Reminiscence of a journey to the Land of Cedars – Lebanon (Part 3 of 7)

Tyre is a city on the Mediterranean Coast, about 80 km to the south of Beirut. Like Baalbek, it is an ancient Phoenician City. It is believed to be the birthplace of Europa and Dido. In the 6th century BCE, King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon, drawn by the affluence of the city, laid siege to Tyre for thirteen years. In 332 BCE, a wrathful Alexander the Great laid siege to Tyre for seven months; after which the walls were torn down, the people massacred and the city destroyed. Some of the ruins of the ancient glory of Tyre can be seen in the Triumphal Arch, which is the most preserved of the ruins and the Great Hippodrome, built for chariot racing. Legend says that the purple dye was first produced here.

Great Hippodrome

Great Hippodrome

Obelisk at the centre of the Great Hippodrome

Great Hippodrome

Great Hippodrome

Great Hippodrome

Great Hippodrome

The Triumphal Arch

Sarcophagus of Al-Bass cemetery

Sarcophagus of Al-Bass cemetery

Inscription on sarcophagus

Inscription on sarcophagus

More ruins from Tyre

The Triumphal Arch

Sarcophagus of Al-Bass cemetery

Sarcophagi of Al-Bass cemetery

Sarcophagi of Al-Bass cemetery

Sarcophagus of Al-Bass cemetery

Below is the tomb believed to be of King Hiram of Tyre, which is a few kilometers away from the ruins and very close to the Israeli border.

King Hiram’s tomb

Advertisement