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Sidon Tyre & Maghdouche Adventure: Full-Day Small-Group Archaeological Exploration
4.8
45 Ratings
Sidon
Embark on a full-day small-group archaeological adventure in Sidon, Tyre, and Maghdouche. Explore ancient sites, avoid the crowds, and create your own itinerary for a personalized experience.
Duration:
9 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Crusaders Sea Castle - From your hotel in Beirut, with smile you are picked up in the morning at 8:15 am for a day tour.\n\nTravelers will explore the ancient Phoenician city of Sidon which it has been of great religious, political and commercial value to the region, it is said to be inhabited since 4000 B.C.\nOur first visit in Sidon will be to the Crusaders Sea Castle.\n- Sidon Souks - After that and Between the Sea Castle and the Land Castle (“St. Louis” Castle), there stretch old Souks (markets) that have maintained their beautiful buildings and commercial role. Nearby, a repair process is observed as well as small crafts shops. In the old Souk, there are vaulted alleys that are 14 kilometers long and not far from the Sea Castle is the picturesque vaulted souk of Sidon, where workmen still ply their trades.\nOn the edge of the souk is a traditional coffee house where male clientele meet to smoke the narguileh (water pipe) and drink Turkish coffee. Fishermen sell their latest catch at the market near the port not far from the souk’s entrance.\nAs you enter el-Shakiriyya market, there is Debbaneh Palace, where a roofed narrow stairway leads to the internal yard of this old building built in 1721. The building has maintained its Ottoman Arab architectural features.\n\n- Musee du Savon - Then the traveler will enter to a museum to traces the history of soap making in the region, its development and manufacturing techniques, we will see a demonstration of how traditional olive oil soaps are made and learn about the history of the “hammam” (bath) traditions.\nA historical section of the museum introduces artifacts which were found during onsite excavation and which include remains of clay pipe heads dating from the 17th to 19th century as well as pottery fragments.\nThe Museum building is an old soap factory built in the 17th century, although containing parts thought to date back to the 13th century.\n\n- The Great al-Omari Mosque - The Great Mosque, formerly the Church of St. John of the Hospitalers. The four walls of this rectangular building (recently restored to their natural beauty) date to the 13th century.\nOriginally a fortress-like Crusader compound with its own chapel, it is still an imposing structure, especially viewed from the seaside.\n\n- Khan al-Franj - The Khan El Franj is one of the many khans built by Fakhredine II for merchants and goods. This is a typical khan with a large rectangular courtyard and a central fountain surrounded by covered galleries.\nThe center of economic activity for the city in the 19th century, the khan also housed the French consulate.\n\n- Our Lady of Mantara - After khan al Franj, we will head to the village of Maghdoucheh, the travelers will visit our Lady of Awaiting which is a Melkite Greek Catholic Marian shrine and a cave and which was discovered on 1721, The travelers will walk through the shrine which is consists of a tower crowned with the statue of the Virgin and Child, a cathedral, a cemetery and a sacred cave believed to be the one where the Virgin Mary rested while she waited for Jesus.\n- Tyre - Then we will head to Tyre which was founded around 2750 BC according to Herodotus and the birthplace of Europa & the founder of Carthage \’\’Dido\’\’, the travelers will see its old north harbor, colorful streets and the beach from two sides of the city. \n- Roman Hippodrome - Then we will head to the Unesco World Heritage Site in the city of Tyre dating back to the II century C.E. It is considered to be one of the largest and best preserved Roman hippodromes of its type in the roman world, travelers will walk thru, which is around 480 meter long and 90 meter wide horseshoe shaped structure seated twenty thousand spectators who gathered to watch the death-defying sport of chariot racing.\n- Al-Bass Archaeological Site - The Al-bass site is home to a Byzantine road, a second-century triumphal arch, a Roman road with an aqueduct and the remains of a second-century enormous \n- Lebanon Group Tours - Drop off to your hotel
What's Included
- Brief Explanation about each Site
- Bottled water
- Experienced English Speaker Local Group Leader
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- Hotel Pick-Up & Drop-Off
What's Not Included
- Lunch
- Gratuities
Additional Information
Explore in a full day with the best saving price for this tour ticket, the archaeological site of Sidon, Maghdoucheh & Tyre you will avoid the rush & eliminates the awkwardness of sharing a Big tour bus which give you more time to sight see. Moreover, you are free to create a customized itinerary keeping in mind the tour schedule. You will explore the highlights like the Crusaders sea castle, Sidon old souk, Soap Museum, the great Al-Omari Mosque, Our Lady of Awaiting, Cave, Roman Hippodrome and more.
Location
Crusaders Sea Castle
Sidon Sea Boulevard
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(45 Ratings)
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848dimitrist
Oct 15, 2023
Authentic and relaxing in South Lebanon - We booked very last minute a tour with Lebanon Local Tour and they were kind enough to assist us. We did a daily tour to Sidon and Tyre, with Ahmed as our driver. While he didn't speak too much English, he was an excellent driver, super friendly and a great company for our daily trip. There was lots of flexibility around the schedule, we could take all the time we needed to enjoy everything we saw at our own pace, while not missing any of the must see spots. He showed us around in the market of Sidon, helped us buy delicious food from street posts and nice souvenirs. Thank you again for helping us have an authentic and comfortable day around the south of Lebanon. Greetings from Spain!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Natalia
Oct 10, 2023
Very good tour - This tour was great! It was just me and Ali my tour guide, he was on time, very professional and made sure I enjoy it to the fullest and at my own pace. I visited many interesting sites, including an ancient Bath with some art. We talked a lot and he answered all my questions. I'm pleased with the experience and with Ali. Thank you!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nalla_s
Sep 7, 2023
Nice day to visit these places - Very nice stay visiting all these sites. Our guide was very kind and nice. The dinner was also very good.
Review provided by Viator
Gaby85
Jun 9, 2023
Visit to Al Mina Ruins in Tyre - Just a five - minute drive from the Hippodrome are the seaside Al Mina ruins. The bulk of the Roman ruins are a series pf columns on the seafront. You can pay 120,000 LBP to walk through this beautiful ancient site and take some amazing pictures. The site is open daily from 8;30 am until sunset.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Toivo_j
Apr 8, 2023
South Lebanon - Several historical and cultural places in one trip (souks, castles, ancient ruins, places of worship
etc). Great views. Easy transfers between them. No problems.
Review provided by Viator
Pingping_l
Mar 17, 2023
Loved the trip. Although... - Loved the trip. Although much of the trip did not require any explanation, it was really nice to listen to Harake re Lebanon and had a bit of banter in the car. For me - the Sidon souk was my highlight - the smell, the images - was brilliant!
Review provided by Viator
Bartosz_s
Mar 12, 2023
Nice day in the South Lebanon - Very positive experience, a nice professional guide with a nice van picked us up, small group of people, total of 5, driver treated us to coffee and waters on the way to Sidon, he was super nice, it was more of a trip vs a tour, not fully guided, also meal part was a bit confusing as it was not included although there were mixed messages in the description….overall not a big deal
Review provided by Viator
Althea_c
Jan 11, 2023
Great trip around some of Lebanon's top sites - This is a good tour covering some of the most popular sites in Lebanon.
Our driver, Harake was great - he provided us with some basic information about the sites, as well as context about Lebanon - a bit about the history etc. He was more than happy to answer our questions along the drive, and was very engaging and friendly. He took us to the best, freshest, falafel place!
I will note that this is more of a driver service, not an actual tour where you get a tour guide who goes with you to each of the sites to explain the sites in detail - you get dropped off to explore the sites on your own while the driver waits in the car.
For us this wasn't a problem but I think it's good to know this in advance if you're expecting a proper tour guide. For us, we were just as interested in the daily life, current events etc in Lebanon so it was good to have a local's perspective, which Harake happily provided.
We definitely will go an another tour again :)
Review provided by Viator
Jazmin_g
Jun 17, 2024
Short changed - The sights were great but our supposed to be tour guide only acted only as a driver. He did not really provide any tour guiding in Tyre archeologigal sights and Sidon sea castle. He just drove us to the sights and we walked by ourselves in Tyre archeological sights and Sidon sea castle. Our contract was for an English speaking tour guide not an English speaking driver. He was also going to omit some sights which were in the program and he insisted they were not included. So i showed him what i copied from viator ad - Dubane Museum. Eventually he did but we had to retrace our steps as we passed it completely. He did not bring us to the Franj hotel and and Grand Al oman mosque. He just pointed it to us from the street. He walked with us to the souk, soap museum and the magdouche basilica but just walked with us. No commentaries or tour guiding given.
Review provided by Viator
Eva_e
Mar 31, 2023
Transport service - not a tour - The driver has been very friendly and very polite and eager to answer all my questions however the service I have received it's a transport service and not a guided tour there is no experienced leader as written in thr tour description I booked a small group tour and I was only myself it didn't worth the 90 euros I have paid the description of the tour is misleading
Review provided by Viator
