by Inke Piegsa-quischotte

‘I want to see the soap museum”, I told my cheerful but thoroughly ignorant driver who had taken me on my day trip from Beirut to Sidon. Just my luck to have picked one of the few Lebanese taxi drivers who spoke neither English nor French and, to top it all, what few words of Arabic I pronounced he didn’t understand either. I came prepared though and shoved my map under his nose where the site for the museum was clearly marked and the name written next to it..in Arabic. I guess, he couldn’t read either because for some reason he seemed to think I wanted ‘seafood’ and steered his chariot towards one of the floating restaurants moored next to the crusader Castle of the Sea.

In despair I shouted: saaabuuun, making the word up as a combination of what languages I know. Lo and behold, it did the trick, he did a U-turn and headed for the medina.That was more like it because the main reason why I had come to Sidon was to explore one of the oldest and most remarkable souks of the Middle East.

Saida, or Sidon is of course very, very old, about 4000 years to be precise. One of the most important Phoenician city states Sidon has a long history of art, craft and trade. The skills of her craftsmen were even praised by Homer. Therefore it doesn’t come as a surprise that countless workshops are still productive to this day and they are all housed within the walls of the medieval old town.

Entering through one of the massive, arched gates, I was immediately confronted with a vaulted maze of narrow, winding alleyways and cross streets. The entire medina is covered, not with straw mats like in Morocco, but with stone. The buildings are several stories high and some levels can only be reached by ladders and extremely dangerous looking stairs. Some of the workshops are carved out of the rock and look more like caves than shops.

It’s easy to imagine the hustle and bustle of the times when Sidon was a thriving port town exporting her famous glass wares and purple dye. Nothing much has changed and the craftsmen still ply their art with age old tools.

The word saaabuuun again worked its magic and I was finally directed to the olive soap museum which I had particularly come to visit.

Housed in a building which dated from the 17th century, the museum shows the entire process which goes into making the olive soap of the region as well as documenting the history of the hamam. The interior was transformed and restored thanks to the Audi Foundation, created by a wealthy family from Beirut. And the scent…it wafts out into the alley in front of the entry where it mingles with the appetizing aromas of freshly baked manouche and spicy köftes.

After meandering through the several rooms and admiring the towers of soap bars which are piled up high for the soap to dry, I went into the museum shop where I found a wonderful selection of the finest soaps, lotions and creams as well as hand embroidered towels and bed linen, a shoppers paradise and a true gift haven.

But the medina has even more to offer. Mosques, churches and palaces are wedged into the narrow alleys and sometimes only recognized by looking very closely. As is the case of the Palais Debbane, an Ottoman palace which reveals its treasures only once you have climbed a steep stone staircase and entered through a narrow door.

What lies behind though is one of the finest examples of Ottoman/Arabic art and architecture, four stories high and with a roof terrace which reveals the entire extend of this exceptional medina, the center piece of the biblical city of Sidon, inhabited and very active to this day.

If You Go:

Lebanon government tourism office

The best time to visit the Lebanon is spring or fall. Summers can be very hot and humid and winters cold with lots of rain.

To visit Sidon from Beirut it’s best to hire a car and river. A half a day costs about $50. Agree a price in advance. The are buses running from the central bus station in Beirut, but the station is difficult to find, schedules are very uncertain and all destinations on the buses are written in Arabic.

English is widely spoken and so is French. many road signs are bilingual, but not the indications on any public transport.

Having a car and driver has also the advantage to have some one with you to walk through the maze of the kashbah. It’s easy to get lost, so an additional pair of eyes is helpful

About the author:
Inke Piegsa-quischotte is an ex-attorney turned travel writer and novelist. She writes for online travel magazines and has two novels and a travel guide to Galicia/Spain published. She lives between Turkey and Miami.

All photographs by Inke Piegsa-quischotte.

by Inke Piegsa-quischotte

How far back in history can you actually go in your imagination? The moment you set foot in Byblos your fantasy needs to switch into overdrive. You are about to explore the oldest continually inhabited city in the world with confirmed remains dating back at least 5000 years. To Neolithic times, to be exact and that is indeed very, very old.

I have difficulties imagining what Neolithic people looked like, how they went about their business, how they built their houses, what they ate and how they made a living. Yet, they chose the picturesque location of Byblos although it’s not known what they called it at the time since Byblos is the Greek name and they came much, much later.

I had come to visit on a day trip from Beirut which lies approx. 30km to the south, situated like Byblos on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. Byblos sur Mer reads the magic road sign and it’s at the ancient port where the road ends and cars are directed to a parking lot to be left there for an exploration of this fascinating city on foot.

Snow white yachts with bikini clad beauties on deck swayed at anchor, because today Byblos is very much a fashionable weekend destination for wealthy Beirutis and everybody else lucky enough to own or else to be invited on board a yacht. Byblos’ port can only smile on that because sea trade and no doubt pleasure crafts as well have dominated the place and determined its wealth since Phoenician times around 1200 BC.

Even before that Byblos traded with Egypt and exchanged the famous cedar wood for papyrus, gold and other treasures of the Nile. In fact the word papyrus transformed into Byblos and into bible, all words for paper and for books. The Phoenician alphabetic script was invented here and most scripts today are still linear.

The beauty of Byblos is that within a relatively small space, the history of the world lies at your fingertips or rather under the soles of your shoes. Just swiveling your head, you can jump centuries if not millenniums because all important civilizations have come here and left their traces.

The Phoenicians were followed by the Assyrians around 738 BC and Hellenistic times arrived with Alexander the Great in 332 BC. And we are still before Christ! I felt the urge to jump 1000 years and headed for one of Byblos most important monuments, the crusader castle built in the 11th century, when the city was called Giblet and sheltered the crusaders of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Climbing around the castle and walking along the city wall under the strong Mediterranean sun makes you dusty, hungry and thirsty, but in the blink of an eye, you can jump another 1000 years and rest your eyes and feet in one of the many outdoor fish restaurants or stylish bars and cafes which cater to the sophisticated taste of modern day visitors.

Try as you might, there is no escaping history in Byblos because the tower and cross of the church of St. John the Baptist looms over your coffee cup and the remains of the Temple of Baalat Gebal are still being excavated at your feet. In fact, Byblos is pretty busy with archaeologists and you can watch them at their painstaking labors, lifting tiny shards of pottery out of the earth and cataloguing them there and then.

From 1516 to 1918 Byblos was part of the Ottoman Empire and so it’s small wonder that there is also an old, partially covered souk or bazaar to be explored. Quite nice souvenirs and trinkets as well as colorful clothes are to be had.

In my mind’s eye I could see the Greeks and the Romans, the traders and merchants, the crusaders in their shining armor and the Ottomans who turned the church of St. John the Baptist into stables, the Persians and the Phoenicians, hustling and bustling around Byblos, seeking wealth, power or glory.

Today’s visitors marvel at the monuments of so many civilizations if they are historically inclined or else just enjoy a great day out with the added thrill of treading the ground of what will always be the oldest city in the world.

Full Day Byblos Trip (from Beirut)

If You Go:

For Further Information:
Atlas Tours to Byblos
Guide to Lebanon tourist sites

About the author:
Inke Piegsa-quischotte is an ex-attorney turned travel writer and novelist. She writes for online travel magazines and has two novels and a travel guide to Galicia/Spain published. She lives between Turkey and Miami.

All photos are by Inke Piegsa-quischotte.