Sidon (Saida) - March 18th

On March 18th, we got up early and headed for the car rental office to pick up the little VW Polo which was to serve us well for the next 7 days.
We immediately headed for the water and followed the coast South until we hit Sidon (or Saida as it is called in Lebanon), one of the most important Phoenician cities. But like other Lebanese cities, the Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans also resided (ruled) here. Wikipedia says that Herod the Great, Jesus and Saint Paul visited Sidon. The city was eventually conquered by the Arabs and then by the Ottoman Turks.
For me, I found the winding souks and craftsmen working in tiny shops to be much like Mardin in North Kurdistan (East Turkey). Our first stop (after the bathroom), was the Soap Museum (photo above). Apparently, the Aud family in Sidon had to compete with soap companies in Tripoli (in the North of Lebanon) and Damascus to sell their slippery wares to Europe and beyond. We must have made a funny sight in Sidon, me following closely on the heels of two Western guys all the while tightly grasping the handle of a menacing looking wooden rolling pin I bought in the bazaar.
The next three photos are of the Sea Castle (there was apparently also a land castle, but there is now little left of that one worth visiting). The Castle was built by the Crusaders in the 13th century.



This last picture just shows J, who manned the wheel of our VW vehicle for our whole journey. In the background you can see part of the port, cranes and a small boat.... It seems the name "Sidon" actually means fishery!