Ernest Renan, who surveyed the area. In 1921–1924, Pierre Montet, a French Egyptologist, began excavations that confirmed the trade relations between Byblos and ancient Egypt. Byblos is a blend of sophistication and tradition. Its ancient harbor is protected from the sea by a rocky head. Nearby are the excavated remains of the Old Town, the castle, the Crusader Church and the Old Market District. To get a true taste of Byblos, you should wander the streets and side roads. This part of the city is a collection of ancient walls (some medieval) that are overlapping and interesting and in case of intrusion on someone's property, hospitable residents will be happy to guide you to the place. The excavation area is surrounded by a wall with the entrance to the Crusader castle.

To get a good view of this rather large and complex site, you should either climb to the top of the castle or wander around it from outside the wall to get to know it, after visiting the archaeological site, a quick and entertaining introduction to Lebanon's past can be found in the wax museum near the citadel. Wax shapes illustrate scenes from the country's history and rural life. The entrance fee is modest. With many restaurants, snack bars, souvenir shops and hotels, Byblos is well prepared to welcome tourists. If you have time, you can go outside the ancient city of Byblos to the high heights of the city at the foothills where there are a number of very old churches such as the Church of Mar Nahra, which resembles catacombs cut from the rock, and the Church of St. Simeon. Amchit is located on the coast just north of the city of Byblos and reaches it when you briefly climb the low heights of Mount Lebanon. This city has the only organized campsite in the country, a nice and clean place with attractive beaches available for campers. The city is famous for its beautiful traditional houses. Among other places, the home of the French writer Ernest Renan, who lived in Amchit in the nineteenth century. There is also the Ibrahim River, 6 kilometers south of Byblos. This valley of the ancient Adonis River is one of the most beautiful and strange places in Lebanon. The road leads upstream at Afqa high in the mountains, where you will find the ruins of the great temple of Aphrodite-Venus in front of the cave.