Tripoli

Located 85km north of Beirut, Tripoli is Lebanon's second city and contains some excellent examples of Crusader and later Mameluke and Ottoman architecture. Not to be missed are the Crusader Castle of Raymond de St.Gilles (Qalaat Sanjil in Arabic) built in 1104, and the medieval town. In the old city's maze of narrow alleyways can be found the souks, the Taylan Mosque built in 1336 and incorporating the remains of an earlier church, the Great Mosque of 1294 and the Ottoman Hammam al-Jadid of 1740

Cedar trees are the revered symbol of Lebanon, which adorn the national flag. Famous even in antiquity, they were exported to Jerusalem to build Solomon's Temple and in ancient times covered the mountains of Lebanon. The small grove of trees near Bcharre is all that is left of the vast forests but some of these trees are 1500 years old and most over 200 years old. Bcharre is the birthplace of the famous late 19th century poet Khalil Gibran and the town houses the Khalil Gibran Museum and his tomb.