Saida is the Arabic name for the city of Sidon. Tyre is in the far south of Lebanon and my route back to Beirut took me right through Saida. I only got to spend a few hours here, but the time was well spent. The city felt bigger and more alive than Tyre. It was incredibly beautiful, as Lebanon tends to be.
The big tourist site to go to is the seaside castle which lies about 100 to 200 meters out into the ocean from the shore. As you can see in the photo there is a long stone walkway that leads out to it.
Almost immediately upon entering the castle I come across two local boys with whom I begin talking in Arabic. This surprised them and we chatted for a while. When I got up to continue on they just followed. I had three shadows that afternoon. One of them insisted that I take his picture; he's the one above, I can't remember his name.
Climbing through the innards to get to the upper ramparts I came across this beautifully lit room. I can only imagine what this might've looked like when it was originally being used.
The view from the top was truly spectacular. The castle, the deep shadows, the coastline, the skyline - it was all too perfect.
Before I left, I made sure to get a picture of myself sitting on the castle walls looking out over the city.
When I got back to the shore I walked a ways down and just soaked it all in. I've noticed I really like to soak in my surroundings. I came across lot's of interesting people, but I seem to always atract younger males. These guys were neat. The one on the bike is actually from Germany but he now lives in Lebanon.
Naturally, there is alot of fishing going on along the shore. As I was walking past I saw this group of kids gathered around a guy about my age. I walked up to find that he had (unintentionally) caught an eel and they were trying to figure out what to do with it. I love the look of almost pained curiousity on the face of the kid in the red shirt.
As I said, there were many groups fishing. I'm not sure these guys were ever even aware that I took their picture. The sunset provided amazing pictures at the harbor.
This is the last picture I took of Sidon before I loaded the bus back to Beirut. I would absolutely go back to Sidon any time I have the chance. It was too much to get in one trip.
2 comments:
I have been out of the loop for a while but I wanted you to know how much I enjoy your blogs. What a wonderful experience you are having! Keep em coming!
Thanks so much! I'm glad you are enjoying them. I'll do my best to keep them coming.
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