Friday, April 29, 2011

Lebanon - Byblos

As we headed down the mountain to lunch, the temperature rose and the sun came out and we finished the afternoon with bright sunny skies and a temp of around 80. We had a fabulous lunch of steak, potatoes, salad and red wine (hey, we were on vacation after all!) at a cute little cafe. Here's a photo of us toasting our fabulous weekend.


Our last stop for the day was Byblos, which is considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. It is believed to have been founded in about 5000 B.C. The main attraction here is the church and castle built by the Crusaders in the 12th and 13th centuries. In addition, you can see layers and layers of city ruins showing just how many civilizations have called Byblos home over the centuries. You could spend a whole day poking around the ruins of the castle and grounds - lots to see and such a beautiful location overlooking the Mediterranean. Here are a few photos to give you a sense of the place.







Surrounding the castle and church are a number of shops and restaurants. One in particular sells fish fossils found on the site. I couldn't get any pictures as they were for sale and in a shop, but some were really amazing. Didn't get a lot of time to look around though as it was starting to get late, the boys weren't much into shopping, and we had dinner plans. So, it was off to our hotel to rest up a bit before dinner. A long day, but so much fun and such diversity!

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