clockwise around the mediterranean
- Tyre (Wikipedia)
Tyre (/ˈtaɪər/; Arabic: صُور, romanized: Ṣūr; Phoenician: 𐤑𐤓, romanized: Ṣūr; Greek: Τύρος, translit. Týros) is a city in Lebanon, one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, though in medieval times for some centuries by just a tiny population. It was one of the earliest Phoenician metropolises and the legendary birthplace of Europa, her brothers Cadmus and Phoenix, as well as Carthage’s founder Dido (Elissa). The city has many ancient sites, including the Tyre Hippodrome, and was added as a whole to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 1984. The historian Ernest Renan noted that “One can call Tyre a city of ruins, built out of ruins”.
- Tyre (whc.unesco.org)
According to legend, purple dye was invented in Tyre. This great Phoenician city ruled the seas and founded prosperous colonies such as Cadiz and Carthage, but its historical role declined at the end of the Crusades. There are important archaeological remains, mainly from Roman times.
