Sidon

Sidon or Saïda (Arabic: صيدا‎, Ṣaydā; Phoenician: , Ṣydwn; Greek: Σιδών; Latin: Sidon; Hebrew: צידון‎, Ṣīḏōn, Turkish: Sayda) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km (25 mi) north of Tyre and 40 km (25 mi) south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah. Its name coincides with the modern Arabic word for fishery.

Sidon is a city of 200,000 inhabitants who are overwhelmingly Muslims.

History

Sidon has been inhabited since very early in prehistory. The archaeological site of Sidon II shows a lithic assemblage dating to the Acheulean, whilst finds at Sidon III include a Heavy Neolithic assemblage suggested to date just prior to the invention of pottery.^[1] It was one of the most important Phoenician cities, and may have been the oldest. From here, and other ports, a great Mediterranean commercial empire was founded. Homer praised the skill of its craftsmen in producing glass, purple dyes, and its women's skill at the art of embroidery. It was also from here that a colonizing party went to found the city of Tyre. Tyre also grew into a great city, and in subsequent years there was competition between the two, each claiming to be the metropolis ('Mother City') of Phoenicia. Glass manufacturing, Sidon's most important enterprise in the Phoenician era, was conducted on a vast scale, and the production of purple dye was almost as important. The small shell of the Murex trunculus was broken in order to extract the pigment that was so rare it became the mark of royalty.

In AD 1855, the sarcophagus of King Eshmun’azar II was discovered. From a Phoenician inscription on its lid, it appears that he was a "king of the Sidonians," probably in the 5th century BCE, and that his mother was a priestess of ‘Ashtart, "the goddess of the Sidonians." ^[2] In this inscription the gods Eshmun and Ba‘al Sidon 'Lord of Sidon' (who may or may not be the same) are mentioned as chief gods of the Sidonians. ‘Ashtart is entitled ‘Ashtart-Shem-Ba‘al '‘Ashtart the name of the Lord', a title also found in an Ugaritic text.

In the years before Jesus, Sidon had many conquerors: Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, and finally Romans. Herod the Great visited Sidon. Both Jesus and Saint Paul are said to have visited it too (see Biblical Sidon below). The city was eventually conquered by the Arabs and then by the Ottoman Turks.

Like other Phoenician city-states, Sidon suffered from a succession of conquerors. At the end of the Persian era in 351 BCE, it was invaded by the emperor Artaxerxes III and then by Alexander the Great in 333 BCE when the Hellenistic era of Sidon began. Under the successors of Alexander, it enjoyed relative autonomy and organized games and competitions in which the greatest athletes of the region participated. In the Necropolis of Sidon, important finds such as the Alexander Sarcophagus, the Lycian tomb and the Sarcophagus of the Crying Women were discovered, which are now on display at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum in Istanbul.^[3]

When Sidon fell under Roman domination, it continued to mint its own silver coins. The Romans also built a theater and other major monuments in the city. In the reign of Elagabalus a Roman colonia was established there, and it was given the name of Colonia Aurelia Pia Sidon. During the Byzantine period, when the great earthquake of AD 551 destroyed most of the cities of Phoenicia, Beirut's School of Law took refuge in Sidon. The town continued quietly for the next century, until it was conquered by the Arabs in AD 636.

On 4 December 1110 Sidon was sacked in the First Crusade by King Baldwin of Jerusalem and King Sigurd of Norway. It then became the centre of the Lordship of Sidon, an important seigneury in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. During the Crusades it was sacked several times: it was finally destroyed by the Saracens in 1249. In 1260 it was again destroyed by the Mongols. The remains of the original walls are still visible.

After Sidon came under Ottoman Turkish rule in the seventeenth century, it regained a great deal of its earlier commercial importance. After World War I it became part of the French Mandate of Lebanon. During World War II the city, together with the rest of Lebanon, was captured by British forces fighting against the Vichy French, and following the war it became a major city of independent Lebanon.

Following the Palestinian exodus in 1948, a considerable number of Palestinian refugees arrived in Sidon, as in other Lebanese cities, and were settled at the large refugee camps of Ein el-Hilweh and Mieh Mieh. At first these consisted of enormous rows of tents, but gradually houses were constructed. The refugee camps constituted de-facto neighborhoods of Sidon, but had a separate legal and political status which made them into a kind of enclaves. At the same time, the remaining Jews of the city fled, and the Jewish cemetery fell into disrepair, threatened by coastal erosion.

Sidon today

Sidon was a small fishing town of 10,000 inhabitants in 1900, but studies in 2000 showed a population of 65,000 in the city and around 200,000 in the metropolitan area. The little level land around the city is used for cultivation of some wheat, vegetables, and fruits, especially citrus and bananas. The fishing in the city remains active with a newly opened fishery that sells fresh fish by bidding every morning. The ancient basin is transformed into a fishing port, while a small quay was constructed to receive small commercial vessels.

Saida International Stadium was inaugurated in 2000 for the Asian Football Confederation's Cup 2000.

The Makab

Near the southern entrance to the city lies a 'rubbish mountain' called the Makab, a 600,000 cubic meter heap that reaches the height of a four-storey building. It was originally created to dispose of the remains of buildings destroyed in Israeli air strikes during the 1982 invasion, but it is now the main dump for the city. Growing out of the sea, it has become an environmental hazard, with medical waste and plastic bags polluting nearby fishing grounds.

The Ministry of Environment has recently, however, come up a $50,000+ plan to clean the whole area and transform the dump into a green space, along with other heaps in the country. Qamla beach in Sidon, a coast in close proximity to the Sea Castle, witnessed a large municipal clean up in May 2011, as it was an easy target of rubbish being washed up by the Makab. These plans will revive the former glory of the city's coasts and attract tourists who avoided swimming in Sidon's sea before.^[4][5][6][7]

Old City

The historical core of Sidon is a Mamluk-era old city that extends between the Sea Castle and the St. Louis Castle. Located on a promontory jutting into the sea, this walled medieval city is very well-preserved and is still inhabited today. The old City resembles a vaulted maze with narrow alleyways and winding streets. Arched pathways connect the different neighborhoods of the city. On street level, numerous souvenir shops and mini-markets can be found with old- fashioned bakeries making crunchy whole wheat bread, called "Kaak". A lot of the alleys take the name of their residents' occupations like the "Carpenters' Alley" and the "Tailors' Alley". Several mosques dating back to the Umayyad Era are still preserved and are open to the public. A number of TV series and Music Videos have been filmed inside the Old city of Sidon. Being of great historical and architectural significance, the Old City went through a lot of renovations and there is still of restoring to be done.

Administrative divisions

The city of Sidon is administrated by the Municipality of Sidon. The municipality is constituted of a council of 21 members including the City Mayor and his Deputy. It has administrative and financial independence but remains under the control and supervision of the central government, specifically the Ministry of Interior. The municipality's jurisdiction is limited to a region of 786 hectares in area and 5 meters in elevation, while each of the city's suburbs is administrated by its own independent municipal council. Sidon is the center of the Governorate of South Lebanon, and hosts the seat of the Governor of Southern Lebanon. The city is also the center of the Sidon District and the Union of Sidon and Zahrani Municipalities (founded in 1978 and contains 15 municipalities). Sidon hosts the southern regional headquarters of a series of governmental facilities like the Central Bank of Lebanon, Électricité du Liban, Central Telecommunications Station and others. It is also the home of the Justice Palace of South Lebanon in its new headquarters on East Boulevard (the old headquarters were an old Ottoman serial that is currently occupied by the LSF and is planned to be transformed into a cultural center by the municipality).

In the 2000 and 2005 parliamentary elections, the Sidon District along with the Tyre and Bint Jbeil districts formed the first electoral district of South Lebanon. However, in the 2009 elections – and due to the reactivation of the 1960 electoral law – the city of Sidon was separated from its district to form a separate electoral district.

Religion and demographics

Sidon is a conservative city with a vast Sunni Muslim majority. Sunnis make up approximately (80%) of the local population; Shiites and Christians combined make up (20%). Sidon is the seat of the Greek Melkite Catholic Archbishop of Sidon and Deir el Qamar, and has housed a significant Catholic population throughout its history. Sidon also hosts the seats of the Sunni and the Shiite Muftis of South Lebanon.

Main sights

• Sidon Sea Castle, a fortress built by the Crusaders in the early 13th century. It is located near the Port of Sidon.
• Sidon Soap Museum. It traces the history of the soap making in the region and its different manufacturing steps.
• Khan el Franj (“Caravanserai of the French”), built by Emir Fakhreddine in the 17th century to accommodate French merchants and goods in order to develop trade with Europe. This is a typical khan with a large rectangular courtyard and a central fountain surrounded by covered galleries.
• Debbane Palace, a historical residence built in 1721, an example of Arab-Ottoman architecture. It is currently in the process of being transformed into the History Museum of Sidon.^[8]
• Old Souk, a historical vaulted market stretching between the Sea Castle and the Castle of St. Louis.
• The Castle of St. Louis (Qalaat Al Muizz). It was built by the Crusaders in the 13th century on top of the remains of a fortress built by the Fatimid caliph Al Muizz. It is located to the south of old souks near Murex hill.
• Eshmun Temple, dedicated to the Phoenician God of healing. Built in the 7th century BCE, it is located in the north of Sidon near the Awali river.

• The Ziri, a tiny rocky island located 1.5 km off the coastline of Sidon. In ancient times, it was used as a breakwater for the protection of ships and fleets. The island is a preferred destination for the locals who come here for picnics and swimming. The island is accessed by several ferry boats from the port of Sidon.
• Our Lady of Mantara, or Our Lady of Awaiting, a Christian shrine dedicated to the veneration of the Virgin Mary. It is located on a 400 m high green hill overlooking Sidon. The shrine is built on a small cave where it is the believed that the Virgin Mary stayed and prayed while Jesus went preaching in Sidon. The shrine is composed of a Marian tower – with a Bronze statue of Mary on top – and a Large Catholic Basilica, the 3rd largest church in the Middle East.
• The Corniche is a seaside promenade that extends for about 7&nsbp;km along the city's coast. The Corniche is a popular destination for walkers, joggers, skaters and bikers. Push cart vendors offer an array of local snacks and drinks.
• The Largest Lebanese Flag. On Lebanon's 66th Independence Day, Sidon witnessed the erection of the largest Lebanese flag. The flag is 12 meters long and 6 meters wide, and was erected on a 21 meter high pole. The flag was raised on the intersection of Rafik Hariri Boulevard and Riyad Solh Street, and is easily accessible from the Corniche. The flag was painted by 66 students from the city.
• The Bahaa El-Dine Mosque. Financed by Rafik Hariri and named after his father, the mosque is a 21st-century take on Istanbul's Ottoman Mosques. Located on a roundabout on the city's northern entrance, the mosque is an architectural gem that dots the city's skyline. The mosque with its authentic Arabesque designs, interior Islamic inscriptions, inner courtyards, Mecca-styled minarets and awe-inspiring 36-meter-high dome is a non-miss landmark in the city.

Shopping and entertainment

Sidon contains several shopping venues boasting local and international brands, as well as a handful of food and beverage outlets like the "Spinneys" and "BSAT" supermarkets. Traditional Coffeeshops serving Turkish coffee and the fruit-flavored Hubble Bubble occupy the seafront of the Old City while modern restaurants, especially those that serve Lebanese and Italian cuisine, are centered in the new city. From McDonald's and KFC to Starbucks, Burger King and Pizza Hut, several western chains have opened at least one branch in the city, with more opening in the near future. Traditional Oriental sweets are Sidon's speciality with regionally renowned sweetshops found all over the city.

Shopping is concentrated within two areas: East Boulevard, and the city center. From the high-end designer stores of Pierre Cardin and Christian Dior to stores directed to low and middle-income consumers, clothing stores in Sidon cater to all tastes and needs. Several other international clothing brands could be found in the city. These include ALDO, Jack & Jones, Vero Moda, Springfield, Timberland, Zara, Mango, Pull and Bear, Mothercare, Bossini, H&M, Benetton, and GS. Some of these stores could be found in the 2 malls in the city, Saida Mall (24,000 sq meters) and Le Mall (12,000 sq meters), aside to kids entertainment facilities, cafes and restaurants.

Sidon also has a large Amusement Park near its southern entrance.

Health

According to 2006 numbers, Sidon contains approximately 1000 beds distributed among 9 hospitals. There is only one public hospital in the city while the rest are all private. The city also contains over a 100 medical clinics. Some of the medical institutions in the city are the among the most prominent in Lebanon. The first Heart-Transpant Operation ever to be performed in Lebanon was in the Hammoud Hospital in Sidon in 1999.

Education

Sidon is home to numerous educational facilities ranging from public elementary schools to private universities. According to a 2006 study, the city is home to 29 schools that serve a total of 18,731 students: 37% are in public schools, 63% are in private schools. Sidon also contains 10 universities, 5 of which are private universities.

The Beirut Arab University declared recently that its future Sidon Campus will host its Faculty of Medicine.

Festivals and celebrations

• The "Nights of the Khan" festival, consisting of a series of concerts and performances held in the Khan El-Franj in the Old City of Sidon. The festival takes place during the holy month of Ramadan. It is organized by the International Sidon Festivals Committee and the Hariri Foundation. The Festival hosts a wide array of artists and performers; it features Sufi art, poetry recitals, religious song medleys, Folkloric Lebanese and Palestinian dance groups. The festival was frequently attended by the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Tourism Minister, Education Minister, Culture Minister aside to numerous social, political and religious Lebanese figures.
• The "Wedding of the City" is a street carnival held in Sidon in the El-Fitr Muslim Holiday. The carnival runs for three consecutive days and is organized by the International Sidon Festivals Committee and the Hariri Foundation. The Carnival takes place on a 300-meter-long section of the Coastal Highway -extending between the Sidon Sea Castle and the Port- that gets closed and transformed into a Pedestrian-only zone. Last summer, the carnival attracted more than 30,000 spectators on its 3rd day. The carnival features European and Local Acrobats, giant floating balloons, exotic dancers, a light and sound show...etc.
• Independence Day Celebrations. Sidon played a significant role in Lebanon's quest for Independence in the early 1940s whether through its nationalist politicians or through its citizens' protests and demonstrations demanding Independence. Hence, On 22 November of every year, Sidon celebrates Lebanon's Independence through a series of festivities that involve: a Military Parade in the Barracks of the Lebanese Army, an honorary reception in the city's serial held by the Governor, and a tribute to Sidong's independence figure Adel Osseiran. 2009's Independence day celebrations featured an extra festivity which is the erection of the largest Lebanese flag, on the city's northern entrance.

Oil and petroleum

Sidon serves as the Mediterranean terminus of the Trans-Arabian Pipeline, a 1,720 km (1,068.76 mi) long oil pipeline that pumps oil from the fields near Abqaiq in Saudi Arabia. The pipeline played an important role in the global trade of petroleum—helping with the economic development of Lebanon—as well as American and Middle Eastern political relations. At the time it was built in 1947, the project was considered ground-breaking and innovative with a maximum capacity of about 500,000 barrels per day (79,000 m³/d). After the 1967 Six-Day War and due to constant bickering between Saudi Arabia and Syria and Lebanon over transit fees, the emergence of oil supertankers, and pipeline breakdowns, the section of the line beyond Jordan ceased operation in 1976.

The city is the site of a large-scale oil facility constituting oil-storage tanks, an oil refinery, a thermal power plant and a fuel port. During the Lebanese civil war and the Israeli invasions, the site was bombarded several times either by Israeli war-planes or by Palestinian militia groups which lead eventually to the closure of the site. The oil tank and the refinery are in severe conditions but are now undergoing a massive rehabilitation plan put down by the Ministry of Power and Water Resources, as well as those in Tipoli in the north, to store Lebanon's future oil and natural gas supplies recently discovered offshore. For now, the facilities that still work on the site are the thermal power plant and the fuel port, which the state began to use to import oil after the pipeline ceased work in the 70's.

Politics

The Sectarian division in Sidon is evident. Although the locals have found some sort of understanding to settle together and coexist, the division managed to rise to the surface on several occasions. The city proper is largely occupied by Sunni Muslims, while Christians dwell in the densely populated suburbs, forming an urban belt that encircles the city. Shiite Muslims live in a large hilly terrian that extends south of the city.

This sectarian and demographic division rose to the surface during the Lebanese Civil War when armed clashes erupted between the pro-Palestinian Sunni Muslims and the anti-Palestinian Christians. The clashes ended with the surrender of the Christian front, and the Christians were forced to move to east Beirut. After the war ended in 1990, the Christians have gradually returned to their hometowns.

After the Hariri assassination in 2005, Lebanon was divided between two large coalitions: 14 March Coalition (anti-Syrian) & 8 March Coalition (pro-Syrian). Sidon, being the hometown of Rafik Hariri, supported the anti-Syrian bloc while the rest of the largely Shiite Zahrani region lined with Hezbollah. This sharp division led to severe clashes on 7 May 2008 in Beirut between the Sunnis and the Shiites, with minor altercations extending to Sidon.

In Sidon, the symbols of support for the Sunni contingent in politics manifests itself in large photos of Rafic and Sa'ad Hariri on buildings everywhere, as well as banners with slogans such as 'We will not allow scum to run our country'. In Sidon, Saudi Arabia is the dominant outside influence and it is said that Saudi money keeps the Lebanese economy afloat.^[9]

In the 2009 parliamentary elections, Sidong city was declared a separate electoral district in accordance with the 1960 electoral law. 2 Sunni Muslim seats were designated for the representation of the city in the Parliament. The battle was between 2 lists: the first included former Prime Minister Fouad Sanioura and Minister Bahia Hariri, the second list contained only one candidate Osama Saad, son of a prominent political family and Hariri's rival. After a tough battle between the 2 lists, the Pro-Hariri duo swept the city with 24,000 votes.

Archaeology

Sidon I is an archaeological site located to the east of the city, south of the road to Jezzine. An assemblage of flint tools was found by P. E. Gigues suggested to date between 3800 to 3200 BCE. The collection included narrow axes or chisels that were polished on one side and flaked on the other, similar to ones found at Ain Cheikh, Nahr Zahrani and Gelal en Namous.^[1] The collection appears to have gone missing from the Archaeological Museum of the American University of Beirut.^[10]

Sidon II is said to be "near the church" at approximately fifty meters above sea level. P. E. Gigues suggested that the industry found on the surface of this site dated to the Acheulean.^[1]

Sidon III was found by E. Passemard in the 1920s, who made a collection of material that is now in the National Museum of Beirut marked "Camp de l'Aviation". It includes large flint and chert bifacials that may be of Heavy Neolithic origin.^[1]

Sidon IV is the tell mound of ancient Sidon with Early Bronze Age (3200 BCE -) deposits, now located underneath the ruined Château de St. Louis and what are also thought to be the ruins of a Roman theatre.^[1]

The Biblical Sidon

The Bible describes Sidon in several passages:

• It received its name from the "first-born" of Canaan, the grandson of Noah (Genesis 10:15, 19).
• The Tribe of Zebulun has a frontier on Sidon. (Gen. 49:13)
• It was the first home of the Phoenicians on the coast of Canaan, and from its extensive commercial relations became a "great" city. (Joshua 11:8; 19:28).
• It was the mother city of Tyre. It lay within the lot of the tribe of Asher, but was never subdued (Judges 1:31).
• The Sidonians long oppressed Israel (Judges 10:12).
• From the time of David its glory began to wane, and Tyre, its "virgin daughter" (Isaiah 23:12), rose to its place of pre-eminence.
• Solomon entered into a matrimonial alliance with the Sidonians, and thus their form of idolatrous worship found a place in the land of Israel (1 Kings 11:1, 33).
• Jezebel was a Sidonian princess (1 Kings 16:31).
• It was famous for its manufactures and arts, as well as for its commerce (1 Kings 5:6; 1 Chronicles 22:4; Ezekiel 27:8).
• It is frequently referred to by the prophets (Isaiah 23:2, 4, 12; Jeremiah 25:22; 27:3; 47:4; Ezekiel 27:8; 28:21, 22; 32:30; Joel 3:4).
• Elijah sojourned in Sidon, performing miracles (1 Kings 17:9–24; Luke 4:26).
• Jesus visited the "coasts" of Tyre and Sidon (Matthew 15:21; Mark 7:24) and from this region many came forth to hear him preaching (Mark 3:8; Luke 6:17), leading to the stark contrast in Matthew 11:21–23 to Korazin and Bethsaida.
• From Sidon, at which the ship put in after leaving Caesarea, Paul finally sailed for Rome (Acts 27:3, 4).

Sanchuniathon

• The account ascribed to the Phoenician historian Sanchuniathon makes Sidon a daughter of Pontus, son of Nereus. She is said there to have first invented musical song from the sweetness of her voice.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Sidon is twinned with:

• Constanţa, Romania
• Sofia, Bulgaria
• Sochi, Russia

Notable people

• Dorotheus (1st century BCE) Greek astrologer.
• Zeno of Sidon, an Epicurean philosopher of the 1st century BCE, who was born in the city of Sidon in Phoenicia.
• Fouad Sanioura, former Prime Minister of Lebanon.
• Adel Osseiran, co-founder of modern Lebanon.
• Ali Osseiran, Member of Parliament and former Minister
• Rafic Hariri, former Prime Minister and late leader of the Future Movement.
• Sheikh Mohamad Osseiran, Jaafari Mufti of Sidon.
• Riad Solh, former Prime Minister of Lebanon who also participated in Lebanon's independence from the French.
• Takkie El Dine Solh, former Prime Minister, died in Paris.
• Sami Solh, former Prime Minister of Lebanon.
• Rashid Solh, former Prime Minister of Lebanon.
• Nazih Bizri, former Minister of Health, member of Parliament
• Afif al-Bizreh, former Chief of Staff of the Syrian armed forces
• Fuad Bizri, former Minister of Public Works
• Amin Bizri, head of the Lebanese Union of Engineers, and President of the Arab Federation of Engineers
• Abdel Rahman Bizri, former mayor of Sidon and faculty member of the American University of Beirut medical school
• Nader El-Bizri, philosopher and academic writer
• Bahaa Bsat, former President of the Order of Engineers and Architects in Lebanon
• Raymond Audi, former Minister of Refugees, Siniora former government of Lebanon.
• Bahia Hariri, former Minister of Education in the Siniora government of Lebanon. Bahia Hariri is the only sister of the late Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. Presently, Bahia Hariri is a member of the Lebanese Parliament as she was re-elected in June 2009.
• Saad Hariri, former Prime Minister of Lebanon
• Bahaa Hariri, international businessman
• Ahmad Hariri, leader in the Future Movement
• Maarouf Saad, former deputy representing Sidon in the national parliament and founder of the Popular Nasserite Party. Assassinated in 1975.
• Moustapha Saad, son of Maarouf Saad and former deputy representing Sidon in the national parliament.
• Ousama Saad, son of Maarouf Saad and current deputy representing Sidon in the national parliament.
• Sulayman Al-Zein, former Minister of Education.
• Hiba Al-Qawwas, Lebanon's leading soprano.
• Fayza Ahmad (Al-Rawwass), One of the greatest singers of the Arab world.

References

• This article incorporates text from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), a publication now in the public domain.
• Additional notes taken from Collier's Encyclopedia (1967 edition)

External links

• Sidonianews (Sidon News Portal) (Arabic)
• Lebanon, the Cedars' Land: Sidon
• Destination Lebanon: Sidon
• (French) Fondation Audi (includes a virtual tour of The Soap Museum and other heritage sites in the Old City)
• Sam Houston State University: Nicholas C. J. Pappas: The Inscription on the Sarcophagus of the Phoenician King Eshmunazar
• Notes on Sidon
• Sidon excavations
• watch "Isti'mariyah – windward between Naples and Baghdad"