Summer is heating up, which means it’s time for great outdoor concerts.  An all-star line-up of famous musicians are slated to perform at this year’s annual Byblos International Festival.  The several week event is a celebration of live music, the fusion of international and Lebanese culture, and the magic of Byblos, which transforms itself into the ultimate seaside venue.

Stage on the coast of Byblos. Photo by byblosfestival.org/venue

One of Lebanon’s oldest port cities just 30 km north of Beirut, the city of Byblos has been designated as a UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site. It was founded in 5000 B.C. in ancient Phoenicia.  Today, it is a beautiful modern city with a well-preserved historical district.  Iconic ruins such as Phoenician temples, Byblos castle, and the Crusader Fort still reminisce of ancient times.

The Byblos International Festival brings the city booming into the 21st century every summer.  Thousands of visitors, both Lebanese and international, flock to Byblos to take in the fun and music.  A huge concert stage, nestled between the monuments and the sea, lights up under the night sky.  The festival is famous for fusing the musical heritage of Lebanon with music styles from all over the world.

This year, the headliners are:

Don Quixote (28 June – 3 July)
Moby (5 July)
Scorpions (4, 6 and 7 July)
Florent Pagny (9 July)
Jamie Cullum (12 July)
Thirty Seconds to Mars (15 July)
Amadou Et Mariam (20 July)
Les Mysteres Lyriques (23 July)

Don’t forget to book your Byblos hotel in advance — accommodations fill up all summer long and especially during this spectacular event!

Lebanon is a place of deep and wondrous history.  Visit the four sites that have been awarded UNESCO world heritage status:

Anjar

The Anjar UNESCO World Heritage Site in Lebanon. Photo by Bengt B

Nestled in the fertile Beqaa Valley, close to Lebanon’s easterly border with Syria, the origins of the city capital of Anjar can be traced back to the 8^th Century. It was founded during the reign of Caliph Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik.

A complicated and beautiful series of buildings and fortifications, the city was completely abandoned less than fifty years after construction began. Gradually reclaimed by the desert, Anjar’s ruins were preserved until their rediscovery by archaeologists in the mid 20^th Century.

Hotel recommendation: Grand Hotel Kadri

Baalbek

The Propylaea entrance of Baalbek. Photo by Heretiq

Also located in the Beqaa Valley, Baalbek was founded by the ancient Phoenicians but retained its importance during the rise and fall of both the Greeks and the Romans.

Its temple complex – known to the Hellenes as Heliopolis – can be explored to this day, and continues to inspire awe and wonder in visitors to Lebanon.

Byblos

The Crusader Castle in Byblos, Lebanon. Photo by Citypeek

Located on the coast mid way between Beirut and Tripoli, Byblos is one of the world’s oldest Phoenician cities.

As with many other beautiful coastal towns on the Lebanese Coast, Byblos has been constantly occupied since pre-historic times and has many visible layers of history on display. Persian walls, Roman roads, Byzantine buildings, Crusaders’ Castles – the whole town is a miniature reflection of Lebanon’s history.

Hotel recommendation: Byblos Sur Mer

Ouadi Qadisha (the Holy Valley) and the Forest of the Cedars of God (Horsh Arz el-Rab)

Cross in Qadisha Valley, Lebanon. Photo by Bdell555

Lebanon’s biblical history and connections to biblical antiquity are well known. The Qadisha Valley is home to some of Christianity’s earliest and most important monastic sites.

Its shadowy glades and rocky outcrops seem to have changed little since the days of the apostles and continue to offer peace and space for spiritual reflection to those who visit Lebanon.

The nearby Forest of the Cedars of God is an ancient woodland that has survived for thousands of years. It is one of the best known homes to cedrus libani, the Lebanon Cedar which graces the Flag of Lebanon.

Hotel recommendation: Hotel Chbat

Tyre

Tyre, Lebanon. Photo by Petteri Sulonen

The ancient and mighty Phoenician capital; a rock (the literal translation of its name) upon which great empires were built. Home to mythological luminaries such as Europa and Elissa (Dido), Tyre is also believed to be the birthplace of purple dye – an incredibly expensive and prestigious substance in the ancient world.

Located on the coastline to the south of Beirut, close to the modern border with Israel, Tyre is Lebanon’s fourth largest city and is home to many outstanding Lebanon Hotels from which to explore its wealth of ancient treasures.

Hotel recommendation: Al-Fanar

They always tell us Lebanese and Italians are so alike, but it seems that both sides have gotten over the issue of comparison, and have decided to finally get together in a beautiful piece of art on stage. This Friday July 30th at 8:30pm, Byblos’ festival lights up once more with a vibrant performance of Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro”.

Le Nozze di Figaro is a comic opera, an operetta of a story happening in one day. Witness Italian and Lebanese singers on stage, and enjoy the beautiful voices merged together in one piece of work.

Hotels in Byblos are awaiting your presence to serve you with the finest during your stay for the coming weekend.