Byblos

Byblos is a picturesque port city with a wonderful archaeological site. It is known as the world's oldest continually inhabited town and the remains here date from the Stone Age through to the Crusaders. The history of the town goes back at least 7000 years and it was here that the scribes of Byblos developed the world's first alphabetic script, precursor of our modern alphabet.

Near the old town is the archaeological site, with Phoenician ramparts dating from the 2nd and 3rd millennium BC, the temple of Baalat Gebal, the Obelisk Temple and the Royal Necropolis which consists of 9 royal tombs cut in vertical shafts deep into the rock. The most famous tomb is of the Phoenician King Hiram (1200 BC) who was a contemporary of King Ramses II of Egypt. There is a Roman theatre near the cliff edge, a Roman colonnade and a Crusader castle built in the 12 th century.