Lebanon: Sidon Sea Castle
Sidon See Castle is a 13th century fortress built by Crusaders on a small islet off the coast of the town of Sidon. For centuries before that, the island was home to the Phoenician-built temple and castle. The fortress is small, but very picturesque, especially in the morning light, facing the coastline of Sidon. The castle has two semi-ruined towers connected by walls, you could see Roman columns used in construction of the tower, hence this clearly used to be a Roman fortress as well (like almost everywhere along the coast here, multiple civilizations built upon each other, and now everybody tried to lay claim to the tiny plots of infertile land). The fortress was damaged when Mamluks conquered Sidon, then restored, then fell into disarray, and then got partially restored. It’s a must-see scenic spot along any trip down the southern Lebanon coastline.
