The Persians maintained a royal park in Sidon and it was during this time that the temple of Eshmoun was built. The city provided Persia, a great land power, with the ships and seamen to fight the Egyptians and the Greek, a role that gave it a highly favored position. and reached its height during the Persian Empire (550 - 330 B.C.). Sidon's Phoenician period began in the 12th - 10th century B.C. In its wealth, commercial initiative, and religious significance, Sidon is said to have surpassed all other Phoenician city states

There is evidence that Sidon was inhabited as long ago as 4000 B.C., and perhaps as early as Neolithic times (6000 - 4000 B.C.).The ancient city was built on a promontory facing an island, which sheltered its fleet from storms and served as a refuge during military incursions from the interior. In the old town more recent buildings worth a visit are Khan as-Sabun, Khan el-Franj and the Great Mosque above the Egyptian Harbor which still retains the 13th Century walls of the fortress Church of the Hospitallers of St. Louis sits atop the Phoenician acropolis near Murex Hill, so named after the Murex shell from which the famous Phoenician purple dye was extracted. John of the Hospital of Jerusalem on an islet at the mouth of the harbor.

The city's northern harbor is graced by Castle of the Sea, erected in the early 13th Century by the crusading Knights of St.

It is surrounded by beautiful orchards of oranges, lemon, banana and loquat trees. Sidon is known as the capital of the South. The town was conquered by the Crusaders after a famous siege lasting 47 days, then retaken by Saladin 70 years later. In Darius' time, towards the end of the 6th century B.C., it was the capital of the fifth Persian satrapy and a showplace of buildings and gardens. Sidon was the third great Phoenician city-state, rivaling Byblos and Tyre as a naval power. SAIDA (SIDON, SAIDON) is said to mean 'fishing', and even today fishermen moor their boats in the small picturesque port.

Download phoenician murex shell