Sidon or Saida, is the third largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate on the Mediterranean coast about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. It is a city of 200,000 inhabitants. Sidon has been inhabited since 4000 BC and perhaps as early as Neolithic times (4000 - 6000 BC). It was one of the most important Phoenician cities and may have been the oldest. From here and other ports a great Mediterranean commercial empire was founded. Homer praised the skill of its craftsmen in producing glass, purple dyes and the art of embroidery. Sidon until 1900 was a small fishing town of 10,000 inhabitants. Studies in 2000 showed a population of 65,000 in the city and around 200,000 in the metropolitan area. The little level land around the city is used for cultivation of wheat, vegetables and fruits, especially citrus, bananas and other Mediterranean fruits.
I spent an afternoon walking around the old part of the city, the old market place and the seaside accompanied by my little Canon G10 camera.
Text from wikipedia
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