Saida, the Old City

Old Saida is a predominantly residential neighbourhood located on the Mediterranean shore in the western part of Saida City (Sidon). It falls within the jurisdiction of Saida Municipality, in Lebanon’s South Governorate.
The neighbourhood as defined participatively in the field spans 0.18 km2.

Old Saida constitutes the historical core of Saida City, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The neighbourhood has several historic and religious sites, most of which function as touristic destinations. The neighbourhood’s physical fabric dates mainly to the 400 years of Ottoman rule (1516–1918).

Historical Paintings on Saida

“We had our first glimpse of Sidon from the olive and mulberry grove of a small farm. It is one of the most beautiful towns I have seen in this country. This noble city rising from its promontory above the clear, blue sea is linked to its ancient castle by a bridge and a causeway; in the distance the snow cover of the Lebanese mountain crests reflected in the Mediterranean and in the hues of a sunset, offers a magnificent spectacle.”
– David Roberts, 1839

“The people of Sidon were the world’s first navigators. They built rafts, then rowboats and the pines and cedars of Lebanon glided away on the sea to distant parts. A people whose trade embraced half the world needed a means of communication to convey messages from place to place. Phoenicia invented the alphabet; the first Greeks acquired writing from the Phoenicians as did all parts of the western world. “
– T.R. Dumas, 1880

“Apart from the invention of navigation and the written alphabet, Sidon is credited with the discovery of glass, joinery, stone dressing and wood carving.”
– R.P. de Damas, 1866