Saida, Tyre & Maghdouché

Saida, Tyre & Maghdouché

Tour Highlights
Here you can see the ruins of Crusader Sea Castle, and the Castle of St. Louis, known as the land castle.
From the Mamluk & Ottoman Empire periods, we still have the Great Mosque, built on the foundations of a Crusader building, and the “Khan el Franj” built by Fakhreddine II.
Tyre’s archaeological remains are now a UNESCO World heritage site. It boasts many high-rise buildings, although the inner city has retained its industrious maritime character & its old-style houses.
Visit Maghdouché, where you can find Our Lady of Mantara, which is considered as the protectress of the children.

SAIDA
SAIDA (or SIDON), translated to “fishery or fishing-town” is the third-largest city in Lebanon, located on the Mediterranean coast.
Like other Phoenician city-states, SAIDA suffered from a succession of conquerors in the years before Christianity: Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Persians, Greeks and finally Romans.
Its star is the Crusader Sea Castle overlooking the harbor, in addition to the old town with its alleys and souks (markets), as well as Khan as‐Sabun & Khan el‐Franj.

TYRE
TYRE, sometimes Romanized as SOUR, is an ancient Phoenician city in the South of Lebanon, located about 80 km (50 mi) south of Beirut, known of its maritime character, old-style houses and ancient sites, including the Roman Hippodrome which was added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 1979.
The name of the city means rock after the rocky formation on which the town was originally built.

MAGHDOUCHE
The name, MAGHDOUCHE, originates from the Syriac word, which means “crop collectors”. It is also derived from the Syriac word Kidsh and its derivatives (Kadisho, Kadishat, Makdosho). In Hebrew, it means “holy” or “saintly”.
According to Christian belief, when Jesus came to Sidon, the Virgin Mary who accompanied him, waited for him at the top of the hill where MAGHDOUCHE is located today. She spent the night in a cave that came to be known as “Mantara”, or the “Awaiting”.