Tyre, Lebanon

Tyre
صور
City
Arabic transcription(s)
 • LatinṢūr
Submerged ancient columns with the skyline of the modern city in the background.
Submerged ancient columns with the skyline of the modern city in the background.
Image courtesy of the NASA Johnson Space Center
Tyre is located in Lebanon
Tyre
Tyre
Coordinates: 33°16′15″N 35°11′46″E / 33.27083°N 35.19611°E / 33.27083; 35.19611
Country Lebanon
GovernorateSouth Governorate
DistrictTyre
MunicipalitiesAbbassieh, Ain Baal, Borj Ech Chemali, Sour
Establishedc. 2750 BCE
Area
 • City4 km2 (2 sq mi)
 • Metro
17 km2 (7 sq mi)
Population
 • City60,000
 • Metro
174,000
DemonymTyrian
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
TypeCultural
Criteriaiii, vi
Designated1984 (8th session)
Reference no.299

Tyre (/ˈtaɪər/; Arabic: صُور, romanizedṢūr; Phoenician: 𐤑𐤓, romanized: Ṣūr; Greek: Τύρος, translit. Týros) is a city in Lebanon, one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world,[1] though in medieval times for some centuries by just a small population. It was one of the earliest Phoenician metropolises and the legendary birthplace of Europa, her brothers Cadmus and Phoenix, as well as Carthage's founder Dido (Elissa). The city has many ancient sites, including the Tyre Hippodrome, and was added as a whole to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1984.[2] The historian Ernest Renan noted that "One can call Tyre a city of ruins, built out of ruins".[3][4]

Today Tyre is the fourth largest city in Lebanon after Beirut, Tripoli, and Sidon.[5] It is the capital of the Tyre District in the South Governorate. There were approximately 200,000 inhabitants in the Tyre urban area in 2016, including many refugees, as the city hosts three of the twelve Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon: Burj El Shimali, El Buss, and Rashidieh.[6]

  1. ^ "The world's 20 oldest cities". The Telegraph. 30 May 2017. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  2. ^ "World Heritage List: Tyre". United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  3. ^ Medlej, Youmna Jazzar; Medlej, Joumana (2010). Tyre and its history. Beirut: Anis Commercial Printing Press s.a.l. pp. 1–30. ISBN 978-9953-0-1849-2.
  4. ^ Finlay, Victoria (2014). Colour: Travels Through the Paintbox. London: Hachette UK. ISBN 9780340733295.
  5. ^ "Tyre (Sour) City, Lebanon". tyros.leb.net.
  6. ^ Maguire, Suzanne; Majzoub, Maya (2016). Osseiran, Tarek (ed.). "TYRE CITY PROFILE" (PDF). reliefweb. UN HABITAT Lebanon. pp. 12, 16, 33–34, 39–43, 57, 72. Retrieved 29 October 2019.