| This city, 48km south of Beirut, has one of the most famous names in history but its past has been plundered by time and by invader. Sidon was inhabited as early as 4000 B.C. and today is home to a Crusader fortress that rises out of the sea, a Murex hill formed by the refuse of the purple factories of antiquity, and ancient Necropoli.
The entrance to Sidon from the north is on a wide divided highway lined with palm trees. As you approach, the landmark Crusader Sea Castle and modern port installations are immediately visible. The busy main street is full of small shops and of every kind, including patisseries, whose oriental delicacies are stacked in little pyramids. Sidon is also famous for a variety of local sweets which you can watch being made in the old souk (market) or in shops on the main street. The particular speciality of Sidon is known as "senioura", a delicious crumbly cookie.
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There are numerous sites of interest within the old section of modern Sidon. Here visitors will enjoy wandering along the sea front to the Crusader Sea Castle and looking around the old souks, khans (caravansaries) and other medieval remnants. The Sea Castle is a fortress built by the Crusaders in the early 13th century on a small island connected to the mainland by a causeway.
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