Treasures of Lebanon

Trip Description

Accomodation

Stay program

• day 1:

  Arrival

  

  Arrival at Beirut Airport. Installation at the hotel and overnight in Beirut.

• day 2:

  Sidon, Sarafand and Tyre

  

  This first day will be dedicated to the discovery of the two most prestigious Phoenician cities. Visit Sidon (the old Saida): the crusader sea castle and the old souks: Khan el Franj, the 17th century caravanserai, Audi soap factory, Debbane palace and Saint Nicholas church. Stop in a traditional blown glass workshop in Sarafand. Continuation to Tyre (UNESCO heritage): visit of the two archaeological sites rich in vestiges of the Romano-Byzantine and medieval eras: El Bass hippodrome and necropolis, and the Romano-Byzantine baths complex at the maritime site. Overnight in Beirut

• day 3:

  Beirut and the Chouf

  

  In the morning visit of the National Museum which houses a rich collection of archaeological artifacts. Discover the historic center of Beirut: Place de l'Etoile, the Roman baths, the Martyrs' Square, Saint George's Cathedral and Mohammed El Amin Mosque. Stop on the Corniche to see the Rawche Rock. Continuation towards the Chouf, visit Bachir Chehab II palace in Beiteddine, built in the 19th century and its Byzantine mosaics museum. Stroll in the small alleys of Deir Al Qamar, the capital of the principality of Mount Lebanon in Ottomans time: an open-air museum with its palaces, its caravanserai and its places of worship such as the famous Fakhreddine mosque and the Maronite church of Saydet el Talleh (Our Lady of the hill). Overnight in Beirut

• day 4:

  Baalbeck and Anjar

  

  Visit of the fertile Bekaa valley, the breadbasket of Lebanon. In Baalbeck (UNESCO heritage), discover the archaeological site with the majestic temples dedicated to Jupiter, Venus and Bacchus as well as the Roman quarry and its megalithic stones. Drive to Anjar (UNESCO heritage), located on the crossroads between Damascus and the Lebanese coast, where in the 8th century the Umayyad built a trading city, its ruins are a beautiful example of the 1st dynasty of Islam architecture. In the 1940s the Armenians of Alexandretta settled here and created the modern village with Armenian flair (architecture, dialect and cuisine). Visit and wine tasting at one of the Bekaa wineries.  Overnight in Byblos

• day 5:

  Tripoli and Byblos

  

  Visit of Tripoli, the city founded by the Phoenicians, the Crusaders established here a Latin state there in 1109: the county of Tripoli. Its fortified castle built by Raymond de Saint Gilles the Count of Toulouse dominates the old town. Stroll through the old souks with a thousand colors and scents, where you can discover a rich Mameluke and Ottoman architectural heritage. Drive to Byblos (UNESCO heritage), discovery of the cradle city of the Phoenician alphabet. The archaeological site recounts 7,000 years of history. Let yourself be invaded by the souks of the city and discover the Saint Jean-Marc church, the mosque of the Sultan Abdel Majid era and the old port. Overnight in Byblos

• day 6:

  The Cedars, Bcharre and the Qadicha

  

  Drive to the North, in the town of Bcharre visit of Khalil Gibran museum, an emblematic literary figure of Lebanon, the author of "the prophet". Here we also discover Gibran the artist, his paintings accentuate the mysticism of this monastery turned museum. Proceed to the Cedars area and hike in the Cedars of the Lord forest located at 2000 m. altitude. On the way back, discover the Qadicha holy valley (UNESCO heritage), visit Saint Antoine Qozhaya monastery, living witness of Maronite monasticism and the place where the first printing press in the Arab world was placed in the 17th century. Overnight in Byblos

• day 7:

  Free time and departure

  

  Transfer to Beirut airport for departure.