2291 LEBANON - Tyre (UNESCO WHS)

Located on the southern coast of Lebanon, 83 km south of Beirut, the antique town of Tyre was the great  Phoenician city that reigned over the seas and founded prosperous colonies such as Cadiz and Carthage. Its name means "rock", after the rocky formation on which the town was built. Tyre was directly associated with several stages in the history of humanity, including the production of purple pigment, or the construction of the Temple of Solomon, thanks to the material and architect sent by the King Hiram.

1684 LEBANON - Aerial view of Jounieh

Jounieh is a coastal city about 16km north of Beirut, known for its seaside resorts and bustling nightlife, as well as its old stone souk, ferry port, and gondola lift, which takes passengers up the mountain to the shrine of  Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa. Above Jounieh, and on the way to Harissa, a small hill named Bkerké, overlooking the Jounieh bay, is the seat of the Patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church. Residents of Jounieh and the surrounding towns are overwhelmingly Maronite Christians. In 1932 it had only 1,286 inhabitants, but from 1980 to 1990, it witnessed a massive migration as a large number of the Beirut traders moved to its markets, so that today close to 100,000 people reside in Jounieh. By the middle of the century, it is predicted that Jounieh will become a suburb of Beirut.

1076 LEBANON - Baalbek (UNESCO WHS)

Situated east of the Litani River, in the Beqaa Valley, at the foot of the south-west slope of Anti-Lebanon, Baalbek, founded by Phoenicians and known as Heliopolis (in Greek, the City of the Sun) during the period of Roman rule, was one of the largest sanctuaries in the empire. The importance of this amalgam of ruins of the Greco-Roman period with even more ancient vestiges of Phoenician tradition, are based on its outstanding artistic and architectural value. The Roman construction was built on top of earlier ruins which were formed into a raised plaza, formed of 24 monoliths, the largest  weighing over 800 tons. The gods that were worshipped at the temple - Jupiter, Venus, and Bacchus - were grafted onto the indigenous deities of Hadad, Atargatis, and a young male god of fertility. Local influences are seen in the planning and layout of the temples, which vary from the classic Roman design.