Southern Lebanon

The towns of southern Lebanon—Saida and Sur (Sidon and Tyre)—have a distinctly different atmosphere than Beirut, belying the 40-50 km distance as the crow flies. The trip south by the coastal highway passes beyond Beirut’s urban sprawl, with banana and citrus groves sandwiched between the highway and the beach. There is never really empty landscape to the left of the highway as the terrain rises towards the foothills of the Chouf mountains. Buildings, many in half complete state, dot the landscape until approaching the outskirts of Saida. The Crusader castle at the edge of the harbor is the destination for most tours, though the guidebook describes the souk and alleyways in compelling terms. Having visited Saida 38 years ago, I know that the souk was very attractive, but that is off the itinerary for today.

After the small Crusader fortress, we head south towards Sur and its Roman and Byzantine ruins. We cross the Litani river and one of the many army checkpoints along the road. The river is the demarcation line beyond which the UN’s peacekeeping force monitors the 2006 ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel. The UN has watching posts to the left of the road; I briefly glimpse a young Asian man in his UN fatigues scanning the horizon with his binoculars. The road itself is quite dense with bumper to bumper traffic. We pass a squalid area; peering down an alley, I notice a large picture of Yasser Arafat suspended above the passageway and realize that the concrete walls along the road enclose a Palestinian refugee camp. A multitude of billboards on the median strip feature images of Shiite clerics, Ayatollahs, and misty eyed “shahids” (martyrs), alongside beauty parlor advertisements, a bridal shop called Angel of Love, fast food joints (Kentucky Fried Chicken and Dunkin Donuts), and other such establishments (Hermonoso Brothers’ California Café!). The dichotomy between the Shiite propaganda and American fast food makes one pause.

The ruins of Sur are lovely in their quiet neglect. They are mostly Roman, though there must be Phoenician remains underground. There are Byzantine tiles floors on top of the Roman ruins, the remnants of green Italian marble columns strewn about. There has not been a dig here in decades, and we are the only tourists visiting this afternoon. The ambiance outside the fenced ruins feels more intense than in other locations. The passersby ignore us. We are hustled onto and off of our bus—is it scheduling or are there other concerns? The cell and radar towers on the horizon are the Israeli border, and we know that around the headland about 12 miles from here is Rosh HaNikra. Saida and Sur, like Akko further south, were important cities during the Crusader period, and share similarities in architecture and layout. Akko is now a world away, and it is hard to imagine ever thinking that an Israeli occupation could be successful here…and it was not.