Introduction

A small country, dominated by great mountain ranges, Lebanon's impact on the history of the Mediterranean is out of all proportion to its size, for here is a stunningly rich archaeological history to explore.

This is the homeland of the Canaanites/ Phoenicians whose great coastal trading emporia supplied the known world with luxuries, including cedarwood, spices and metals.

When the region was absorbed into the Roman Empire by Pompey the Great in 64BC, Lebanon became part of the province of Syria. Under the Pax Romana the cities of the Levantine coast prospered, and the Romans built their largest ever temple at the cult centre of Baalbek. Castles, churches, mosques and souks recall the medieval period, when Lebanon was a battleground between the Crusaders and Islam and a vibrant mixing bowl of religions and cultures. We shall follow 1000 year old Crusader defences along the pilgrimage route which leads to Jerusalem.

Andante’s journey takes you through some beautiful scenery, hosted by a people for whom Arab hospitality and cuisine, tempered with a French polish (and wine!) remain paramount. It is now several years since we have run this tour, and we are delighted that it has already proved so popular - the earlier departure (4-11 May) is currently fully booked, after publication of our Spring brochure. We have therefore added another departure, and this is filling fast.

Itinerary

Day One
Arrive Beirut and transfer to our hotel in Byblos.

Day Two
Byblos, site of one of the great trading cities of the early Bronze Age, and amongst the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the world. Through its trading contacts with the Greek world, Byblos exported the alphabet to the West. Visit the archaeological park, and monuments from the crusader period.

Day Three
Originally a foundation of the later Bronze Age, Tripoli flourished until the end of the Crusader period. The Phoenician settlement was a joint venture between Tyre, Sidon and Arwad (in Syria). We explore the planned city of the Mamelukes including the Teynal Mosque, the Great Mosque (outside only), the great crusader castle of Raymond de St Giles, and Belmont Abbey (a Cistercian foundation). 

Day Four
All day in Beirut, a city reborn; the rebuilding programme has given the unique opportunity for an archaeological study of the city. The earliest occupation dates to the Palaeolithic period, but the first urban phase belongs to the Middle Bronze Age (c. 3000BC). The Roman city of Colonia Julia Augusta Felix Berytus was famous in the third century for its law school. The major surviving monuments also date from this period, including a large bath complex and one of the main thoroughfares lined with shops, luxury houses and a laundry. We visit the reconstructed heart of the city and the central archaeological zone where the remains of Roman Berytus are being enclosed in a park, and the National Museum with excellent collections of Lebanon’s cultural heritage. Continue to hotel in Zahle.

Day Five
The great temple complex of Baalbek in the heart of the Bekka valley includes the vast Temple of Jupiter, once the largest in the world (22.9 m high), with peristyle and hexagonal courts. To the side lies the Temple of Bacchus, in main picture above right. The remarkable state of preservation of these temples, particularly the latter, show fine detail of their devotional purpose.

Day Six
Following the Arab conquest in the 7th century, the First Arab dynasty the Ummayads saw themselves as the heirs of Rome and Byzantium, and used the architectural and artistic language of those earlier powers to express their own ideas. This fusion between east and west is nowhere more evident than at the planned city of Anjar. There are two distinct groups of temples of the Roman period at Niha. The chief temple here is dedicated to the god Hadranus and has been well restored. The exterior of the temple is decorated with lions’ heads, symbols of divinity. Continue to Beirut.

Day Seven
Tyre: “Say to Tyre, that city standing on the edge of the sea, doing business with the nations in innumerable islands....” Ezekiel’s description of Iron Age Tyre, one of the great cities of the ancient Near East. Her wealth, through trade and manufacture, particularly of purple dye from the murex, was the benchmark from which all others were measured, and the influence of her colonies spread right across the Mediterranean.

Sidon grew wealthy from the production of glass and textiles, and held a favoured position with the great King of Persia. In their wars with the Greeks, the Persians relied on Sidon’s navy. We visit the Temple of Eshmoun, patron god of Sidon, as well as evidence of the Crusader past in the Sea
Castle. 

Day Eight
Return flight from Beirut to London.

Included

WHAT’S INCLUDED

• Flights Scheduled flights from London to Beirut
• Transfers private coach provided to coincide with group flights
• Local Travel Private a/c coach
• Meals All meals included except dinner Day 2; drinks (except water) are not.
• Guide Lecturer (plus local guide) Not to be confused with "guest lecturers"! The guide lecturer will be with you from breakfast to supper, and probably even a drink in the bar afterwards. There is the occasional site where they may not be allowed to guide because of local regulations (we normally manage to circumnavigate these) but otherwise the guides are just that. They will have been chosen because of specialist knowledge and their ability to communicate and interest you. After 22 years of making tours worldwide, we are highly appreciative of the attributes of a good guide, and intensely critical of people who do not possess them. If you would like to know more about Tony O’Connor , please click his name.
• Tour Manager We never know how best to call the very special people whom we choose to accompany you on your tour. They are usually employed in this capacity only by us, and have been trained to do things in the Andante way - unobtrusive, friendly and quietly efficient.
• Local Guide
• Fieldnotes written for the tour
• Entry & tips Entry to all sites in programme; tips included.

Flights & Visa

Scheduled flights with BMI
BD907 London Heathrow 13:30/ Beirut 20:20
BD996 Beirut 08:50/ London Heathrow 12:05
Please note these are an indication of what the flights are likely to be, please contact the office for confirmed details.

Visa and Passport Requirements (for British passport holders only)

Passports must be valid for 6 months after your return home. The Government of Lebanon refuses entry to holders of Israeli and Palestinian passports, holders of passports containing a visa for Israel, valid or expired, used or unused and passports with entry stamps to Israel. Visas will be obtained on arrival at Beirut International Airport 

Hotels

3 nights in a modern, very comfortable 3* hotel in Byblos, with sea views from some of the rooms
2 nights in a 3* hotel near Zahle, spectacularly situated in the mountains
2 nights in a 5* modern hotel in the centre of Beirut

Comments

What Did You Enjoy Most About This Tour?

The whole tour was a joy - the sites, country & people. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Good company the atmosphere on small sites – Anjar, Niha. The first view of Baalbek – awe inspiring, Crusader castles, churches. I wanted to visit Lebanon for a long time, this tour surpassed my expectations.

Seeing Baalbek, drinking tea in the souk in Byblos, visiting Sidon and Tyre, visiting National Museum in Beirut, mosaics in Beit-edine.

I enjoyed the sites at Niha, Beit edine and Anjar also the National Museum. I also enjoyed modern Beirut and its reconstruction and the aspects of modern Lebanese life including the food which was interesting and tasty.

Baalbek was the highlight of the week & in itself alone would have justified the tour. Byblos was a perfect blend of site, town & hotel. Anjar, Niha, Beit Edine, Sidon, Tyre & Eshmoun were all fascinating & I would not alter any of these visits."

Reading List

This list is no more than a guide to some books that you may find useful to read in advance of the tour. Talks given on the tour will attempt to fill in the background to what we are seeing, so no prior knowledge or pre-tour cramming is expected or needed. In many cases, we expect that you will find some of these books even more interesting and useful to read once the tour is over.

PRIVATE  Note: Some of these titles are difficult to obtain in the UK

History & Archaeology

M. Aubet (1997) The Phoenicians and the West , Cambridge. A very readable study of the spread of Phoenician settlement throughout the Mediterranean

W. Ball (2000) Rome in the East, Routledge (GL Choice)

O.Binst (1999) The Levant, Koneman. Glossy coffee-table book, but good general overview and some excellent photographs.

K. Butcher (2003) Roman Syria and the Near East, The British Museum Press

C. Doumet-Serhal (1998) Stones and Creed; 100 artefacts from Lebanon's Antiquity

C. Doumet-Serhal (1998) Liban; L'autre rive, Flammarion. Well illustrated catalogue which accompanied the exhibition at the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris.

C. Doumet-Serhal ed (2004) Decade: A decade of Archaeology and History in the Lebanon. A selection of papers on recent research, well illustrated throughout.

M Dunand (1973) Byblos, Librairie Adrien Maisonneuve. A very readable general guide to the site, by the man who began excavations here in 1925(normally available around the site or at the hotel). Well illustrated and with some useful maps.

Hourani, A. (1991) A History of the Arab Peoples. Faber and Faber. Some background to the country today.

Nina Jidejian (1971) Byblos, Dar el-Macheq. Difficult to get in the UK. A good general account of the history of the site, and its rediscovery this century. Well illustrated throughout.

By the same author also see the companion volumes; Beirut, Tyre, Sidon and Tripoli published by Librairie Orientale.

H. Kennedy (1994) Crusader Castles, Cambridge. A well illustrated general account of the development of Crusader architecture in the Near East.

A. Khalil Badawi, Tyre and its region, Ets Ezzedine. A handy general guide to the site of Tyre (normally available on site). Contains some useful maps and pictures, although the English translation is a bit torturous.

Lucian, Volume IV: The Syrian Goddess, Loeb. An account by the 2nd century Roman author of the rites of worship carried out in Byblos and other cities

Makdisi, U (2000) The culture of sectarianism: community, history and violence in nineteenth-century Ottoman Lebanon. University of California Press: Berkeley and London. For those who are interested in the background to the recent history of Lebanon.

G. Markoe (2000) The Phoenicians, BM Press. A good general overview of the development of Phoenician and Punic culture, with a strong section on the applied arts.

S. Moscati (ed.:1988) The Phoenicians, Rizzoli. Beautifully illustrated series of papers examining the impact of Phoenician culture in Lebanon and across the Mediterranean.

Nicolle, D. (2004) Crusader Castles in the Holy Land 1097 - 1192. A splendidly illustrated and informative little book on the castles.

F Ragette (1980) Baalbeck, Noyes press. A concise and scholarly study of the great temple complex in the Bekka valley.

M.J. Strazzulla (2004) Ancient Lebanon: Monuments Past and Present. A good well illustrated general guide.

G. Taylor (1986) The Roman Temples of Lebanon, Dar-el Mashreq. A picture guide surveying the known temple complexes produced by an amateur enthusiast.

J Tubb (1998) The Canaanites, BM Press. A personal view by the author of the development of Canaanite culture. Although largely focussed on his excavations in southern Palestine, it does refer to the northern cities.

J.B. Ward-Perkins (1981) Roman Imperial Architecture, Yale. A very good overview of the development of architectural forms in the Imperial period. This book provides a good review of development in the provinces.

General Tour Guides

C. Cadwalladr & A. Sutton (1996) Lebanon, Vacation Work

Syria and Lebanon, Handbook guides

A. Jousiffe (1998) Lebanon, lonely Planet

F&L Skeels (2000) The Highways and Byways of Lebanon Garnet. Well illustrated guide by two long term residents of Lebanon.

General Travel Writing

R. Fisk (1989) Pity the Nation, Oxford. Moving and gripping account of Lebanon at war. (GL Choice)

Kahil Gibran (1923) The Prophet

J. Haslip (1934) Lady Hester Stanhope, Cobden Sanderson (GL Choice)

C. Thubron (1987) The Hills of Adonis, Penguin

Travel books

We recommend to you a publishing company with a mission to keep the classic works of travel literature in print. Eland and Sickle Moon Books produce an excellent catalogue of travellers' literature, old and new.

+44 (0) 20 7833 0762 - www.travelbooks.co.uk This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Archaeology books

Oxbow Books, based in Oxford, are suppliers of probably the biggest range of archaeology and history books. They produce a quarterly catalogue, and can be contacted on

+44 (0)1865 241249 - www.oxbowbooks.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

General

Darf Publishers Ltd - specialises in good quality facsimile reprints of out-of-print and rare books written in the 18th and 19th centuries, predominantly books on the geography, culture, history, literature and theology of the Middle East and North Africa.

+44 (0) 20 7431 7009 - www.darfpublishers.co.uk

Booking