Shore Excursions in Lebanon – YEAR 2007
It will remain the same. Only the Schedule will change according to the new disembarkation time. Price per person based on 40 pax + 1 free: USD 16 per adult Duration of the Tour: 5 Hours.
Price per person based on 40 pax + 1 free: USD 38 per adultDuration of the tour: 8 hours
Price per person based on 40 pax + 1 free: USD 32 per adultDuration of the tour: 7 hours approx.
Price per person based on 40 pax + 1 free:USD 36 per adultDuration of the tour : 7 hours
Price per person based on 40 pax + 1 free:USD 38 per adultDuration of the tour : 7 ½ Hours
Price per person based on 40 pax + 1 free: USD 15 per adultDuration of the tour : 4 hours
Price per person based on 40 pax + 1 free: USD 15 per adultDuration of the tour : 4 ½ hours
Price per person based on 40 pax + 1 free: USD 39 per adultDuration of the tour : 8 hours
Price per person based on 40 pax + 1 free:USD 49 per adultDuration of the tour : 8 hours
Note : If there will be a delay in disembarkation, this delay will be reflected on the timing when returning back to the port. Please note that the price quoted is based on 40 paying pax per bus. If the number of participants is less the price will be increased. These proposed excursions are tailor made to the following schedule: 07h00 – 17h00, assuming the ship arrives at 07h00 and departs from the port @ 17h00. Rates for Excursions in Lebanon include: · Tranportation by Deluxe Motorcoach · Bilingual Guide according to nationality’s of the passengers · Entrance Fees to the visited site · Lunch (when it is a full day) · One Free Escort for each 40 paying · 10% VAT applicable effective 1st February 2002. Validity: These rates are valid for the year 2007. Note: Child Reduction: Under 2 years = Free of Charge without seats in the coach Under 6 years : 50% reduction for the tour Under 12 years: 25% reduction for the tour. For information please contact: R. Rida International – Jal El Dib Highway – Al Arz Center 4th floor – POBox 90-1477 Beirut – Lebanon – Tel: 961.4. 718 790 – Fax: 961.4. 718 758/9 – Email: joumana@ridaint.com.lb Shore Excursions in Syria- - Ref: TR-07/02Supposing the ship arrives at Tartous Port @ 07h00 amd and departs @ 23h59
Full Day Damascus with Lunch Price per person based on 40 pax + 1 free: USD 42 per adultDuration of the tour : 15 hours
Half Day Tartous and the Krak des Chevaliers Price per person based on 40 pax + 1 free: USD 23 per adultDuration of the tour : 6 hours
Half Day Marqab Castle Price per person based on 40 pax + 1 free: USD 18 per adultDuration of the tour : 4 hours
Full Day Palmyra with Lunch Price per person based on 40 pax + 1 free: USD 42 per adultDuration of the tour : 15 hours
Rates for Excursions in Syria include: · Tranportation by Deluxe Motorcoach 46 seaters · Bilingual Guide according to nationality’s of the passengers · Entrance Fees to the visited site · Lunch (when it is a full day) at the Cham Palace: Menu Open Buffet or Oriental Appetizers + Stuffed Rice with Mouton + Fruits. Beverages: 1.5 liters Bottle of Mineral Water for each 4 pax + Cup of Tea or Coffee. · One Free Escort for each 40 paying Validity: These rates are valid for the year 2007.
Note: Child Reduction: Under 2 years = Free of Charge without seats in the coach Under 6 years : 50% reduction for the tour Under 12 years: 25% reduction for the tour. Note: This itinerary is valid in summer time as the sites open till 18h00. but during winter time they close at 15h30.( Summer time run from 1st april till 30 sept). also please note on Friday there will be 2 hours off from 12h00 till 14h00 for prayer time. Description of the Sites: Beirut City Tour and the National Museum: Tour length: 4hrs Drive to the downtown district to see the huge reconstruction project-taking place to create a new commercial and residential district of the 21st century. This project has actually discovered that the capital is standing on the site of a very ancient settlement going back at least 5,000 years. Recent excavations have uncovered important archaeological sites from Canaanite, Phoenician, and Persian, Roman, Byzantine, Omayyad, Abbassid, Crusader, Mamluke and Ottoman eras. The 1.80 sq. meters reconstruction project includes new buildings but constructed in the traditional style, besides hundreds of old structures that have been restored and renovated to its original shapes, including Beirut’s souks and historical mosques and churches. Proceed to Corniche road and stop for a short walk in the favorite promenade of many Beirutis. Further along, the road climbs steeply to a cliff edge, which is the headland of Beirut, with an array of cliff-top restaurants and cafes-, a panoramic view of the bay and famous Pigeon’s Rock. The road then leads down, stretching out a beautiful sandy beach and a prestigious residential area of Ramlet El-Baida. Tour ends with a visit to the National Museum. Beiteddine – Surrounded by History: In the Middle Ages Lebanon was divided up into fiefs governed by emirs or hereditary sheikhs. But in the early years of the 17th century, Emir Fakhr ed-Dine II Maan (d. 1635) succeeded in extending his power throughout these princedoms and eventually ruled an area corresponding to present-day Lebanon. His first capital was at Baaqline but because of a chronic water shortage, he was forced to move to Deir el-Qamar where there were copious springs. When the Maan dynasty died out at the end of the 17th century, the land was inherited by the emirs of the Chehab family. It was Emir Bechir Chehab II who decided to leave Deir el-Qamar and to construct his own palace at Beiteddine (House of Faith) , a Druze hermitage which today is part of the palace. In 1812 , Emir Bechir obliged each his able-bodied male subjects to provide two days of unpaid labor in order to ensure a plentiful supply of water at his new seat of government. Within two years the project was completed. The palace remained the emir’s residence until his forced exile in 1840. after the Ottomans suppressed the emirate in 1842 the building was used by the Ottoman authorities as the government residence. Later , under the French Mandate following World War I, it was used for local administrative purposes. The General Directorate of Antiquities carefully restored Beiteddine to its original grandeur after it was declared a historic monument in 1934. beginning 1943, the year of Lebanon’s independence , the palace became the summer residence of the president. Bechara El Khoury was the first president to use Beiteddine and he brought back the remains of Emir Bechir from Istanbul, where he had died in 1850. Today Beiteddine , with its museums and its gardens, is one of Lebanon’s major tourist attractions. Baalbeck Baalbeck, Lebanon’s greatest Roman treasure, can be counted among the wonders of the ancient world. The largest and most noble Roman temples ever built, they are also among the best preserved. Towering high above the Beqaa plain, their monumental proportions proclaimed the power and wealth of Imperial Rome. The gods worshipped here, the Triad of Jupiter, Venus and Mercury, were grafted onto the indigenous deities of Hadad, Atargatis and a young male god of fertility. Local influences are also seen in the planning and layout of the temples , which vary from the classic Roman design. Baalbeck is located on two main his historic trade routes, one between the Mediterranean coast and the Syrian interior and the other between northern Syria and northern Palestine. Today the city, 85 km from Beirut, is an important administrative and economic center in the northern Beqaa valley. For centuries the temples of Baalbeck lay under meters of rubble, obscured by medieval fortifications. But even in ruin the site attracted the admiration of visitors and its historical importance was recognized. During the Hellenistic period (333-64 B.C.), the Greeks identified the god of Baalbeck with the sun god and the city was called Heliopolis or City of the Sun. At this time the ancient enclosed court was enlarged and a podium was erected on its western side to support a temple of classical form. Although the temple was never built, some huge structures from this Hellenistic project can still be seen. And it was over the ancient court that the Romans placed the present Great Court of the Temple of Jupiter. ByblosByblos is one of the top contenders for the “oldest continuously inhabited city” award. According to Phoenician tradition it was founded by the God El, and even the Phoenicians considered it a city of great antiquity. Although its beginnings are lost in time, modern scholars say the site of Byblos goes back at least 7,000 years. Ironically , the words “Byblos” and “Phoenicia” would not have been recognized by the city’s early inhabitants. For several thousand years it was called “Gubla” and later “Gebal”, while the term “Canaan” was applied to the coast in general. It was the Greeks , some time after 1200 B.C. , who gave us the name “Phoenicia” , referring to the coastal area. And they called the city “Byblos” (“papyrus” in Greek), because this commercial center was important in the papyrus trade. Today Byblos (Jbeil in Arabic) on the coast 37 km north of Beirut, is a prosperous place with glass-fronted office buildings and crowded streets. But within the old town, medieval Arab and Crusader remains are continuous reminders of the past. Nearby are the extensive excavations that make Byblos one of the most important archaeological sites in the area. TripoliTripoli (Trablos), 85 Km north of Beirut, has a special character of its own. Thanks to its historical wealth , relaxed lifestyle and thriving business climate, this is a city where mordern and medieval blend easily int o a lively and hospitable metropolis. Known as the capital of the North, Tripoli is Lebanon’s second largest city.
Fourty-five
buildings in the city, many from the 14th century, have been
registered as historical sites. 12 mosques from Mamluke and Ottoman times have
survived along with an equal number of madrassas or theological schools.
Secular nuildings include the hammam or bathing-house, which followed the
classical pattern of Roman-Byzantine baths, and the khan or caravansary.
The souks, together with the khans, form an agglomeration of various trades where tailors, jewelers, perfumers, tanners, and soap-makers work in surroundings that have changed very little over the last 500 years. Tripoli has not been extensively excavated because the ancient site lies buried beneath the modern city of Al-Mina. However , a few accidental finds are now in museums. Excavations in Al-Mina revealed part of the ancient southern port quay and a necropolis from the end of the Hellenistic period. A sounding made in the Crusader castle uncovered Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman, Byzantine and Fatamid remains. Selected sites of Tripoli: St Gilles Crusader Castle – Church of St. John of the Pilgrims Mount – The Great Mosque – Taynal Mosque – Al Mullaq Mosque – Hammams – Khan al Khayyatin – Souk Al Haraj – Lion’s Tower.. TyrePhoenician Tyre was queen of the seas, an island city of unprecedented splendor. She grew wealthy from her far-reaching colonies and her industries of purple-dyed textiles. But she also attracted the attention of jealous conquerors, among them the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar and Alexander the Great. Founded at the start of the 3rd millenium B.C. Tyre originally consisted of a mainland settlement and a modest island city that lay a short distance off shore. But it was not until the first millenium B.C. that the city experienced its golden age. In the 10th century B.C. Hiram, King of Tyre, joined two islets by landfill. Later he extended city further by reclaiming a considerable area from the sea. Phoenician expansion began about 815 B.C. when traders from Tyre founded Carthage in North Africa. Eventually its colonies spread around the Mediterranean and Atlantic , bringing to the city a flourishing maritime trade. But prosperity and power make their own enemies. Early in the sixth century B.C. Nebuchadnezzar , King of Babylon, laid siege to the walled city for thirteen years. Tyre stood firm, but it is probable that at this time the residents of the mainland city abandoned it for the safety of the island. In 322 B.C. Alexander the Great set out to conquer this strategic coastal base in the war between the Greeks and the Persians. Unable to storn the city, he blockaded Tyre for seven months. Again Tyre held on. But the emperor used the debris of the abandoned mainland city to build a causeway and once within reach of the city walls, Alexander used his siege engines to batter and finally breach the fortifications. It is said that Alexander was so enraged at the Tyrians’ defense and the loss of his men that he destroyed half the city. The town’s 30,000 residents were massacred or sold into slavery Christianity figures in the history of Tyre, whose name is mentioned in the New Testament. During the Byzantine era, the Archbishop of Tyre was the Primate of all the bishops of Phoenicia. The importance of this historical city and its monuments was highlighted in 1979 when UNESCO declared Tyre a World Heritage Site. Sidon: Sidon, on the coast 48 km south of Beirut, is one of the famous names in ancient history. But of all of Lebanon’s cities this is the most mysterious, for its past has been tragically scattered and plundered. In the 19th century, treasure hunters and amateur archaeologists made off with many of its most beautiful and important objects, some of which can now be seen in foreign museums. In this century too, ancient objects from Sidon (Saidoon is the Phoenician name, Saida in Arabic), have turned up on the world’s antiquities markets. Other traces of modern constructions, perhaps buried forever. The challenge for today’s visitor to Sidon then is to recapture a sense of this city’s ancient glory from the intriguing elements that still survive. The largest city in south Lebanon, Sidon is a busy commercial center with the pleasant , conservative atmosphere of a small town. Since Persian times this was known as the city of gardens and even today it is surrounded by citrus and banana plantations. Like other Phoenician city states, Sidon suffered from a succession of conquerors. At the end of Persian era in 351 B.C., unable to resist the superior forces of the emperor Artaxerxes III, the desperate Sidonians locked their gates and set fire to their city rather than submit to the invader. More than 40,000 died in the conflagration. After this disaster the city was too weak to oppose the triumphal march of Alexander the Great in 333 B.C. It sued for peace and the Hellenistic age of Sidon began. Under the successors of Alexander, Sidon, the “holy city” of Phoenicia, enjoyed relative freedom and organized games and competitions in which the greatest athletes of the region participated. In the 15th century, Sidon was one of the ports of Damascus and it flourished once more during the 17th century when it was rebuilt by Fakhreddine II, then ruler of Lebanon. Under his protection and encouragement, French merchants set up profitable business enterprises in Sidon for trade between France and Syria. By the beginning of the 19th century, however , Sidon was relatively obscure and remained so until the mid-20th century when it developed into an important commercial and agricultural center.
Jeita Grottoes: Few caverns in the world approach the astounding wealth or the extent of those of Jeita. In these caves and galleries, known to man since Paleolithic times, the action of water has created cathedral-like vaults beneath the wooded hills of Mount Lebanon. Geologically, the caves provide a tunnel or escape route for the underground river, which is the principal source of the Nahr El Kalb (Dog River). Located some 20 km along the highway north of Beirut, a large sign indicates the right turn from Zouk Mikael village , just beyond the tunnel. The caverns are on 2 levels. The lower galleries discovered in 1836 and opened to the public in 1958, are visited by boat. The upper galleries , opened in January 1969, can be seen on foot. The modern discovery of the underground rivern of Jeita dates to 1836 and is attributed to Reverend William Thomson, and American missionary who ventured some 50 meters into the cave. Reaching the underground river, he fired a short from his gun and the resulting echoes convinced him that he had found a cavern of major importance. In summer you can visit both the upper and lower galleries while enjoying the refreshingly cool temperature inside the caves. The lower section is sometimes closed in winter when the water level is high, but the extensive upper galleries are open all year. Description of the sites in Syria Damascus: Damascus, the capital of Syria, is considered the oldest ever inhabited city in the world. Old scripts and excavations date this city back to the fourth millenium B.C. Due to its central position and the rich gardens surrounding it, Damascus did always enjoy an immense economic influence. This continued under Greek, Roman and Byzantine domination. In the seventh century, Damascus became the capital of this first Arab State , the Ommayad Emoire. Such Status and glory are ever since maintained. Damascus, an emerald oasis set in the sands of the nearby semi-desert, is situated on longitude 36.18 east of Greenwich and latitude 33.21 north. It is 690 meters above sea-level and has a population of over 2 million people. The name “Damascus” is attributed by some scholars to Damaskos, son of Hermes, who is said to have lived in this area and given it his name. Others attribute the name to the myth of Askos or that of Damas, who accompanied Dionysias and offered him a skene (skin) (thus the name of “Damaskene”); while others believe that the origin of the name came from Damakina, the wife of the god of water. Linguistically analysed , some feel that the name “Damascus” was derived from “The Watered Land”. Places of interest:
Tartous: Tartous is the ancient city of Antarados. Its history is closely related to the story of the island of Arwad. The Phoenician port of Antarados became famous in the early Chirstian period, because of the passage of St. Peter . Later on, it became the capital of the crusaders who called it Tartusa and built a very beautiful cathedral on the same site of the fifth century church. Krak des Chevaliers Krak des Chevaliers is one of the most impressive castles of the crusaders. It was the headquarters of the Hospitalers. It stands 650 m above sea level and commands the strategic valley between Homs and Tripoli. It was never taken by storms, but surrendered to the mameluke Baybars in 1271. Situated on a volcanic hill 60 km west of Homs, it is not definite who built it first. What is known about it is that it was built many centuries B.C. and was called (the Kurds Citadel). In the years 1099-111- AD it was occupied by the Crusaders. In 1142 the Crusader prince of Tripoli handed it over to the Knights of the hospital until the Arab Sultan Bebars conquered it with a skillful military plan in 1271. then it was evicted from the soldiers in 1934 to become a tourist site known as the Krak des Chevaliers.
Palmyra: Called Palmyra by the Romans, the original name, Tadmor, appeared for the first time on Assyrian Tablets dating back to the 2nd millenium BC. This very ancient city took advantage of the decline of Petra and played a vital role in the 2nd century AD in as much as the Palmyrian army protected the frontiers of the Roman Empire. Emperor Diocletian attacked and destroyed the independent state of Palmyra in the 3rd century AD. The bride of the desert is located at a distance of 235 kms east of Damascus beyond Al Qaryatein and Qasr Hir Al Gharbi at a distance of 160 kms east of Homs. Its intermediate geographic position made it the most important commercial center between Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean sea. Excavations show that it was inhabited since the palaeolithic age. It was inhabited by the Cannanites, the Arameans, then it yielded to the Romans in the 1st century AD and was conquered by the Moslem Arabs under the leadership of Khaled Ibn El Waleed in 636 AD. The most important ruins in Palmyra are:
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