The tourism industry in Lebanon has been important to the local economy historically and comprises a major source of revenue for the country.
From Stone Age settlements to Phoenician city-states, Roman temples to rock-cut hermitages, Crusader castles to Mamluk mosques and Ottoman hammams, the country's many historical landmarks and archaeological sites reflect thousands of years of world history.Explore Culture & History in Lebanon. Retrieved on 15 June 2008 In addition, Lebanon has a history of cultural tourism. Outsider interest in Lebanese culture was especially stirred following the visits of European orientalists, scholars, and poets, particularly Alphonse de Lamartine, Ernest Renan, and Victor Guérin.
Prior to the Lebanese Civil War, Lebanon was regarded as "The Switzerland of the Middle East", and Beirut was referred to as "The Paris of the Middle East", and as a financial hub.
Casino du Liban reopened in 1996. The largest ski resort in the country was expanded and modernized. Lebanon's tourism industry also relies on Lebanese living abroad, who return regularly to the country during the summer season.
Citadels and forts
Mseilha Fort is a medieval fortification situated north of the city of Batroun. The current fort was built by Emir Fakhreddine II in the 17th century to guard the route from Tripoli to Beirut. The fort is built on a limestone rock near the Nahr el-Jaouz River. Its walls are constructed with small sandstone blocks quarried from the nearby coast and built onto the edge of the limestone rock. The larger limestone blocks are the only remains of an earlier structure. The fort is approached through a path and small stairway cut into the northern side of the bedrock. A small platform precedes the arched main gate, secured by two loopholes and a small opening in the ceiling above the entrance. The main gate leads to a vaulted vestibule, followed by a narrow triangular courtyard, giving access to a small one meter (3 feet) wide passageway leading to the archery room of the west tower. The more elevated part of the fort is accessed through the east side of the main courtyard.
Citadel of Raymond de Saint-Gilles, also known as Qala'at Sanjil in Arabic, is a citadel and fort in Tripoli, Lebanon. It takes its name from Raymond de Saint-Gilles, the Count of Toulouse and Crusader commander who started its construction on a hilltop outside Tripoli in 1103 in order to lay siege to the city. Later, Raymond enlarged the fortress, which he named Mont Peregrinus (Mt Pilgrim). The original castle was burnt down in 1289, and rebuilt again on numerous occasions and was rebuilt in 1307-08 by Emir Essendemir Kurgi. Later the citadel was rebuilt in part by the Ottoman Empire which can be seen today, with its Ottoman gateway, over which is an engraving from Süleyman the Magnificent who had ordered the restoration. In the early 19th century, the Citadel was restored by the Ottoman Governor of Tripoli Mustafa Agha Barbar.
Sidon Sea Castle is a Crusader castle in the southern city of Sidon. During the 13th century, the Crusaders built Sidon's Sea Castle as a fortress on a small island connected to the mainland by a narrow 80m long roadway. The island was formerly the site of a temple to Melkart, the Phoenician version of Hercules. It was damaged I wars and renovated several times. It was partially destroyed by the Mamluks when they took over the city from the Crusaders, but they subsequently rebuilt it and added the causeway. The castle later fell into disuse, but was again restored in the 17th century by Emir Fakhreddine II, only to suffer great damage. Today the castle consists primarily of two towers connected by a wall. In the outer walls, Roman columns were used as horizontal reinforcements, a feature often seen in fortifications built on or near former Roman sites.
Moussa Castle is a castle between Deir el Qamar and Beit ed-Dine in Lebanon. It was built single-handedly by Moussa Abdel Karim Al-Maamari (born on July 27, 1931).
Byblos Castle is a medieval castle in the town of Byblos. Originally a Phoenician stronghold, the castle was built over a white limestone cliff along the Mediterranean coastline of the town. It was built by the Crusaders in the 12th century from indigenous limestone and the remains of Roman structures. The finished structure was surrounded by a moat. Saladin captured the town and castle in 1188 and dismantled the walls in 1190. Later, the Crusaders recaptured Byblos and rebuilt the fortifications of the castle in 1197. In 1369, the castle had to fend off an attack from Cypriot vessels from Famagusta. Beaufort Castle is a Crusader fortress in Nabatieh Governorate, Southern Lebanon, about 1 kilometer (0.62 mi) to the south-south-east of the village of Arnoun. There was a fortification on the site before it was captured by Fulk, King of Jerusalem, in 1139. Saladin captured Beaufort in 1190, and 60 years returned to Crusader control. In 1268 Sultan Baibars captured the castle. The castle was named "bel fort" or "beau fort" (French for "beautiful fortress") by the Crusaders who occupied the castle in the 12th century. Its Arabic name Qala'at al-Shaqif means Castle of the High Rock (shqif is the Aramaic word for "high rock"). Beaufort provides one of the few cases where a medieval castle proved of military value and utility also in modern warfare, as its late 20th-century history shows. In the 17th century Fakhr-al-Din II took the castle as a part of his network of fortifications. Fakhr-al-Din II was defeated by the Ottomans, who destroyed the upper portions of the castle. The area was ruled by feudal families until 1769. In 1782 the Governor of Acre besieged the castle, captured it and destroyed many of its remaining fortifications. The Galilee earthquake of 1837 caused further damage to the structure and from then on the ruins were used as a quarry and a shelter for sheep.
Old towns
Old towns still form the center or core of many Lebanese cities and towns. The majority of these old towns dot the coastline of Lebanon, with only a small number of them found in the country's interior.
Tripoli is the second largest city in Lebanon and is the capital of the North Governorate. Dating back to the 14th century BCE, the city was the center of a Phoenician confederation between Tyre, Sidon and Arados, hence the name "Tripoli" meaning "Triple City" in Greek. It was the capital of the last Crusader state in the Levant the County of Tripoli in the 12th century. Tripoli was a trading Port city between Europe on one hand, and Aleppo & Damascus on another. The old town of Tripoli is home to historical sites like the Citadel of Raymond de Saint-Gilles, Taynal Mosque, Mansouri Great Mosque and other Hammams, Madrasas, and caravanserais. Batroun is a coastal city in Lebanon and the capital of the Batroun District in the North Governorate. The name Batroun derives from the Greek, Botrys (also spelled Bothrys), which was later Latinized to Botrus. The Phoenicians founded Batroun on the southern side of the promontory called in Antiquity, Theoprosopon and during the Byzantine Empire, Cape Lithoprosopon. Batroun is said to have been founded by Ithobaal I (Ethbaal), king of Tyre, whose daughter Jezabel married Ahab. The city belonged under Roman rule to Phoenicia Prima province, and later after the region was Christianized became a suffragan of the Patriarchate of Antioch. In the 551 Beirut earthquake, Batroun was destroyed, and mudslides and cracks occurred at the Cape Lithoprosopon. One of Batroun's medieval archaeological sites is the Crusader citadel of Mseilha Fort which was constructed on an isolated rock with steep sides protruding in the middle of a plain surrounded by mountains. Under Ottoman rule, Batroun was the center of a caza in the mutessariflik of Lebanon and the seat of a Maronite diocese, suffragan to the Maronite patriarchate. Since 1999 it has been the seat of the Maronite eparchy. Today, Batroun is composed of an old town with old stone churches and alleyways, around the old Phoenician harbor. Deir el Qamar is a village in south-central Lebanon, five kilometers outside of Beiteddine, consisting of stone houses with red-tiled roofs. During the 16th to 18th centuries, Deir el Qamar was the residence of the governors of Lebanon. It is also notable for its 15th-century Fakhredine Mosque, Fakhreddine II Palace, and other historical palaces and administrative buildings. The 17th century Deir el Qamar Synagogue is also in the village, although closed to the public. During its peak, the city was the center of Lebanese literary tradition. One of the most important historical and religious sites in Deir El Qamar is Our Lady of the Hill known as Saydet El Talle. This Maronite church goes back to the 15th century. Zahleh is the capital and largest city of the Bekaa Governorate in east Lebanon. It is situated 55 km (34 mi) east of the capital Beirut, close to the Beirut-Damascus road, and lies at the junction of Mount Lebanon and the Beqaa valley, at a mean elevation of 1000 m. Its inhabitants are predominantly Greek Catholic and known as Zahlawi. Zahlé is built upon a series of foothills of the Lebanon mountains, with Mount Sannine towering above it at a height of 2,628 meters (8,622 feet). Zahlé was founded in the early 18th century, in an area whose past reaches back some five millennia. It enjoyed a brief period as the region's first independent state in the 19th century when it had its own flag and anthem. Zahlé was burned in 1777 and 1791, and it was burned again and plundered in 1860 during a conflict between the Christian population of the town and the Druze of the neighboring areas. It houses Ottoman-era buildings, old churches, the Our Lady of Bekaa shrine, and a saray. Sidon is the third largest city in Lebanon and the capital of the South Governorate. It lies on the Mediterranean sea, 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of Beirut. Sidon has been inhabited since very early in prehistory. Sidon suffered from a succession of conquerors. At the end of the Persian era in 351 BC, it was invaded by the emperor Artaxerxes III and then by Alexander the Great in 333 BC when the Hellenistic era of Sidon began. Under the successors of Alexander, it enjoyed relative autonomy. The historical core of Sidon is a Mamluk-era old city that extends between the Sea Castle and the St. Louis Castle. Several mosques dating back to the Umayyad Era are still preserved. Sidon's Old City is home to ancient churches and stone mosques that were built above pagan temples. Tyre, Lebanon has an old town located next to the Roman ruins at the tip of the peninsula. Tyre was originally an island until Alexander the Great built a causeway to seize the city during a battle in the Siege of Tyre. It is home to one of the best preserved Roman Hippodromes in the world among many other ancient ruins. Rachaya is an old town situated in the Wadi el Taym region in the West Bekaa. The small town is most famous for its Crusader castle, which was later used as a prison in which the founding fathers of the country were imprisoned during their struggle for independence.
Museums