Lebanon

Tyre

WHS Score 2.78
rate
Votes 38 Average 3.07
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Votes for Tyre

0.5

  • Lukasz Palczewski

2.0

  • Alexander Barabanov
  • George Gdanski
  • Krijn
  • Solivagant
  • Thomas van der Walt
  • Zoë Sheng

2.5

  • Christoph
  • Christravelblog
  • Harry Mitsidis
  • Jeffrey Chai Ran
  • João Aender
  • Walter

3.0

  • Ammon Watkins
  • Hanming
  • Joyce van Soest
  • Martina Rúčková
  • Philipp Leu
  • Riomussafer
  • Svein Elias
  • Szucs Tamas
  • Tarquinio_Superbo
  • Thomas Buechler
  • triath

3.5

  • Alexander Lehmann
  • Bin
  • Els Slots
  • Ivan Rucek
  • Juropa
  • Philipp Peterer
  • Randi Thomsen

4.0

  • Errol Neo
  • Juha Sjoeblom
  • KentishTownRocks

4.5

  • Rodinia

5.0

  • Dutchnick
  • Persian Globetrotter
  • Vernon Prieto

Tyre comprises the remains of the largest mercantile city of the Phoenicians.

In its commercial heyday around 1,000 BCE, the people of Tyre founded colonies from Greece to Carthage and Cadiz. The city was particularly known for the production of a rare and expensive sort of purple dye. The city over the ages saw Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Crusader, and Mameluk conquerors, of which the remains from Roman and Crusader times are the most prominent.

Community Perspective: The Hippodrome and necropolis are especially recommended. Tyre lies close to the border with Israel, so security warnings are often in place.

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Tyre (ID: 299)
Country
Lebanon
Status
Inscribed 1984 Site history
History of Tyre
1984: Inscribed
Inscribed
WHS Type
Cultural
Criteria
  • iii
  • vi
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
Related Resources
News Article
  • March 7, 2012 dailystar.com.lb — NGO says Tyre reconstruction "mutilating" historic port

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Archaeological site: Phoenician
Travel Information
Red Zone Travel Advisory
Red Zone Travel Advisory
Lebanon South and East
Recent Connections
View all (35) .
Connections of Tyre
Individual People
  • Ibn Battuta
    "For sheer masonry there is no more marvelous or more remarkable construction in any town in the world; for the sea surrounds it on three sides and on the fourth side is a wall underneath which ships may enter and come to anchor."
  • Alexander the Great
    Tyre succumbed to the attack of Alexander of Macedonia who had blocked the straits by a dike. ,,, Alexander's legacy still lives on today, since Tyre has remained a peninsula instead of an island ever since. (wiki)

    See en.wikipedia.org

Geography
  • Mediterranean shore
  • Former Islands
    Developed as an island city. Alexander the Great connected it to the mainland by a causeway during his siege (332BC). "The present-day city of Tyre covers a large part of the original island and has expanded onto and covers most of the causeway, which had increased greatly in width over the centuries because of extensive silt depositions on either side" (Wiki)
History
World Heritage Process
  • Perfect Inscriptions
    1984
  • Incorrect UNESCO 'Number of locations'
    No of locations not clear. The "Reactive Monitoring Mission" of 2012 had considerable difficulty in establishing boundaries for the property using documentation provided from the time of inscription onwards. The UNESCO Web site description makes it clear however that there are at least 2 separate inscribed areas "In the modern town of Soûr, the property consists of two distinct sites: the one of the town, on the headland, and the one of the Necropolis of El Bass, on the continent."
Religion and Belief
Human Activity
Constructions
WHS on Other Lists
Timeline
  • Built in the 2nd century
    Roman city: triumphal arch and hippodrome
  • Built in the 12th century
    Crusader city: castle walls and cathedral; "was captured by the Crusaders in 1124, becoming one of the most important cities of the Kingdom of Jerusalem" (wiki)
WHS Hotspots
Science and Technology
  • Underwater Archaeology
    to include the underwater archaeological remains located to the south of the city (boundary change 2013)
Visiting conditions
WHS Names
18
News
dailystar.com.lb 03/07/2012
NGO says Tyre reconstruction "muti…

Community Reviews

Show full reviews
First published: 19/11/24.

Triath

Tyre

Tyre (Inscribed)

Tyre by triath

Visited in May 2023.
It should be understood right away that the city is located in the south of Lebanon, a region controlled by Hezbollah, so this factor should be taken into account when planning a visit. I visited this city when the situation was more or less calm.
Although these political factors are not particularly felt in the historical center, there is a specially designated area with recognizable symbols, but in the tourist zone tourists walk in shorts and short dresses, alcohol is sold, and no tension was felt.
Also, I covered some gestalt, because in the last couple of years I visited several Mediterranean colonies founded by Phoenician Tyre, the most famous of them are Carthage and Cadiz. And from school, I remember the story of how Alexander the Great besieged the Phoenicians' fortress on the island for seven months, built a special dam and finally destroyed the city when he managed to capture it.
The archaeological complex in Tyre occupies a huge area, divided into two zones, but it belongs to Roman times, the Phoenician city practically remained under the attack of the sea.
In one zone (Al-Mina) there are an arena (for some reason rectangular), a palaestra, and baths. Theoretically, the foundations of the Crusader cathedral, where Emperor Frederick Barbarossa was supposed to be buried, should also be located there, but they cannot be reached.
The second area (Al Bass) is more interesting as it has a giant necropolis with many different types of burials and …

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First published: 01/12/18.

Martina Rúčková

Tyre

Tyre (Inscribed)

Tyre by Martina Rúčková

Tyre is an easy hour and a half hour drive south from Beirut. Many official travel advice recommend against travelling to this part of Lebanon, but the southern border is peaceful now and though the area looks a bit rough around the edges, the double site is very nice. We started with the Al Baas site with ruins of a Roman hippodrome, tombs with holes dug out probably by grave robbers, large cobbled route with a lovely arch. And outside it, a bit of a dishevelled town that makes it really interesting. There's a museum on site, but it's in a process of a very gradual restoration, with no info when it's going to be ready for visitors. To get some information on the site, just read your tour guides before the visit or buy a booklet from the ticket office. There's a parking on-site and the entrance is a bit inconspicuous, so just trust your online maps.

The second site is Al Mina about three kilometres away in a residential area. There is a street across the entrance, we found parking spot easily there. On site are loads of columns, a lovely views of the sea with a submerged harbour. There's also some kind of large rectangular space that we read was apparently an arena for water sports. And a couple of mosaics, but don't expect Old Paphos or Villa Romana. A nice visit we finished by stopping at Sidon by the Crusader castle (there's loads of restaurants …

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First published: 08/04/12.

Els Slots

Tyre

Tyre (Inscribed)

Tyre by Els Slots

This is the third Lebanese WHS displaying mainly Roman remains. And there is another one (Anjar) heavily influenced by Roman architecture. It does not make me feel very happy that I still 'have to' check out dozens more of them around the Mediterranean - in Algeria, Tunisia, Libya for example. Roman remains have withstood the test of times so much better than that of other civilizations, so it seems.

I visited Tyre on a day trip by public transport from Beirut. Although it is only 80km away, the bus took about 2 hours (including a change at Sidon). Tyre lies south of the Litani river, which means that is in the former danger zone between Lebanon and Israel. UNIFIL troops in their white tanks still patrol the streets. There is some ostentatious flag-waving and billboards with political/religious leaders going on, but nothing too aggressive. I only saw my first billboard featuring the head of Ayatollah Khomeini, and a medical clinic named after him.

Daily life in the streets of Tyre is as laid back as anywhere in Lebanon. I started my sightseeing at the Al-Mina ruins in the center of town. I was the only visitor. The site consists primarily of rows and more rows of columns. After about 15 minutes you have seen it all.

Then it's a further walk of about 20 minutes to get to the other archeological site, Al-Bass, at the edge of town. You can see the hippodrome from afar, but unfortunately, …

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First published: 22/06/10.

Anonymous

Tyre

Tyre (Inscribed)

Tyre by Els Slots

There are a few sites where if you want to visit, timing is important. Tyre is one of these sites because its so close to the Lebanese Israel border and comes into play during any conflict. Its no secret that Hezbollah (Party of God) controls this part of Southern Lebanon and often the region is close to travel. After the last conflict with Israel in 2006, Southern Lebanon was closed to tourists for a few years due to dangers from unexploded ordinance and the roads being bombed out.

Nonetheless, the situation has calmed down and there is a window of opportunity and I made it there last month in April 2010. The drive down the coast is so pretty and idyllic but you know immediately when you are close to Tyre because the roads would be lined with the Hezbollah yellow flags and there are banners of Iranian mullahs everywhere. Also you see many UN troops in their blue helmets guarding intersections.

Beyond those signs, everything else seems perfectly normal. In fact when we had lunch in a seaside inn, the owner encouraged us to return in the evening because he transforms the dining area into a bar with rock music etc. Not as conservative as you would expect.

Tyre was founded by the Phoenicians and they prospered as sea faring traders. The commerce that made Tyre famous was that they could harvest a certain seashell called Murex that produced a purple dye used by royalty across the Mediterranean. Unfortunately …

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First published: 01/05/05.

Solivagant

Tyre

Tyre (Inscribed)

Tyre by Solivagant

Tyre is an ancient town whose history is known from around 2700BCE. In particular it was an earlier home of the Phoenicians and it was from there that they set out to found Carthage. Today it is a modern Mediterranean city surrounded by 3 large archaeological sites with remains covering Phoenician, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and+ Crusader periods.

Most of the remains are at around ground level with the odd pillar and it is difficult to make out a great deal from the confusing jumble of stones. This is no Baalbek or Palmyra with huge ruined buildings.

One site does however merit a special visit if you are passing by – the Roman Hippodrome (photo). It has been partly reconstructed and is said to have been used for the chariot scenes in the film “Ben Hur”!

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