Can be ideal for long or short term vacation rentals
Byblos....the Alphabet City
Byblos is one of the top contenders for the "oldest continuously inhabited city" award.
According to Phoenician tradition it was founded by the God El, and even the Phoenicians considered it a city of great antiquity. Although its beginnings are lost in time, modern scholars say the site of Byblos goes back at least 7,000 years.
Ironically, the words "Byblos" and "Phoenicia" would not have been recognized by the city’s early inhabitants. For several thousand years it was called "Gubla" and later "Gebal," while the term "Canaan" was applied to the coast in general.
it was the Greeks, some time after 1200 B.C., who gave us the name "Phoenicia," referring to the coastal area. And they called the city "Byblos" (papyrus" in Greek), because this commercial center was important in the papyrus trade.
Today Byblos (Jbeil in Arabic) on the coast 37 kilometers north of Beirut, 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. Nearby are the extensive excavations that make Byblos one of the most important archaeological sites in the area.
IF YOU HAVE TIME TO VISIT:
Saint John Marc Cathedral that dates back to 1115 where a new garden makes the place more solemnness.
The renewed Castle of Jbeil where lights at night adds splendor
The old Souk, and the Old Harbor are also intresting places where you can enjoy nice sea food restaurants or even enjoy surfing on a sunny sandy beach...don't miss the Old Port during sunset !
Out of old Byblos and into the town's higher elevations in the foothills are a number of very old churches such as the catacomb-like Mar Nohra cut from rock and the Mar Semaan chapel
Nahr Ibrahim, 6 kilometers south of Byblos. This valley of the ancient Adonis River is one of the most wild and beautiful in Lebanon. The road leads to the source at Afqa high in the mountains, where you will find the ruins of the great temple of Aphrodite-Venus in front of the cave.
Hope you enjoy your stay around ..it's a place to be remembered,