Travel in Saida - Lebanon - History - WorldTravelGate.net®-

Saida (Sidon), ancient Sidouna, one of the famous names in ancient history, was an open city with many cultural influences, including the Egyptian Pharaohs and the Greeks. Of all of Lebanon's cities this is the most mysterious, for its past has been tragically scattered and plundered. The city is located on the eastern Mediterranean shoreline in the Republic of Lebanon, 30 miles south of the capital Beirut.

As most Phoenician cities, Saida was built on a hill facing an island, which sheltered its fleet, and provided refuge from inland invaders. Sidon was the wealthiest and most entrepreneurial of all ancient Phoenician cities. Its large-scale glass production was such that the invention of glass -known to be Phoenician- is often attributed to the Sidonians.

Saida is of immense antiquity, but few remains of the ancient city have survived the ravages of time. There is evidence that Saida was inhabited as long ago as 4000 B.C., and perhaps even earlier in Neolithic times.

Its aggressive commercial nature placed it as the city of choice for obtaining the Royal Purple Dye, or to commission ships and crews to furnish naval fleets.

During the Persian period, Aegean sculptors contributed to the nearby temple of Eshmoun; the city's god, which was associated with the Aesculapius, the Greek god of healing. At the end of the Persian era in 351 B.C., unable to resist the superior forces of the emperor Artaxerxes III, the desperate Sidonians locked their gates and set fire to their city rather than submit to the invader. More than 40,000 died in the fire.

Shortly after, in 333 B.C., the decimated city was too weak to oppose the triumphal march down the coast of Alexander the Great, and sued for peace. The city had the status of re public in the early days of Roman domination (64 B.C. - 330 A.D.) before passing into the hands of the Byzantines and, in 667, of the Arabs.

It was twice destroyed in war between the 7^th and 4^th centuries B.C., and again during the earthquake in the 6^th Century A.D.

In 1111, Sidon was besieged and stormed by the Crusader Baldwin, soon to become King of Jerusalem. Under Frankish rule, it became the chief town of the seigniory of Sagette and the second of the four baronies of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. In 1187, the city surrendered to Saladin, but was re-occupied by the Crusaders in 1287, later passing into the hands of the Saracens. The Templars recaptured it briefly before abandoning it for good in 1291 after the fall of Acre to the Mameluk forces.

In the 15^th century, the city was one of the ports of Damascus. It flourished once more during the 17^th century when it was rebuilt by Fakhreddine lI, then ruler of Lebanon, although he was oblige to fill in Sidon-s harbour out of fear of the Turkish fleet.

In the 19^th 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. The largest city in south Lebanon, Sidon is a busy commercial centre 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.