Byblos - Touristic Sites - LebGuide.com (Lebanon Guide)

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The distinctive site of Byblos is one of the oldest inhabited city of the world. Although its beginnings are lost in time, modern scholars say that the site of Byblos goes back at least 7,000 years. The rise and fall of nearly two dozen successive levels of human culture on this site makes it one of the richest archaeological areas in the country.

It has been continuously occupied by many civilizations for seven thousand years: Phoenician, Egyptian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arab and Turk. Therefore, we can find the largest amount of archaeogical treasures dating from many Ages. Many temples have been devastated and new ones were built on the ruins. Among them was the "Temple of the Obelisks", so called because of huge amount of obelisks stone found within, and many precious objects were discovered kept in seal potter jars and hidden under the floors.

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The inhabitants of this land were famous in the making of pottery inventing different shapes and designs. Thus, the city became a center of craftsmen and arts in the Old World. Moreover, it was widely-known for its navigation and fishing port. 4700 years ago, Byblos became a center for cedar shipments to the Nile Delta, and this is due to its geographical position, located at the foot of Lebanon's timber bearing mountains.

Today Byblos (Jbail in Arabic) is a thriving modern town with an ancient heart, a mix of sophistication and tradition. It is a prosperous place with glass-fronted office buildings and crowded streets. But within the old town, medieval Arab and Crusader remains are continuous reminders of the past. With its many restaurants, snack bars, souvenir shops and hotels, Byblos is all prepared to welcome tourists.

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