Sour: was built in ancient times on a small rocky island near the coast. In the 10th century B.C. King Hiram of Tyre constructed two ports and a temple on the mainland sector of the city. This was the era when the famous industries of Phoenician glass and purple dye were developed. Behind the walls of the old city the Tyrians successfully defied Nebuchadnezzar for 13 years. Alexander the Great also laid siege to it for 7 months, finally overwhelming the island city by constructing a great causeway from the shore to the island. Over the centuries, however, the causeway was silted up, turning Tyre into an isthmus. In biblical times it was in Qana (Cana) near Tyre that Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding feast. In 1980, modern Tyre's impressive Roman and Phoenician remains prompted UNESCO to make the town one of its world heritage sites. Despite its location in the deep south 79 km from Beirut, where conflict often occurred during the war, Tyre has become a prosperous town notable for its many high-rise buildings. At the same time the inner city has retained its industrious maritime character and its old-style houses.
Sour, or Tyre as it is known to the west, was the capital of the Phoenician Empire. Until the mid 3rd century BC, Sour was divided into two cities, one on the mainland, and one on an island one kilometer out at sea. Alexander the Great spent 7 months building the first causeway in history so that he could conquer the island. But its inhabitants committed suicide rather then give up. Over time, the sea's currents added to Alexander's land fill thereby forming an isthmus. After the Greeks, Sour was controlled by the Romans and finally by the Bizantyne Empire. Its beauty is timeless...
To the left of the columns, beneath the mountain in the background is Qana of Galilee. In this town happened the judaisms massacre ...the Phoenician columns of Sour, the Mediterranean Sea, a mountain rising from that sea, and Qana of Galilee in one frame!
A view from a small arena. What appear to be steps were actually seats.
Ancient Phoenician Tombs
A series of columns, some were Marble, others granite, depending on which empire was responsible for making them.
The round tera cota dishes have been there for an unknown period of time. that would date them back more than 2,300 years till the time of Alexander.
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| ................... |  Aanjar and Baalbak. Ancient Ruins .Tripoli. My City. The Cedars and the Qadisha Valley.The Cedars, the Valley of the Saints, and the Gibran Museum.Byblos.(Jbeil)Ancient
Phoenician city where the Alphabet was invented .
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