Cultural Discovery Tour In Lebanon

Arrive Beirut and check-in at hotel.

Overnight Comfortable Hotel (H++) in Palm Beach Hotel

This morning we travel along Lebanons Coast to the town of Sidon or Saida with its 13th century Crusader sea castle guarding the mouth of the harbour, an impressive reminder of its continued importance throughout history. We also wander through its atmospheric souks and its caravanserai before travelling up into the Chauf mountains where we enjoy our lunch with a local family in the traditional town of Baadarane. Following our lunch we will continue our journey to visit the impressive Beittedine Palace, enjoying its beautiful architecture, impressive artwork, Byzantine mosaics and its reminders of Lebanon’s rich cultural and historical past. From here we drive to Chtoura to our hotel for the next two nights.

Overnight Comfortable Hotel (H++) in Massabki Hotel Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch

This morning sees us continuing our exploration by travelling to the site of Baalbek.  This gigantic complex of Roman temples is possibly the largest ever built, and one of the highlights of our tour. The city was known to the Greeks as Heliopolis – the city of the sun – as the Phoenicians worshipped the sun god Baal here. The Romans constructed a huge temple to Bacchus (detailed sculpture work reveals twining vines, poppies and wheat – symbols of the cult of Bacchus) and also the Temple of Jupiter, reached by a monumental staircase. Until the 1970s Baalbek provided a dramatic setting for an international Arts Festival, where Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev once performed. We spend time enjoying the impressive site, where excavations have uncovered a palace and city of a Caliph from the Umayyad dynasty (7th century), which may have been constructed on top of a roman city.  From Baalbek, we then visit Ksara to try out the local wines of the area before continuing on to Aanjar. This site was inhabited during the C7th and C8th AD, but was then abandoned soon after the Ummayad Caliphs were defeated by the Abbasids. Thus the site is a unique example of this period. Construction of the fortified town was based on a symmetrical rectangular Roman layout incorporating graceful palaces, baths and souks. Located on the East-West trade route, around 600 shops have already been excavated.

Overnight Comfortable Hotel (H++) in Massabki Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

This morning we drive back to Beirut getting to know more about this ancient and intriguing city, steeped in fascinating history. On our walking tour of the city we visit the Martyr Square and national museum. Beirut has been a prosperous trading city since the Phoenicians (1500BC); it was famous in Roman times for its School of Law and was still an important commercial centre in the 1970s when many international companies had their Middle East HQ in Beirut. Physical reminders of the recent war years are apparent with many bombed out buildings increasingly being demolished or renovated. However, Beirut still retains an element of the glamour from the time when it was known as ‘the Paris of the Middle East’. Once the city tour of Beirut is completed and lunch is enjoyed,  and we are en route back to Byblos, we make a visit to Harissa, the Statue and church of our Lady of Lebanon for views of the Bay of Jounieh. We then continue down to see the Stele of Nar el Kaleb or the ‘Dog River’. Legend holds it that at the mouth of this river, a dog would bark everytime the enemy approached. The Stele sums up the entire history of Lebanon and how its been influenced or inhabited by far away cultures from High Antiquity to the present day.  After this brief visit you will have the option of visiting the Jeitta Caves, a cave the size of a cathedral sheltering a large lake.  A short boat trip across the lake will take you for a close up look at the magnificent stalactite and stalagmite formations.  From here we make the short journey to Byblos, our home for the next 2 nights.

Overnight Comfortable Hotel (H++) in Eddie Sands Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

This morning we visit the historical site of Byblos, which claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited town in the world. Long before the time of Athens or Rome, it was an independent city state, trading cedarwood with Egypt in exchange for papyrus. Its name derives from the word for sheets of paper, ‘biblos’, from which we get the word ‘Bible’. We explore Egyptian temples, the Phoenician Royal Acropolis and the Crusader castle. Your time will be free afternoon after this mornings visit so you can enjoy the charms of Byblos at your own pace.

Overnight Comfortable Hotel (H++) in Eddie Sands Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

This morning we drive to and visit the Tannourine Cedar Reserve. Throughout history, the cedar trees that grow high in the Lebanese mountains have been valued by kings and conquerors for the durability and fragrance of their wood. Some of the cedars date back 1500 years and possibly even to the time of King Solomon, who cleared much of the forest to construct his palace. Since Lebanon’s wealth has been closely connected to the cedar, it has become the national emblem and appears on the flag. We enjoy a 2 hour walk through this National Reserve before driving to our overnight stop at the peaceful Monastery of St. Antonio's where we experience the serenity and peacefulness of monastic life.

Overnight Monastery (H+) in St Anthony's Qozhaya Monastery Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After our morning visit to the Gibran Museum in Bcharreh, we journey into the Qadisha Valley. On foot today we discover the Maronite sites in the Qadisha Valley. This rugged, remote area provided ideal protection for the early Maronite Sect sheltering from Christian persecution. Originating in Syria, the Maronites were believed to have avoided subjugation by mainstream Christians by seeking refuge in the mountains. Today Qadisha’s valley slopes and cliffs are strewn with red-roofed Maronite villages, monasteries built into the sides of cliff faces and hermitages where the 13th century frescoes remain on the walls. Nowadays Maronite services are conducted in Syriac, which is a language closely related to Aramaic, the language of Christ. The traditional Syriac translation of Qadisha is ‘Valley of the Saints’. Our walk is approximately 5 hours, where the first 45 minutes involves a steep descent into the Valley, but we are rewarded by stunning views and the ever changing Lebanese landscape. After our walk, we drive back to Beirut for our night stay.

Overnight Comfortable Hotel (H++) in Palm Beach Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Included meals: Breakfast