A short flight away, Lebanon is a fantastic mix of history, culture, coast, superb food and incredibly friendly people.

Itinerary
Day 1: Departure flight from Larnaca to Beirut. Transfer to hotel.

Day 2:  Private guided tours of Byblos, Jeita Grotto and Harissa with Lebanese lunch.

Day 3:  Private guided tour of Baalabeck, Harissa and Ksara with Lebanese lunch.

Day 4: Transfer from hotel to Beirut airport for onward flight

Note:  It is possible to stay longer in Beirut and add on more tours as preferred.

General information on Lebanon:

Sidon, Tyre & Maghdouche

Sidon sites: Sea Castle, Khan El Franj and Soap museum, Necropolis

Tyre & Maghdouche sites: Seaside city of Tyre with the Maghdouche where Holy Virgin Mary used to wait for Jesus while he was preaching in Sidon.

Baalbeck, Anjar & Ksara Winery

Drive through the Bekaa valley and visit the colossal monument of Baalbeck, the winery at Ksara and the fortified city of Anjar, known as “The Palace of the Desert”.

Cedars Forest, Becharreh (Gebron Museum) & St Antonios Convent in Kozhaya

Visit the forest of Cedars followed by the visit of the Gebran Museum the international poet of Lebanese origin and the convent of St Anthony of Kozhaya, one of the numerous convents of the Holy Valley.

Beirut Panoramic City Tour & National Museum & Beiteddine Palace & Deir El Kamar

Visit Beirut down with its constructions built during the French mandate and restored starting 1993, the Roman Bath, the churches and mosques, and the national museum. Visit Beiteddine palace and the summer residence of the Lebanese president. Lunch then to Deir-El Kamar, Visit the wax museum of Marie Baz, Our lady of the tell church, the Kaissariya Caravan Seray

Jeitta Grotto, Harissa & Byblos

Byblos, the worlds’ oldest continuously inhabited town. Visit the fisherman’s harbour, the crusader castle, the Church of St. John the Baptist, Phoenician temples, Roman theatre and the souks. The to Jeita Grotto (nominated to be one of the seven wonders of the natural world). Finally Harissa (one way by cable car), see the panoramic view of Jounieh bay.

Baalbeck, Anjar & Ksara Winery

Drive through the Bekaa valley and visit the colossal monument of Baalbeck, the winery at Ksara and the fortified city of Anjar, known as “The Palace of the Desert”.

Notes:

• Passports must not have stamp of Israel.
• Price for solo travellers are on request.
• Flight /Hotel supplements may apply subject to availability at time of reservation.
• Longer stay in Lebanon is possible with additional tours.
• Tours are private with your own driver/guide

Additional info:

Beirut 

Visit Beirut down with its constructions built during the French mandate and restored starting 1993, the Roman Bath, the churches and mosques, and the national museum.

History of Beirut
Beirut was built on a rocky promontory, a site also occupied by prehistoric man. In ancient times it was overshadowed by powerful neighbours, but when the city- states of Sidon began to decline in the first millennium B.C, Beirut acquired more influence. During Roman times, Beirut became a roman colony (15 B.C), and an important port and cultural centre. During the roman and Byzantine era it was distinguished for its law school, whom professors helped draft the famous Justinian code.

Beirut was destroyed by a devastating earthquake in 551 A.D. A century later, it was conquered by the Muslim Arabs and in 1109 it fell to the crusaders. The city remained in crusader hands until 1291, when it was taken by the Mamluks.

In 1516 the 400- year ottoman rule began. Later, in the 17th century, Beirut knew a period of great prosperity under the government of emir Fakhreddine II. Then with the break–up of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the World War I, the city became the capital of modern Lebanon.

Beirut, with nearly a million inhabitants, remains the cultural and commercial centre of the country. Some of its main landmarks are:
– The martyrs’ statue
– The Souks (markets)
– Parliament building, which are part of the design covering 1.8 million square meters.
Extensive archaeological investigations of historical periods ranging from Canaanite (3,000- 1200 B.C) to ottoman (1516-1918 A.D) have been revealed.

Beiteddine & Deir El Kamar 

Visit Beiteddine palace and the summer residence of the Lebanese president. Lunch then to Deir-El Kamar, Visit the wax museum of Marie Baz, Our lady of the tell church, the Kaissariya Caravan Seray.

About Beiteddine
Forty-three kilometers from Beirut stands this magnificent palace built at the beginning of the 19th century by Emir Bechir II, who reigned over Lebanon for more than 50 years. With its arcades, galleries and rooms decorated by artists from Lebanon, Damascus and Italy, this building is a model of eastern architecture.
Today the palace houses a museum of feudal weapons, costumes and jewellery as well as an archaeological museum and a museum of Byzantine mosaics

Deir El Kamar
It was the capital of Mount Lebanon, located 35 km away from Beirut, now it is a typical Lebanese village with its historical center, souk (market), museum, mosque & churches.

Baalbeck, Anjar & Ksara

The tour starts with the visit Baalbeck (the big stone, Temples of Jupiter, Bacchus and Venus) followed by Anjar Omayyads’ Town. Lunch and ends with Ksara (Wine tasting and visit of the caves)

Baalbeck
Heliopolis: the roman temples of Baalbeck, located in the Bekaa valley 85 kilometers away from Beirut. It makes up the largest and best preserved corpus of roman architecture left around. The acropolis occupies the top of an artificial hill built up of different layers of habitation.
Its temples, dedicated to Jupiter, Bacchus and Venus, were constructed between the first and the third centuries A.D.
in the “Jupiter temple” six of the 54 giant columns that originally surrounded the sanctuary survived till today. The temple has an impressive podium and a vast rectangular courtyard where sacrifices were carried out. The sanctuary is reached through a propylaea (monumental entrance) and hexagonal forecourt.
The town of Baalbeck has major remains from Islamic times including the grand Mosque, built by the Ommayadds with material borrowed from ancient monuments, and another mosque built in Mamluke times near the spring of Ras El–Ain.

Anjar
Anjar is located in the Bekaa valley, 58 km from Beirut. Built by the Omayyad caliph al- Walid Ibn Abdel Malek in the early 8th century A.D. Inside the city’s strong fortifications are the remains of streets, three palaces, souks, two hammams and a Mosque.
Located on the old route linking the Bekaa with Damascus, Anjar was built in the region of an ancient stronghold called Gerrah, which location is still problematic. Today the name of Gerrah is retained in the word ‘Anjar’ which means ‘source of Gerrah’ (Ain Gerrah).

Ksara
Built during the Roman period then covered by sand for centuries, the Ksara caves were found by mistake in 1898 by the Jesuites who were looking for a wolf that was eating their chickens every night and was using the caves as refuge. It is now the refuge of the well-known Ksara wine where thousands of old wine bottles are preserved. A tasting of the best wines is part of the visit.

Cedars, Becharreh & Kozhaya

The tour starts with the forest of Cedars followed by the visit of the Gebran Museum the international poet of Lebanese origin. Lunch and ends with visit the convent of St Anthony of Kozhaya, one of the numerous convents of the Holy Valley

Cedars

The most venerable representatives of the Cedars of Lebanon, which once covered the country’s mountains, are in the Besharre region in the North of Lebanon. Hundreds of trees stand on slopes 2,000 meters high in the shadow of the 3,088 meter peak of Qornet es- Sawda. From Lebanon’s cedar forests, Solomon got the timber to build his temple and palace, while the Egyptians Pharaohs used the wood carve their sarcophagi and ‘sunships’.

Besharreh
In the north, the picturesque gateway to the Cedars of Lebanon, is the birthplace of the famous Lebanese poet Gibran Khalil Gibran. Here one may visit the Gibran Museum and the many ancient churches and monasteries.

Kozhaya
Part of the Holy valley used by Maronites during the ottoman period. The monastery of St-Antoine of Kozhaya is one of the numerous monasteries built in this valley. It is built partly inside in the mountain and party outside it and surrounded by a very beautiful panorama of forest and valley.

Jeita Grotto, Byblos & Harissa

The visit starts with the beautiful Phoenician city of Byblos, then continues with the famous Jeita grottos with their fabulous sceneries. Lunch and ends in Harissa (one way cable-car) with a panoramic view of Jounieh bay

Jeita
Nominated for the seven natural world wonders, is one of the world’s most beautiful caves, just 20 km north of Beirut. The lower caverns are visited by boat over a subterranean lake 623 meters long. A dry upper gallery can be seen on foot. After many years of exploration, Lebanese speleologists have penetrated 6,910 meters from the entry point of the grotto to the far end of the Underground River and 2,130 meters of the upper galleries. The main source of the Dog River (Nahr El Kalb) rises in this cavern.

Byblos
One of the oldest towns in the world goes back at least 7,000 years. The rise and fall of nearly two dozen successive levels of human culture on this site makes it one of the richest archeological areas in the country.
Under the domination of the Egyptian pharaohs in the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C, Byblos was a commercial and religious capital of the Phoenician coast.
It was in Byblos where the first linear alphabet, ancestor of all modern alphabet, (through Greek and Latin), was invented.
The sarcophagus of Byblos’ king Ahiram, now in the national museum, bears the oldest known Phoenician inscription. Byblos was also the centre of the Adonis cult, the god of vegetation who dies in winter and renewed each spring.
Like its sister cities, Byblos was destroyed in the earthquake of 551 A.D it regained some consequence in crusader times when it came under the county of Tripoli. A modest town under the Mamluks and ottomans, Byblos grew rapidly during the recent war in Lebanon when commercial activities moved from Beirut to regional capitals.
This busy modern town located at 36 kilometers north of Beirut, has the “Roman Medieval port” as its main tourist hub. The landmarks in this area are: the crusader castle and church as well as the extensive remains of city’s past – from Neolithic times to the crusader era. A beautiful Mosque adds to the cultural mix in the old part of Byblos. And all around a diversity of cafes and restaurants can be found.

Harissa
600 meters above sea level and 26 km from Beirut, has a wonderful panoramic view covering the Bay of Jounieh. Statue of the Virgin Mary was erected in 1908. Inside it’s base, a chapel with outside spiral staircase that leads to the top, as well as a cable car service (téléphérique) is provided from the bay of Jounieh to the mountain of Harissa.

Sidon, Tyre & Maghdouche

Tour starts by visiting the Sea Castle, Khan El Franj and Soap museum in Sidon then the Necropolis and seaside city of Tyre. Lunch and on the way back, visit the Maghdouche where Holy Virgin Mary used to wait for Jesus while he was preaching in Sidon.

Sidon
The third great Phoenician city-state, Sidon’s origins are lost from memory. The name was mentioned in the texts for the first time in the 14th century B.C. in the ‘Tell El Amara Letters’. But it was during the Persian era, between the end of the 6th century B.C. and the mid-4th century B.C. that the city experienced it’s golden age. Sidon was an open city with many cultural influences, including the Egyptian and the Greek.
During the Persian period, Aegean sculptors contributed to the nearby temple of Eshmoun, the city’s god. He was associated with the Aesculapius, the Greek god of healing.
After its revolt against the Persians and destructions in 351 B.C., Sidon never regained its former glory. But the city’s position had improved by 551 A.D., when after the disastrous earthquake of that year it was chosen as the site of Beirut law school. The crusader period, between 1110 and 1291, brought Sidon new prestige as the second of the four baronies of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Today the ruins of the Crusader sea Castle and the Castle of Saint-Louis, Known as the land castle, can still be seen in Sidon.
From the Mamluke and Ottoman periods the Great Mosque, built on the foundations of a Crusader building and the Khan ‘el – Franj” built by Fakhreddine II. Today the town 41 Kilometers from Beirut, has grown into a thriving commercial and business centre serving the entire region.

Tyre
Although the earliest origins of Tyre are unknown, the testimonies of ancient historians and some archeological evidence suggest that it goes back to the start of the 3rd millennium B.C. Originally a mainland settlement with an island city a short distance offshore, it came of age in the 10th century B.C. when King Hiram expanded the mainland and built two ports and a temple to the god Melkart. The flourishing maritime trade, Mediterranean colonies and it’s purple dye and glass industries made Tyre very powerful and wealthy. But the city’s wealth attracted enemies. In the sixth century B.C. the Tyrians successfully defied Nebuchadnezzar for 13 years. Alexander the Great laid siege to it for 7 months, finally overwhelming the island city by constructing a great causeway from the shore to the island. In their day the Romans built a magnificent city at Tyre. The remains of its Roman streets, arcades and public buildings, including one of the largest hippodromes of the period, which are major attractions today.
Occupied by the Moslem Arabs in 636, then captured in 1124 by the Crusaders, Tyre was an important fortified town of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. In 1291 the Mamlukes took the city, then during the 400year Ottoman period beginning in 1516, it remained a quiet fishing town.
In 1984 Tyre’s important archeological remains prompted UNESCO to make the town a world heritage
site. Located 79 km from Beirut, prosperous Tyre is notable for its many high-rise buildings.
Nevertheless, the inner city has retained its industrious maritime character and its interesting old-style houses.

Maghdouché
The name, Maghdouché, originates from the Syriac word, which means “crop collectors.” It is also derived from the Syriac word Kidsh and its derivatives (Kadisho, Kadishat, Makdosho). In Hebrew, it means “holy” or “saintly.” According to Christian belief, when Jesus came to Sidon, the Virgin Mary who accompanied him, waited for him at the top of the hill where Maghdouché is located today. She spent the night in a cave that came to be known as Mantara, or the “Awaiting.” Emperor Constantine the Great responded to St. Hélène’s request and transformed the cave into a sanctuary for the Virgin. He erected a tower in honor of the Virgin. The tower collapsed during the earthquake of 550. Later, King Louis IX erected a watching tower in the same location. The Mantara cave was once again discovered accidentally by a shepherd in 1726. An icon of the Virgin was also discovered, and it was of Byzantine style, dating back to the 7th or to the 8th century. Since then, the cave has been transformed into a place of pilgrimage for all the Lebanese confessions. In 1860, the Greek Catholic Church became the owner, and transformed the cave into a sanctuary in 1880.
At the beginning of the sixties, under the auspices of Mgr Basile Khoury, renowned architect Varoujan Zaven designed and executed a beautiful hexagonal chapel topped by a 36-meter tower in a conical shape to support an 8 and a half meter one-piece bronze statue of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus in her arms, of his own design as well, realized by Italian artist Pierrotti in Pietra Santa. The design and supervision of the project were both a donation on behalf of the architect. Our Lady of Mantara is considered the protectress of children, and many baptisms are celebrated at the sanctuary.

Highlights of Lebanon – 4 days

Prices on request

Hotel Options:

4* Casa D’Or 

• Double: from € TBA per person
• Single: from € TBA

4* Le Commodore (Hamra area)

• Double: from € TBA per person
• Single: from € TBA

5* Crown Plaza

• Double: from € TBA per person
• Single: from €

5* Gefinor Rotana

• Double:  from € TBA per person
• Single: from € TBA

LEBANON PACKAGE INCLUDES:

•  Return flight Larnaca-Beirut with Middle East Air
•  3 nights at selected hotel on BB twin sharing
•  Return Airport Transfers
•  Two Full Day private guided tours.
•  Lebanese lunch during the tours
•  All entrance fees included
•  local taxes 

Not Included:

• Flights
• Entry visa
• Customary tips to driver & guides
• Evening Dinner & drinks
• Travel insurance.
  
  

It is possible to stay longer in Beirut and add on more tours as preferred.