Byblos

** Byblos is said to be the oldest inhabited city in the world, the source of the first Phoenician letters that gave us our alphabet. Byblos was the major seaport of the East Mediterranean during the 3rd millenium BC. **  ** The four main places of interest to visit in Byblos are the Castle, built by the Crusaders in the 12th and 13th centuries: the Egyptian temples, the earliest of which dates back to the 4th millenium: the Phoenician royal necropolis, and the Roman amphitheater. **  ** The ruins include the perimeter walls, the Temple of Baalat-Gebal (the goddess of the city), the Temple of the Obelisks and the royal tombs. There are also ruins dating from Roman times and the crusader castle and church. **